UK health and social care services provider streamlines its clinical model with Power Platform

Managing the COVID-19 pandemic has often called for innovative business solutions. SABP responded with a rapid deployment of low-code Power Apps. These apps helped streamline a variety of processes to support both staff and patients. Applications that would have taken months to build using custom code were put into production in a matter of weeks.   

It was all part of a digital strategy that SABP had already initiated in the years prior to the pandemic. The organization had been looking for alternatives to the heavily standardized workflows of its electronic health records. “Our digital strategy at Surrey and Borders aligns to our clinical strategy. We’re building an app ecosystem that can be customized for specific health and care scenarios while maintaining strong data security,” says Mike Cavaye, Deputy Chief Digital and Information Officer at Surrey and Borders Trust.   

Power Platform quickly established itself as the right approach to deliver on that vision. As one of the first trusts in the United Kingdom to move to Microsoft 365, SABP was already licensed for Power Platform. Much of the Microsoft 365 security infrastructure needed for development on the platform was also in place.  

The intuitive design of Power Platform enabled developers to quickly utilize the platform with minimal training. “Building on Microsoft Power Platform has been an extremely efficient way to deliver the customized solutions we need for staff and those who use our services, quickly and cost effectively,” says Cavaye.    

A new way to manage flu vaccinations  

In the initial stages of its Power Platform development, SABP started with some basic solutions on top of SharePoint Online. This evolved quickly into a bespoke solution app for managing flu vaccinations amongst staff.   

The solution includes two versions of a Power Apps application: one for clinicians to manage walk-in vaccinations and another for employees to book appointments. Both versions replaced the traditional —and far less efficient—paper-based processes used for many years in the NHS. The employee app offered the additional benefit of providing access to a wealth of information about the vaccinations to further enable empowered decision-making. 

This was important. Many employees had initially held off on scheduling a vaccination because of health concerns. Through an automated set of health questions (built using Power Automate), the app was able to quickly address these concerns with information customized to each employee. Better yet, as information about the flu vaccination expanded, Power Platform made it easy to update the app with this information.  

“Having more informed staff significantly contributed to a better uptake of the vaccination, which our workforce could monitor in real time through an integrated Power BI dashboard,” says Sarah McFarlane, Policy Coordinator at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. “After deploying our Power Apps solution, we saw vaccination rates for frontline staff soar from less than 50% to over 90%.”  

Enabling a rapid COVID-19 response using Dataverse  

The success of the flu app caught the attention of senior stakeholders, who had also begun planning the organization’s COVID-19 response strategy. Several solutions were needed urgently. Power Platform had already proven itself as fast and flexible for employee needs. But could it be used to serve a much larger patient population?    

And that’s where Dataverse came in to play. As the development team discovered, moving from SharePoint Online to Dataverse provided a more manageable platform on which to manage and secure patient data. For example, SABP used Dataverse to share data at both the individual and divisional levels.   

Dataverse has also enabled SABP to more efficiently manage patient data across other Power Platform applications in the ecosystem. When a change is made to an item within Dataverse, that change is automatically replicated across all connected apps. “Dataverse has enabled us to scale more efficiently and securely as we add more apps, users, and data to our Power Platform ecosystem,” says Craig McCaslin, Head of Office 365 Development for Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.   

Combined with the low-code simplicity of Power Platform, using Dataverse enabled SABP to quickly put several COVID-19 solutions into production, including:  

• Local Track & Trace: Built using Power Apps and Power Automate, this solution makes it easier for employees to provide health information related to COVID-19. A Power BI dashboard enables management to monitor the health of its workforce, identify local covid-19 outbreaks, and track employees who may have been in contact with COVID-19 positive patients/employees.  
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): This app streamlines the process for clinical staff to order PPE from external suppliers. Unlike the previous paper-based process, the app also provides updates to let employees know via email when the equipment is on its way.  

Transforming legacy processes   

With Power Platform, SABP is not only creating new digital experiences—it’s transforming old ones. A good example of this is the solution built for the organization’s Community and Mental Health Transformation Programme (CMHTP). The program was developed to better support mental health care services at the community level. It also changes the clinical model.   

Traditionally, patients would access SABP services through a referral from a primary healthcare provider. Through CMHTP, patients can access SABP services directly. As Cavaye explains, “When it comes to delivering mental health services, we are moving to more of a proactive approach, trying to help people even before they need primary care.”   

To support the program, the plan was to develop an app that enabled a self-referral and scheduling process. But this was only part of the story. An even bigger element of the project was managing the process transformation itself. “Even before development started, there was a lot of planning that needed to happen first,” says Mark Givens, Digital Transformation Program Lead at Ideal Digital Healthcare Experts, an SABP partner. “This included design around the new clinical model, the process mapping, information governance, and testing.”   

Timing was also an issue. Management wanted the solution completed in three months. “Without the agility of Power Platform, that likely would not have happened,” says Givens. Power Platform enabled a more nimble, iterative approach between developers and business planners—a structure often referred to as a “fusion” team—and a core benefit of Power Platform. As the clinical model evolved, the Power Platform solution changed right along with it and the solution was delivered right on schedule.   

Building for the future  

SABP continues to build and grow its digital experiences on Power Platform. Once again, the trust’s flu app is leading the way. The organization has just developed its third version of the app to align with the latest vaccination requirements. Since its deployment, the solution has also been moved from SharePoint to Dataverse to leverage the additional security features.   

Additionally, moving apps to Dataverse has made it easier to share Power Platform solutions with other trusts. (Solutions can simply be packaged up and added to the other organization’s Dataverse instance, including associated metadata.) And interest is growing. A SABP solution designed to help patients self-manage mental issues, for example, has received multiple requests from trusts across the country.   

Another important key milestone has been the development of a Center of Excellence (CoE) to more efficiently monitor, manage, and support app development. This CoE has laid the groundwork for a new wave of citizen developers. “We have some really enthusiastic clinicians who were eager to build their own applications and bring new efficiencies to their practice,” says Cavaye. “With our Center of Excellence, we can empower our employees to build those new solutions while also meeting our strict security requirements.”   

It’s that kind of thinking that is helping drive SABP’s digital strategy—and some of the most innovative digital experiences in the United Kingdom health network. With Power Platform, SABP is set to deliver even more of those experiences in the months and years ahead.  

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