Case Finding Service assists GPs with the complete management of patients with AF

Hundreds of lives could be saved thanks to a ground-breaking new service from Oberoi Consulting which will help GPs to identify and correctly treat AF patients at risk of stroke.

The Oberoi SPAF & Case Finding Service assists GPs with the complete management of patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF), a heart condition which causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate.

Its real-time data extraction and analysis along with opportunistic prompts for missing clinical interventions ensure high-risk AF patients receive oral anti-coagulants which may prevent strokes.

Stroke prevention is one of the priorities of NHS England which has invested £9m to fund pharmacists and specialist nurses in 23 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to work with GPs.

The aim is to avert up to 700 strokes and 200 deaths through extra investigation into 20,000 patients who are at high risk of AF.

Oberoi Consulting’s service, already in place in Darlington, Thanet and South Kent, will be key to helping CCGs and GPs to meet these ambitious targets.

Professor Ahmet Fuat, the North East and North Cumbria Clinical Research Network Industry and GP Engagement Lead and Darlington Primary Care Network and GP Federation Cardiology Lead, is a GP Specialist in Cardiology and, for 17 years, has run an integrated heart failure service across primary and secondary care. He believes this service will help save lives and added: “It is essential, GPs, Nurses and Pharmacists have access to a system such as that developed by Oberoi, it is the best on the market. It is completely integrated within the practice system and carries out a real-time analysis of patients who may have AF and are at risk of stroke, based on certain search criteria which are already within the patient record.

"It enables us to keep on top of detection of AF and appropriate anticoagulation in eligible patients and, if we use it correctly, we should reduce strokes and bleeding side effects by giving correctly dosed medications".

"The most exciting thing is that it is the only accurate system that can identify whether incorrect doses of Direct Oral Anti-Coagulants (DOACs) are being given, enabling us to correct doses to improve efficacy and reduce potential side effects".

"It interrogates patient notes using parameters such as age, weight, kidney function, other drug use that may interact with the medication for AF, to then calculate whether the DOAC dose is correct".

"It is very clever computing. Previously we analysed the patient records manually, often taking days to complete audits once a year, now we can now do it at the touch of a button on a regular basis enabling evidence-based treatment of AF".

Further details: neil.white@blackandwhitepr.co.uk