In all our healthcare work, we focus on helping providers fully leverage their technology to simplify workflows, reduce administrative burdens, and enhance patient care. Our collaboration with HBSUK and the Virtual Lucy platform is a case in point, and highlights this commitment to greater efficiency and better clinical outcomes.
Virtual Lucy supports patients before they set foot in a hospital by collecting information through clinically-validated questionnaires. Specialists gain the insights they need to make informed decisions without an initial in-person appointment. This reduces unnecessary travel, waiting, and stress, while also helping ensure patients receive prompt assessments, tailored management plans, and swift referrals.
Engaging with the interoperability challenge
Before we joined forces with HBSUK, Virtual Lucy had already showed initial promise with clinical outcomes and waiting list reductions. Yet this success depended on manual data entry into NHS systems, making it difficult to scale across specialities or trusts. The need for seamless interoperability and smoother data exchange was clear.
Recognising the importance of integrating Virtual Lucy with existing NHS patient administration systems (PAS) and electronic health record (EHR) systems, HBSUK chose to incorporate InterSystems IRIS for Health™. This decision aligned with HBSUK’s goal of enabling automatic, standards-based data exchange between Virtual Lucy and NHS IT infrastructures.
InterSystems IRIS for Health is designed to connect different healthcare solutions smoothly, ensuring that critical information flows quickly and accurately to those who need it. By adopting interoperability standards such as HL7 and FHIR, IRIS for Health makes it possible to transfer patient data automatically without relying on manual intervention.
The collaboration unfolded over several months. Together with HBSUK, we developed an interoperability readiness plan. The joint team conducted a pilot project with North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, working alongside the trust’s applications team to make it possible for the integration to be configured according to the trust’s specific requirements.
Reaping the rewards
Integrating IRIS for Health with Virtual Lucy has had a rapid impact. Instead of following a laborious, multi-step administrative sequence to onboard new patients and update their treatment outcomes, the process became significantly more streamlined. Specifically, IRIS for Health enables HBSUK to directly receive referrals, automatically set up patient accounts, and update patient outcomes and clinical documents within 24 hours of case review.
Similarly, after the clinical team reviewed a patient’s information, outcomes and treatment plans could be updated back into the PAS with minimal human input. By reducing the steps needed from 58 down to just four, we returned valuable hours back to frontline healthcare workers. These hours can now be reinvested in activities that directly improve patient care.
For patients, the transformation was also beneficial. Previously, onboarding patients and updating treatment outcomes were administrative processes, hindering the platform's scalability across different specialities and NHS trusts. Now, with an integrated digital ecosystem, automation ensured that patient data was processed efficiently, and updates were quickly reflected in NHS systems.
Patients receive rapid access to the platform via text message, enabling them to provide information on their condition quickly and efficiently. In turn, specialists can review the data sooner and recommend the next steps - be it a referral for tests, advice on self-management, or a decision that no further treatment is necessary. This kind of timely decision-making shortens waiting periods and helps move people along the right treatment pathway more efficiently.
At North Cumbria, this integration delivered measurable results. The trust reported that 35% of urology patients experienced a 'clock stop' in their treatment pathway, eliminating the need for ongoing treatment. Moreover, automated updates to the PAS with treatment outcomes and documentation enhanced workflow efficiency.
From our perspective at InterSystems, the achievements at HBSUK and North Cumbria serve as an illustration of what can happen when the right tools are combined with a clear vision and strong partnership. Virtual Lucy’s increased interoperability with NHS systems stands as evidence that data exchange can be simplified, improving both operational efficiency and patient experiences.
As HBSUK continues to introduce Virtual Lucy across new specialities and NHS trusts, the platform is now well-positioned to scale and adapt. By reducing administrative overhead and accelerating patient onboarding, we have collectively built a stronger foundation that can support further enhancements and innovations. Ultimately, the work done here helps ensure that healthcare professionals spend more of their time where it matters most – caring for patients – and that individuals benefit from quicker access to the medical guidance they need.
