The National Pathology Programme (NPP) (http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/qual-clin-lead/npp/) wishes to implement a number of essential safety related updates to the Pathology Bounded Code List (PBCL) Catalogue of READ coded report items. The updates, intended to be introduced during 2014 (April and October), are significantly different to the routine “business as usual” updates that have been performed six monthly over recent years (usually approximately 20-30 changes per release).
For every routine update to the PBCL, actions are required by laboratories and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), GP and middleware system suppliers. Each of the two releases in 2014 will contain significantly larger volumes of changes than usual and will also include a supplementary file, detailing professionally-assured, recommended standardised units of measure to use for specific reports (approximately 1,000 per 2014 release).
The intended safety related changes
April 2014 – approximately 400 net changes (a mixture of term changes, new codes and deprecations).
October 2014 – approximately 1,400 net changes (as above, including approximately 300 RAST (radioallergosorbent test) term changes – NOTE. The volume and composition of changes for this release are subject to review and confirmation).
Both 2014 releases will also include a supplementary file that couples a specific report with a standard unit of measure and a data combination indicator (approximately 1,000 per 2014 release). From 2015 onwards, PBCL releases are expected to return to “business as usual” in terms of volume of changes anticipated (e.g. 20-30 per release).
Impact upon READ to SNOMED CT migration activities
The PBCL changes being introduced have also been designed by NPP to facilitate smoother mapping and migration from the pathology READ codes to the SNOMED CT information standard from 2015.
Clinical Governance
The PBCL updates and the supplementary file are being developed under the clinical governance of the Pathology Catalogues Governance Board (formerly the National Laboratory Medicine Catalogue (NLMC) Governance Board), hosted by the Royal College of Pathologists. This board is responsible for clinical governance of the PBCL and NLMC pathology catalogues. More information on the need for - and nature of - the PBCL updates and Data Combination Indicators can be found on the PMIP Units website: www.ychi.leeds.ac.uk/pmipunits
Whilst the HSCIC currently has no formal assurance role for the content and format of pathology data flows used to communicate laboratory results to GP systems, we are keen to conduct an impact assessment of the intended PBCL updates to assist their safe implementation across the service.
Data integration as well as clinical safety risks and issues have previously been reported when new pathology standards have been set and implementation dates of routine PBCL releases have sometimes been problematic. This consultation outlines the issues reported in order to gather information from laboratories regarding the capacity of the service to implement the forthcoming changes (volume of change and system behaviours).
A related consultation will investigate the impact upon system suppliers.
Objective of consultation
The results of both impact assessments will be submitted to the Pathology Catalogues Governance Board so that they can make informed decisions regarding the safe introduction of the intended changes/new pathology standards within the service. This is from a system behaviour and service capacity perspective to determine whether laboratories and suppliers have the capacity to implement this increased volume of change; and if longer or more specific implementation timeframes are required.
As you may need to investigate your local situation before responding to certain questions, we anticipate the assessment may take you some time to complete. Therefore, the consultation includes the ability to return to edit your responses at any time, prior to final submission.
We appreciate your feedback as it is vital in making sure we gather this information to ensure the Pathology Catalogues Governance Board and the HSCIC facilitate a consistent and safe implementation of the intended updates for use within Pathology Messaging Implementation Project (PMIP) messages.
The results of the impact assessment will be submitted to the Pathology Catalogues Governance Board so that they can make informed decisions regarding the safe introduction of the intended changes. This is from both system behaviour and service capacity perspectives to determine whether laboratories and suppliers have the capacity to implement this increased volume of change and if longer or more specific implementation timeframes are required.
Your feedback will be used to ensure the Pathology Catalogues Governance Board and the HSCIC facilitate a consistent and safe implementation of the intended updates for use within Pathology Messaging Implementation Project (PMIP) messages.
Share
Share on Twitter Share on Facebook