• Partnership between Eye-Docs Limited and Aston Business School will develop an industry-first digital system to streamline patient referrals and care
• Through advanced data analytics and machine learning, the project will enhance information sharing and enable data-driven decision making
• The project is the latest in a series of joint initiatives with Eye-Docs to reduce waiting times, improve patient care and support the clinic to grow

Aston Business School and independent eye hospital, Eye-Docs, are teaming up to develop the ophthalmology sector’s first joined-up digital system to replace paper-based referrals and manually created records.

This will mean opticians can co-manage patients more effectively and patients can access specialist eye care more easily.

West Midlands-based Eye-Docs specialises in a wide range of corrective procedures and treatments for conditions like cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project will create a next-generation digital system that blends advanced forms of data analytics and machine learning to transform how patients needing specialist eye care are referred and managed.

By replacing hand-written notes and physical letters, the clinic’s new digital system will mean that details about a patient’s eye health, tests, and treatments can flow more easily between the clinic, the patient, and their referring optician.

For opticians, this fully digital approach will improve transparency and open new avenues for co-managing patients. For patients, this will help to reduce waiting times and make it easier for them to access treatments.

The system will also automatically collect and analyse information about each patient’s procedures and treatments, as well as clinic sales and appointment records. It will incorporate predictive capabilities that use past patient data to forecast their needs and potential outcomes from treatment. This will support business planning at the clinic and help ophthalmologists to identify the most effective treatment plans for their patients.

Eye-Docs clinic works closely with a network of 42 local opticians, treating both private and NHS patients. Through its ongoing partnership with Aston University, the clinic has delivered three KTP projects to advance its services and develop new business models. This includes developing a new ‘shared care’ model of care to reduce pressure on the NHS by identifying which patients can be seen in community practices and which need to be seen by Eye-Docs surgeons.

The latest project brings together Eye-Docs with business analytics and information systems experts at Aston Business School, which is ranked in the top 100 business schools by the Financial Times. The research team combines industry experience in software engineering with academic expertise in digital healthcare systems and predictive data analytics. They are part of Aston Business School’s Advanced Services Group, which supports businesses of all sizes to change how they work, with a track record of collaborative projects across industry.

Anne Sharkey, operations manager for Eye-Docs, said:

“The innovative approaches at Aston University strengthen our ability to create a truly unique digital platform that helps us to build new bridges with local optometrists and deliver an advanced service to our patients. By going on this digital journey with the team at Aston University, we’ll no longer rely on the hand-written and manually entered patient information that still forms the basis of so many referrals and records.

“We’re excited to be digitalising our operations and opening up new commercial opportunities in ways that will position Eye-Docs at the forefront of digital healthcare in our sector.”

Dr Yang Zhao, senior lecturer in the Business Analytics and Information Systems Department at Aston Business School, said:

“While Eye-Docs already have software systems in place, we’re taking these to the next level by developing advanced analytics to connect the dots across the entire patient journey. Our data-led approach links referring opticians, specialist ophthalmologists, patients, and clinic operations managers in one smooth flow that makes the referral process much easier for everyone and opens up new ways to grow the clinic. Once developed, it’s an approach that could be adopted by other clinics to help modernise how patients are managed across the eyecare sector.”

The project is a three-year KTP. Funded by Innovate UK, KTPs are collaborations between a business, a university and a highly qualified research associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is a sector-leading KTP provider, ranked first for project quality, and joint first for the volume of active projects.

For more information on Aston University’s KTPs visit www.aston.ac.uk/business/collaborate-with-us/knowledge-transfer-partnership.