Barrow and Millom PCN Pilot Project: Streamlining Referrals from Primary to Community Care with Strata Health

Strata Health UK is pleased to announce a partnership expansion with NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB. This March 2023, our Navigation and Single eReferral System was deployed across the Barrow and Millom Primary Care Network (PCN) as part of a pilot project to streamline patient referrals from primary to community care. 

Using a unified online system, GPs and other primary care providers can refer patients directly to community services, including physiotherapy, pharmacy, social prescribing, and occupational therapy. The system handles the entire referral and transition of care process digitally, creating standardisation, efficiencies, and improving information sharing and communication.  

This digital process will save time and improve the patient and provider experience in the following ways: 

• Primary care providers can quickly and easily manage referrals from the Strata Health portal. 
• A recommendation algorithm ensures referrals to appropriate community services.  
• A shared source of truth ensures all stakeholders have visibility into the transition of care. 
• An automated process minimizes administrative tasks and frees clinicians to focus on patient care. 

Once the pilot project proves to be successful, the solution will be deployed across all eight PCNs that operate under the ICB. 

“We are proud to be expanding our partnership with the Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, improving patient flow, and supporting clinicians with better workflows. Using a single, automated system to manage referrals from PCNs to community services will enable better access to timely care.”

– Craig Woods, Implementation Manager, Strata Health UK 

About Strata Health 

Strata Health is an all-in-one Referral Management Solution for hospitals and health systems. Using digital tools and automated workflows, our platform empowers care coordinators to orchestrate safe, seamless, and efficient transitions across the care continuum. In just a few clicks, you can create a curated list of care options, guide patient choice, complete forms digitally with integration to the electronic record, and manage the entire referral process electronically. Our best-fit technology uses intelligent algorithms to match patients to the most appropriate care provider or bed— improving efficiency and patient engagement while saving time, reducing costs, and eliminating delayed transfers of care. Founded in 2002, Strata Health has been the leading provider of patient flow technology for over 21 years. With offices in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, we are partnered with 79 health systems and nearly 500 hospitals and have optimized over 17 million transitions of care worldwide.  

About NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB 
The NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB was established in July 2022. It has replaced the eight clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the area. It is accountable for NHS spend and performance, and responsible for the day-to-day running of the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria. To learn more, visit https://www.lancashireandsouthcumbria.icb.nhs.uk/  

About Barrow and Millom Primary Care Network (PCN) 
Barrow and Millom Primary Care Network (PCN) is made up of ten practices in Morecambe Bay, serving a patient population of approximately 68,000.