Data trial for DHB
New clinical testing at Waitemata¯ District Health Board will use computer analysis to see whether medical professionals can predict the long-term needs of stroke patients. The testing, which begins this month, is part of a collaborative $37.8 million project between the DHB, the University of Auckland and Orion Healthcare. The trial will use data from a stroke register, maintained by the DHB over the past five years, which includes anonymised information about stroke severity, type and time of onset. This data will give doctors better insight into individual cases, and ease the uncertainty patients and their families feel following a stroke.
‘‘Doctors have to give families some expectations,’’ DHB institute of innovation and improvement head of analytics Delwyn Armstrong said. ‘‘But often they are basing their prognosis on their own clinical experiences, which may be limited, or literature that might not be applicable to a specific patient.’’
Armstrong said using the data would help tailor information to individual patients, helping map out whether patients will need rehabilitation and how long they could be in hospital. About 800 residents in the DHB’s catchment area experience stroke each year. DHB stroke physician and neurologist Dr Nicholas Child says computer-generated outcomes have potential to be hugely useful.