DXS International (DXS) provides NHS-approved clinical support solutions for clinicians and patients, to improve outcomes, reduce costs, and save lives. The Aios SMART referral solution is designed to improve efficiency in primary and secondary care by reducing inappropriate referrals, excessive secondary care appointments, repeat GP consultations, and administrative burdens.
To support the value proposition of this innovation, Health Innovation East commissioned Health Tech Enterprise (HTE) to assess its financial viability for referrals to Fertility Units through a budget impact analysis.
The Technology
DXS International has developed an innovative clinical decision support tool which increases efficiencies in NHS care pathways. Its Aios SMART Referrals solution (“the innovation”) provides a user-friendly interface for a healthcare professional to complete digital referral forms. Its integration with electronic health records (EHRs) enables the automatic population of patient-specific parameters on the form while additional questions enable a more detailed insight to qualify the referral.
The innovation is aimed at primary care physicians and has been proven to reduce referral errors (i.e. when the patient is sent back to primary care or needs referral to a different service in secondary care). Additional benefits anticipated are a reduction in unnecessary or duplicate tests and a reduction in time spent filling out referral forms.
We conducted interviews with healthcare professionals in primary and secondary care to understand the current referral management processes in GP surgeries and Fertility Units. Using these insights, we developed a decision analytical model in MS Excel to simulate the projected incremental cost impact of the innovation over a five-year period. The resulting interactive model empowered the innovator to explore different adoption scenarios and identify data points requiring validation in future studies—ensuring a robust and evidence-based approach to market entry.
Impacts
DXS’ existing point of care solution was replaced with SMART Referrals, its new cloud-based system, and successfully integrated with the NHS Electronic Referral System during FY 2024. SMART Referrals is now used for 10% of all referrals in England or an estimated 1.8 million per year. The independent evaluation conducted by HTE estimated the product could deliver c. £44m in net savings to the NHS.
DXS also say that 22% of newly established Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) now had some of their practices using SMART Referrals. These practices cover c. 6.5m registered patients. Looking ahead, DXS aims to convert further GP practices to SMART Referrals, gaining further market share in the remaining ICBs.
Outcomes
Health Tech Enterprise’s budget impact analysis provided the innovator with a clear financial case for their smart referral solution. Our interactive model allowed them to explore different market scenarios, demonstrating potential cost savings and efficiencies in fertility referral pathways within the NHS. With our insights, the innovator could refine their value proposition, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and identify key data points for future validation—enhancing their chances of successful adoption.
“Collaborating with HTE has proven to be an invaluable experience from the very beginning. The comprehensive analysis carried out has played a pivotal role in illustrating the cost implications of our SMART Referrals Functionality. The study underscores that our innovation is projected to generate cost savings by reducing referral error rates and expediting the referral management process. Additionally, HTE provided essential recommendations for future data collection efforts, which will further bolster the quantitative evidence affirming the positive cost impact of our technology.” David Parker – Head of Sales & Account Management of DXS
