Advantages and financial savings

For CCGs

There are two major areas of financial savings for CCGs;

1.

The initial ECG where the service costs a tiny fraction of what hospitals charge

2.

There are a huge number of cases where GP is ‘unsure’ whether to send a patient to A&E or not, and a good immediate expert ECG report gives GP the confidence not to send to hospital  [if they are sent to cardiac wards, the cost is >> £1,000 + / night].    To corroborate the point; some 75% of cardiac admissions are discharged within 1-2 days and that tells you that  many are sent in unnecessarily

For Clinicians

On the clinical front, an immediate diagnosis which the service provides [literally, whilst surgery is ‘on-line’], as opposed to a 2-3 weeks’ delay in sending to hospital, means that GPs can commence patient management and triage, immediately. This can often be the difference between full recovery and irreparable damage to the heart.

For Patients

The service greatly enhances patient experience: It is far more convenient, it avoids delays in diagnosis and the associated concerns, it avoids lost days at work, etc.