Infix wins NHS Scotland contract to optimise operating theatres

A Scottish technology company has won an NHS Scotland contract to optimise operating theatre efficiency, following a competitive procurement process.

Infix Support’s cloud-based software with machine learning capabilities is now set to be rolled out across all of Scotland’s NHS health boards during the next 12 months.

The contract award follows the success of pilots with three NHS health boards, which enabled the completion of thousands of additional operations where operating room efficiency was improved by up to a quarter.

Infix will now support each health board to increase productivity, remove paper processes, and reduce overall administrative burden in the creation and approval of theatre lists, underpinned by technology that standardises scheduling workflows and employs automation to optimise theatre usage.

Infix was founded by consultant anaesthetist Dr Matthew Freer in 2019, and has since developed two main software products – Infix: Schedule, which improves the efficiency of surgical operating theatres and tackles patient waiting list backlogs – and a virtual pre-operative, pre-assessment portal, Infix: Preop, which is aimed at optimising the patient pathway.

Freer said: “While we have demonstrated how our best-of-class technology can have a transformative impact on theatre efficiency, including thorough a procurement process where Infix went up against other established technology groups, what’s most pleasing about today’s announcement is knowing that we will now be able to ease the pressure for health boards and improve the lives of so many patients across Scotland.”

Jonathan Cameron, deputy director of digital health and care in the Scottish Government, said: “Infix is a clinician-led tech company backed by over five years’ worth of NHS operating times data on a mission to optimise theatre procedures and patient throughput, and is a shining example of how we can develop world-class healthcare technology from a base in Scotland.”

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