Introduction - the Local Asset Mapping Project (LAMP).
Imagine visiting your doctor and as well as getting a prescription for a pill, you get an electronic prescription designed especially for you, with a list of all the local businesses and services around you that might improve your health - that is the vision of LAMP.
The Problem:
In practice, 80% of wellbeing is determined by good health behaviours (exercise and good nutrition, social connection, avoiding smoking or excessive alcohol,). The traditional medical consultation does not address this adequately.
Health care is organised in silos, both in terms of service provision and funding. There is a huge amount of data relating to primary and hospital care in terms of service provision and outcomes, but when it comes to community resources, the very things that affect the social determinants of health, there is very little information.
The Solution:
The solution is an up-to-date digital directory, created by the community, supported by health intelligence, that is available at point-of-care as an index of services to allow health professionals to co-create a prescription with a patient to address the social determinants of health - i.e., a social prescription.
There is a wealth of resources available in the community in the private, statutory and not-for-profit sectors that health professionals are unaware of and patients have difficulty accessing. These services relate to addiction, social exclusion, poor nutrition and other health behaviours.
Using community-based volunteers and local transition year students we performed a street census recording every visible business and service in our catchment area. We then created a web-based social prescribing platform available at point-of-care.
Transition Year Students Mapping
This will enable health professionals to navigate patients to local services and activities to improve their health and wellbeing.
Benefit:
Social prescribing has been shown to reduce hospital outpatient and emergency department attendance by up to 39%, and GP attendance by up to 20%. It is associated with improvements in measurements of anxiety and wellbeing.
Social Prescription Engine
Next Steps:
Funding from the Regional Oncology Programme Office has allowed LAMP to develop the website into a tool that will be used at point-of-care for prostate and other cancers. We aim to deploy the LAMP social prescription engine in clinics across St James' Hospital, includi ng diabetes, HIV, medicine for the elderly and the Memory Clinic. As the database and website develop, we will promote it amongst general practitioners and other health professionals in our catchment area.
For more contact David Robinson, Consultant Geriatrician, St James' Hospital on robinsonsec@stjames.ie or view the LAMP website
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