Cellma Shows How EHR Can Help Pulmonology Department
Table of Contents Help Others Discover – Click to Share! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Table of Contents Respiratory illnesses are no longer seasonal disruptions; they are a consistent strain on global healthcare. In the UK alone, one in five people will develop a lung condition in their lifetime. In 2023, emergency admissions for respiratory diseases surpassed those for heart disease and cancer, with 868,212 admissions in England alone. Diseases like asthma, COPD, ILD, and lung cancer are becoming increasingly complex to manage, especially with soaring winter pressures and the demand for multidisciplinary care. This growing burden underscores how EHR can help pulmonology department meet rising patient needs with precision and efficiency. Cellma is an integrated EHR platform that considers the multifaceted task of care in pulmonary medicine. With , showing how EHR can help pulmonology departments meet patient needs and national standards. NHS Integrations and Compliance: Cellma at the Centre of Trust For any Pulmonology EHR solution to be viable, it must be clinically safe, interoperable, and secure. Cellma is purpose-built to tick all the right boxes. It aligns with NHS regulatory standards, ensuring: IG Toolkit/DSPT compliance for cybersecurity and data handling Adherence to Caldicott Principles to preserve patient confidentiality Compliance with UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 Cyber Essentials certified security Seamless integration with NHS Spine for patient identity and shared care Interoperability with PACS, pathology systems, PFT tools, and e-RS Support for QOF, HES, NACAP, and INHALE dashboard reporting These integrations establish how EHR can help pulmonology department manage data securely while adhering to NHS digital and clinical governance standards. Monitoring Symptoms and Clinical Progression in Pulmonary Care with Cellma In pulmonology, understanding the progression and severity of respiratory conditions is essential for timely and targeted intervention. Cellma supports clinicians by offering specialised templates, integrated clinical scoring tools, and structured data capture tailored for conditions such as asthma, COPD, ILD, and lung cancer. For example: Asthma: With Cellma, clinicians can document symptoms such as wheezing, cough, chest tightness, and breathlessness, alongside comorbidities like allergic rhinitis. Dedicated templates incorporate GINA staging, peak flow trends, and Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores. This structured input allows personalised, stepwise treatment adjustments based on symptom severity and control levels. COPD: Cellma enables detailed monitoring of chronic cough, sputum production, and breathlessness. The GOLD classification is embedded, allowing staging from mild (FEV₁ ≥ 80%) to very severe (FEV₁ < 30%). It also supports the ABCD assessment tool, MRC dyspnoea scale, and BODE index for multidimensional evaluation. Predictive algorithms help flag high-risk patients and suggest re-evaluation of therapy based on exacerbation frequency. ILD: For ILD cases, Cellma integrates HRCT imaging patterns (e.g., UIP, NSIP), 6-minute walk test results, and autoantibody profiles. The GAP Index (Gender, Age, Physiology) is also built in to estimate prognosis. Cellma’s timeline view tracks disease trajectory and helps MDTs align decisions with radiological and physiological changes. Lung Cancer: Cellma supports lung cancer management by merging CT, biopsy, and histopathology data into a unified patient record. It automates TNM staging (Tumor, Node, Metastasis), documents ECOG/WHO performance scores, and highlights any comorbid respiratory conditions. Clinicians can visualise the full diagnostic and treatment path; from suspicious imaging to biopsy, MDT discussion, and treatment plan via Cellma’s structured timelines. Smart Tools and Automation Cellma’s natural language processing (NLP) extracts key findings from radiology reports, reducing manual input. Clinical alerts notify teams of significant drops in FEV₁, abnormal ABG values, or urgent imaging flags. Dashboards offer insights into exacerbation rates, time to MDT decisions, and diagnostic turnaround for ILD and lung cancer. Better Communication and Decision-Making Cellma enhances referrals through coded referral reasons (e.g., urgent cancer review, ILD follow-up), prioritisation flags, and shared imaging/lab access across care levels. It streamlines MDT notetaking for oncology, radiology, and respiratory teams with structured templates, ensuring complete documentation. From early symptom tracking to structured staging and decision support, Cellma brings clarity and coordination to every step of pulmonary disease management, covering not just asthma, COPD, ILD, and lung cancer, but the full spectrum of pulmonary conditions. The Importance of a Centralised EHR Platform Cellma, a pulmonology EHR solution addresses workflow challenges by providing a functioning centralised digital hub; bringing together investigations, referrals, clinical pathways, and multidisciplinary reviews. Cellma provides the full patient journey for respiratory teams from the first presentation to pulmonary rehab, ensuring the right decisions are made in a timely manner, leading to better outcomes. Ways Cellma Assists Pulmonology Department: Cellma Core Modules Patient Admission and SchedulingCellma’s PAS module manages patient registration, managing demographics and appointment booking. In pulmonology, it is imperative to maintain patient records accurately and comprehensively, for example, with asthma, COPD or lung cancer. The PAS module ensures that the patient history, clinical notes and referrals are all securely held and available to clinicians, mitigating administrative errors and improving patient flow. Electronic Patient RecordCellma’s EPR module manages clinical documentation, allowing pulmonology teams to accurately track respiratory symptoms such as dyspnoea, haemoptysis, or wheezing. Respiratory examinations, including auscultation findings (wheezing, crackles), clubbing, and signs of cyanosis, are all recorded through standardised templates for precise diagnosis and treatment planning. The module also ensures continuous monitoring and documentation of clinical parameters like oxygen saturation (SpO₂) and respiratory rate, giving healthcare providers real-time access to the most up-to-date patient data. Imaging IntegrationFor pulmonology departments, timely access to imaging is critical to an accurate diagnosis and treatment decision. Cellma integrates with PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System), providing simple and direct access to chest X-rays, CT pulmonary angiograms (CTPA), standard HRCT for interstitial lung disease (ILD), and thoracic MRIs for lung cancer staging. Labs IntegrationCellma’s Labs Integration interfaces with multiple laboratory systems so that pulmonologists can view blood test, microbiology culture, and pulmonary function test (PFT) results in one screen. This is particularly important in asthma (spirometry), COPD (FEV₁/FVC ratios), and tuberculosis (sputum AFB cultures) diagnosis. Cellma conveys the results of ABG’s (arterial blood gases), FeNO (fractional exhaled nitric oxide), and auto-immune markers concerning ILD enabling clinicians to act promptly on the important information. Document ManagementPulmonary departments deal with
