Innovation UK > News > Healthcare > Innovations at Ultralase

Refractive surgery is a sub-speciality of ophthalmology. Ultralase is the leading and longest established national provider of refractive surgery. It is impossible to get to this position without innovation, but innovation must be handled with care. Innovation is critical for a technologically driven eyecare provider but must be selected and implemented in a way that places patient welfare at the heart of its delivery. Surgical refinements, improvement to clinical processes and technological innovation only work through skilled implementation incorporated only once benefit to patient outcomes has been shown. This process is led by the Ultralase Medical Advisory Committee [MAC].

Innovational improvements to treatments

The MAC has instigated 6 separate Innovational Improvements ["IIs"] to our patient pathway since 2004. MAC ratification of process, surgical training, patient information / feedback and audit have ensured success at every stage. Pro-actively seeking patient views on important parameters to audit affirmed the appropriateness of the measures. Post-surgical patient satisfaction ratings incorporating longer term data also feed through the audit cycle. Continuous delivery of audit outcome to all 13 involved surgeons included peer comparison and external standards (peer-reviewed literature, FDA and NICE) ensured engagement and summative cross-learning.

Analysis of 14,555 surgical procedures from 6 separate matched "11" groups of surgical refinement was undertaken. Success criteria, confirmed by patients to be important, included visual outcome, prescription outcome and post-operative patient satisfaction (including longer term data and discharge). All three measures showed a continuous enhancement with statistical significance. Patients expressing they were "delighted" or "pleased with results" improved from 74% to 93% (p

Innovation in External Accreditation of surgical technique

The definitive standard for refractive surgery practiced in the UK is laid down by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists [RCO]. All Royal Colleges set the standards of practice for their speciality fields of medical practice. The RCO go one step further and make an examination out of it ? the Certification in Laser Refractive Surgery. This voluntary qualification is designed to reassure members of the public that surgeons who have gained this qualification have the necessary knowledge, surgical skill and competence to treat laser patients correctly. Research often shows the single most important factor in a patient?s decision making process to go ahead with laser refractive surgery is this skill and Ultralase became the only national provider to have 100% of laser surgeons across every clinic in Britain to gain this Certification in March 2009. True innovation in external accreditation.

Innovation in Patient Feedback

The industry first of our Patient Advisory Group gives our patients the opportunity to provide an influential voice to Ultralase. The PAG has two advantages. It provides us with a better understanding of how we can make improvements as seen by our patients. The combined membership to date is rapidly approaching 40 and still growing. One PAG member stated on record "what keeps me on the PAG is the fact that it is clear our comments are genuinely listened to and acted on. A company which really does value the opinions of its customers, not just lip service". Consent, post-operative advice, treatment guides and audits have all been influenced by a Patient Advisory Group to date. True innovation in patient engagement.

Ultralase will continue to show innovation, continue to implement new strategies, technologies and techniques in the right way, and continue to remain at the forefront in our field. Clinical innovation only works when doctors and patients interests are completely aligned and Ultralase lead the way in our field, ensuring this principal underpins the substance of our unique approach.

For more information visit www.ultralase.com