Representatives from Holmusk recently attended the virtual Faculty of Clinical Informatics conference to present the development and validation of MaST, a clinical decision support tool that is currently being implemented within seven NHS Trusts in the United Kingdom to aid in mental health caseload management.

MaST, or Management and Supervision Tool, uses a predictive Risk of Crisis algorithm to help clinicians make informed decisions about the allocation of resources for the most vulnerable people. The algorithm was developed using electronic health record (EHR) data from patients within a single NHS Trust, and many variables contributed to its development, including age, gender, accommodation status, employment status, Mental Health Act status, and previous contacts with mental health services.

The algorithm was then validated using EHR data from five additional NHS Trusts providing mental health care. Tests of the algorithm found that certain factors were most strongly associated with probability of a mental health crisis, including whether a patient had had a previous crisis or crises recently, as well as changes to their accommodation status and employment status. The algorithm performance was also tested, and the team found that up to 80% of uses of crisis services came from the group of people that MaST had identified as highest Risk of Crisis.

The MaST team worked with NHS Trusts to conduct a staff survey and found that users of MaST said the tool increased productivity and supported caseload management. The average length of stay for crisis inpatient admissions and overall use of crisis services was also found to be lower after MaST was implemented as part of an NHS Trust transformation programme.

“MaST helps mental health professionals to easily visualize important clinical insights and reduces the time and effort previously required to manually review information critical to a patient’s care,” said Caroline Gadd, Director at Holmusk. “Through our work on MaST, we are delivering on Holmusk’s mission to leverage real-world data and have a true impact on clinical care—and it’s so exciting to see evidence of the positive impact MaST delivers while NHS mental health services are under such significant pressure.”