CCG News, News, Secondary Care

Dorset Care Record adds Alerts and Encounters from Dorset County Hospital

Alerts and encounters from Dorset County Hospital (DCH) have this week been added to the Dorset Care Record (DCR). It will mean that additional data from DCH including inpatients, outpatients, Emergency Department encounters and alerts are now registered on the DCR.

Up to 5,000 messages a day will go through the DCH system on to the DCR enhancing coordination of care between DCH, GPs and social care. Bringing encounters and alerts into the DCR will benefit GPs, community health and social care professionals who will be able to see records updated in real time.

Mike Sinclair, DCH’s Chief Information Officer, said: ‘The Dorset Care Record was very well received by hospital clinicians when it went live.  Being able to see important information relating to the care and treatment people are receiving from their GP has proven really useful in order to support the Emergency Department in caring for people when they come into the hospital as an emergency.

‘We anticipated the wider health economy will also benefit from seeing alerts and encounter information from the hospital when this next phase goes live.

‘Knowing what treatment people have received in hospital, along with what special considerations might need to be taken into account for an individual, will help make sure that targeted and safer care is provided by different teams across the county.’ he added.

The release marks the latest phase of the DCR, following the sharing of demographic data from the county’s three acute hospitals, including name, date of birth, address, next of kin, NHS number and ethnicity, which took place at the end of February.

GP records covering diagnosis, events, examinations, investigations, medications and allergies, procedures and risks with consent from the individual are also live on the DCR system.