As part of the OneLondon Local Health and Care Record Exemplar (LHCRE) programme, the MIG from Healthcare Gateway, has been expanded to support healthcare teams access information on vulnerable patients with COVID-19 symptoms.
Urgent care staff across London can now access around 8 million GP records, following an initiative to expand the use of the solution covering 18 CCGs to the majority of London GPs.
Stephen East, chief technology / delivery architect, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said: “When COVID-19 hit us, NHS 111 and other urgent care staff were inundated with patients who needed the right advice on where to go for care and what they should do if they had COVID-19 symptoms. They urgently needed access to crucial medical information in patients’ GP records.”
The project also means hospitals using Cerner Millennium can access a detailed summary from the GP record.
John O’Donohue, a consultant gastroenterologist and chief clinical information officer, Lewisham and Greenwich Trust said: “The MIG has revolutionised the way we do things. Patients often travel across London to see specialists, and being able to see the GP record, particularly medication, is so important if we are to give the best care.”
“The key to the success of the MIG is having the GP data integrated into a contextual view of the patient. We don’t need a separate login and it is giving back junior doctors up to 30 minutes a day, as they don’t have to chase faxes or ring colleagues to get information. There are fewer delays and interruptions to clinics. GPs are also able to view our data, enabling continuity of care when patients go back home.”
Steve Chaney, lead nurse in clinical informatics for Lewisham summarised: “The MIG has really come into its own during the coronavirus outbreak. A lot of things wouldn’t have worked so well without it and everyone is now waking up to how important it is. For example, when admitting patients, nurses are using the MIG to confirm what patients report about their medical history. Some of these patients have cognitive issues but are unaccompanied due to COVID-19.”
“Colleagues doing pre-assessment for surgery are able to view each patient’s medical history before they arrive, so they can approach them with confidence and knowledge. It’s a brilliant way to get a 100% accurate overall clinical picture of the patient.”
“When everything was on paper you would struggle to get a picture of what had gone on with a patient at another trust. Some of the notes weren’t complete or there were letters to GPs missing.”
