Health and care providers across Kent and Medway, including 135 GP practices and Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust are benefiting from bi-directional sharing of data.
The healthcare providers are using the Medical Interoperability Gateway (MIG) platform from supplier Healthcare Gateway, to share aspects of the GP record for clinicians to view at the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT); a move that has enabled mental health teams to view the GP record alongside acute data.
The bi-directional flow of data via the MIG has also allowed mental health data from KMPT visible directly in primary care systems. In a typical month 70,000 successful MIG service patient record extracts are completed across Kent and Medway.
The company said the service supports healthcare teams in the region to make informed treatment decisions faster, improve patient safety and support better management of patients in crisis situations.
Dr Tim Chan, Whitstable Medical Practice, Kent said: “Access to this level of patient data is saving GPs across Kent an extraordinary amount of time, freeing up more hours to care for our patients, it’s invaluable. Accessing the MIG has become an integral part of our day-to-day work, from knowing if a patient has been discharged from mental health services to when their next appointment is, and the gaps are filled without the patient needing to remember the finer detail. I can now see what mental health teams are planning and clarify that plan with a patient.”
Dr Chan explained how in the past the lines of communication were paper based. He said, “I used to spend time dictating letters, now I have the information at my fingertips.”
“Patients’ under mental health care have complex medications that can change frequently I can now verify medications instantly and get the dose right. We can make informed decisions, faster and most importantly it’s clinically safer.”
The company works with 80 partners to mobilise multiple datasets including mental health patient data to provide health professionals, in any health and care setting access to crucial information. For example, the mental health dataset from Healthcare Gateway provides a real-time view from Servelec’s RiO system and is designed to provide clinicians with a more comprehensive view of a patient’s medical history.
Liam King, Director of commercial and customer experience, Healthcare Gateway, added: “MIG technology is scalable, flexible and secure. This means by collaborating with our trusted partners we can deliver more health and social care datasets which bring real value to a clinician, improving patient outcomes. Sharing data out of GP and returning data back to GP dissolves the silos across health and care, connecting health and care where and when it is needed.”
The technology has now supported 30 million patient records to be shared.
