Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust recently began recording and administrating medical information through the electronic prescribing and medicines administration (EPMA) system, MedChart, as part of their ongoing “strategic initiatives” to increase digital adoption.
The system has been piloted by the trust’s EPR team with support from colleagues on Ward 8 at Moseley Hall Hospital – a 28-bed inpatient ward that helps with the rehabilitation of stroke patients.
The team set out to introduce a new way of working, which has reportedly allowed them to “build a clearer picture of each patient’s medication, improve communication between nursing, medical and pharmacy staff and minimise manual, paper chart-based errors”, with plans to extend the use of the MedChart system across other wards within the trust.
Speaking on the new system, digital clinical information officer, Jesina Kirby said: “It’s great to see how Ward 8 has adopted this new change and really embraced using MedChart. The new EPMA system has improved patient safety, which was the ultimate goal.”
Electronic patient records: the wider trend
The encompass patient record system in Northern Ireland has gone live at the final two trusts – the Southern and Western Health and Social Care Trusts – providing a single digital care record for every citizen in receipt of health and social care. It also grants service users across the region the ability to access health information online via the My Care patient portal.
NHS England has shared a preliminary market consultation and request for information (RFI) from suppliers for a single patient record, aiming to gain innovative ideas from the market, consider all options available and approach the SPR in “the most effective way possible”. The core vision is to grant patients visibility and control of their data, enabling them to read, write and share joint care plans. It also allows them to offer corrections to data, manage sharing preferences and have access to an audit of who has viewed their record.
The Welsh government recently awarded £17 million to Betsi Cadwaladr and Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Boards following successful business cases for digitising mental health services patient record systems. The project aims to support continuity of care for patients, speed up referrals, allow more time to care and help “eliminate errors which can occur within paper recording systems”.
A recent feature by InterSystems explored the future direction of EPRs, looking at the benefits and challenges of adopting this technology as well as the transformative potential of emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning.
