University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) has announced it is to implement the enterprise content management (ECM) system OnBase by Hyland, which has been enabled by NHS England’s decision to back the project through its Integrated Digital Care Technology Fund.
The ground breaking electronic health records system, due to be operational by the end of 2016, will provide information sharing for clinicians across UHS, Solent NHS Trust and Southern Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and significantly enhance continuity of care while reducing costs. A programme of scanning any remaining patient care paper documents is scheduled to be completed before the closure of the trust’s health records library in 2017.
OnBase, which was selected following an extensive review by doctors, nurses and midwives at UHS, will enable the trust to deliver paperless patient care by replacing paper forms with electronic forms, capturing externally generated paper as it enters the trust and digitise its existing paper records.
This is the final element of the trust’s electronic patient record strategy, which is set to provide immediate access to health records. The system will allow information to be shared between clinicians, using secure computers and tablets.
UHS provides services to some 1.9 million people living in Southampton and south Hampshire, as well as specialist services, such as neurosciences, cardiac services and children’s intensive care, to more than 3.7 million people across central southern England and the Channel Islands. The trust is also a major centre for teaching and research, in association with the University of Southampton and partners, which include the Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust.
Derek Waller, deputy medical director, chief clinical information officer of UHS, said: “This project is great news for patients and clinicians alike, as it will make healthcare safer and more efficient. Over the next three years, the system will revolutionise healthcare delivery and reduce the need for long-term storage of paper health records, saving UHS and our partners Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and Solent NHS Trust more than £1 million a year.”
OnBase is currently used by more than 1800 healthcare organisations, to manage unstructured clinical and business data. Its dedicated nurses, therapists, health information management and software specialists, supported by a series of healthcare advisory boards, have a long track record in working with providers of clinical applications, which has recently seen OnBase collaborating on the implementation of integrated systems for Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) and the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (LHCH).
Adrian Byrne, director of information management & technology of UHS, explained: “This will enable our teaching hospitals to remain exemplar sites for world-class healthcare, research and innovation. The move from paper medical records to electronic records also supports the government’s vision of a paperless NHS by 2020 and provides a firm footing for the future of healthcare in Southampton.”
Steve Rudland, customer advocacy & consulting lead – EMEA, of Hyland, creator of OnBase, concluded: “UHS has a clear vision for success. Taking control of their information enables the trust to improve processes, care and outcomes. We look forward to helping them to make this vision a reality.”
