SystmOne & EMIS Web direct interoperability pilot now live
From today (Tuesday 2 May 2017), patients in northwest London will be given the opportunity to benefit from a landmark achievement in interoperability between the UK’s two leading GP software suppliers, TPP and EMIS Health. Users of both systems have been clear on the benefits of this interoperability, which can now be delivered in line with the national strategy.
In a limited pilot project in Hillingdon northwest London, the Orchard Practice and the Hillingdon Diabetes Service today went live with a direct interoperability between EMIS Web and SystmOne. This enables GPs at the Orchard Practice using EMIS Web to securely view community nursing data from Hillingdon Diabetes Service who use TPP’s SystmOne. Clinical teams at the diabetes service will also be able to see their patients’ GP records from EMIS Web. At those organisations involved in the pilot, clinicians using each system will only be able to view records with a patient’s point of care consent.
Together SystmOne and EMIS Web host GP records for nearly nine out of ten patients in England, as well as data from community care and secondary care organisations.
This interoperability represents a fundamental step forwards for patients. This will particularly benefit patients who receive care from many different providers, especially for those with multiple long-term conditions. The visibility of information between the two clinical systems now means that healthcare professionals at each organisation are able to provide safer, better care as they are both able to access relevant information from their patients’ electronic health record. The project adopts a similar technological approach to NHS interoperability projects such as GP Connect, which both TPP and EMIS are currently engaged in with NHS Digital.
By enabling more informed decision making regarding patient care, the interoperability allows clinicians to provide more proactive care in the community that can prevent future admission to hospital. This can alleviate service pressures on the acute sector and allow Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to provide more efficient, cost-effective healthcare services.
Following the successful completion of the pilot, TPP and Emis Health will examine how a phased approach for a roll-out of the interoperability to interested organisations will be adopted.
Dr Mohamed Adem, senior lead GP at the Orchard Practice said: “This will benefit not only health professionals but our patients. We will now work collaboratively to ensure patients are getting better care, which will improve outcomes for them. Sharing information like this will also save time for GPs and nurses by avoiding duplication of information. I look forward to taking part in this pilot and the future roll out.”
Veronica Green, Diabetes Team Leader, Hillingdon Diabetes Service, said: “We’re very excited to see the benefits of this interoperability. It will help us to provide better care for our patients, and will greatly improve communication between the patients’ GPs and us which will improve care, save time and reduce the potential for errors.”
In a joint statement Dr John Parry, Clinical Director, TPP, and Shaun O’ Hanlon, Chief Medical Officer, EMIS Group said: “Having access to the full, detailed record of a patient is vital to providing the best possible care. This interoperability pilot is momentous. It means that even more patients across the country will benefit from clinicians securely accessing their shared record.
We are confident that organisations and patients involved in the pilot will see the benefits of this interoperability, and we’re looking forward to rolling this out further.”