More than a computer system, eCARE has transformed the way everyone at Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) works, helping to: make sense of busy, complex health services; analysing information in clever ways and helping to manage many everyday tasks.
eCARE not only helps hospital staff to treat patients more effectively by giving them easier access to up-to-date information, it will also use this information to improve care, and give healthcare staff the tools needed to be safer and more efficient.
It would be easy to think of eCARE as simply a computer system that takes paper-based health records and stores them digitally. In reality, it will bring about a change in the way our staff work.
Computers are used to store all kinds of information about us, from our bank details to our online shopping and now the NHS is joining the information revolution, harnessing its power to help us deliver safer, more efficient services.
Health services care for many thousands of patients every day, with different and complex health conditions. Having up-to-date, accurate information, available to everyone, whenever they need it helps us to offer the best care we can and ensure that patients get the treatment they need.
eCARE will go beyond being a system for storing information.
When patient records are stored on paper, the information can only be understood and analysed by staff reading through all of it every time they see a patient. eCARE is capable of taking this information and applying the knowledge, intelligence and experience of a much wider network. This means the system is capable of suggesting plans of care, supporting clinical decision-making and acting as a double-check.
In addition to this, it can be a valuable tool in managing the wider healthcare system. eCARE can help to manage the flow of patients through our hospital, helping them respond to increases in demand by identifying where beds are available (or where they might be available tomorrow) and offering insights into how services are used and where they could be more efficient. By drawing on best practice from across the NHS and beyond, eCARE gives everyone working in local health services the tools they need to deliver safer, more efficient care.
The eCARE system chosen by us is called ‘Millenium’ and is supplied by US software supplier Cerner. This system is already used by thousands of healthcare organisations around the world.
For more information on what eCARE means for you as a member of staff click here.
To find out what eCARE will mean for stakeholders click here.
