eCARE is the Trust’s name for the electronic patient record system.
Cerner is the world’s largest publicly traded health information technology company providing leading-edge solutions and services for health care organisations worldwide.
We have already completed the first phase of the system build which included behind the scene code upgrade which will enable functionality of eCARE.
Phase B will be the main roll-out in May 2018. It will include clinical documentation, maternity, order comms, electronic prescribing medicines administration, PAS updates, ED, health information exchange and the emergency back-up system 7/24.
The final phase will go live in 2019 and will include theatres, paediatric care and DOCC.
Your ability to access the information in eCARE will result in safer and more efficient working practices and empower your staff to provide your patients with current and accurate information about their patient journey.
You will be able to see the hospital clinical record so will have access to patient management planning even if the clinic/discharge letter isn’t available
You can email the team at communications@mkuh.nhs.uk
The information will only be shared with the patient’s consent with the GPs and community care personnel who are involved in the care of the patient.
We have in place a robust business continuity plan which has recently been tested by cyber-attacks. Our IT team are regularly updating the systems and are continually working with NHS Digital to ensure that we consistently remain ahead.
The aim is to go live across the whole hospital over the weekend on 14 and 15 April 2018 for all areas included in Phase B as noted above. During the go-live period we will operate as we would as an internal major incident and additional support will be available so that we are able to continue to provide services as normal.
It is also worth noting that during the build, the system and the equipment purchased to operate it will have been thoroughly tested to ensure any issues are dealt with prior to the Trust go-live.
There are numerous benefits for patients and many of the benefits for patients will be similar to those named above. However, the main benefit that patients will see is that a single record will be created which will mean that they do not have to keep telling their story which will make their visit to the hospital smoother.
eCARE will deliver a number of benefits including:
Initially, there may be a change in the way you view discharge summaries – we are still reviewing this process and will contact you with more details in the coming days. This potential change will not be permanent and after the initial go-live period we will be working on the data-sharing element of the eCARE programme (known as Health Information Exchange or HIE) which will allow GPs much great access to their patients’ hospital record.
Once this work is done, GPs will have a read-only view in SystmOne of a core set of data recorded in the Trust’s eCARE system.
This will include: inpatient visits, outpatient appointments, discharge medications, discharge summaries, diagnoses, procedures, chronic conditions, allergies and radiology and pathology orders and results conducted at the Trust.
The HIE work has a dependency on the supplier of SystmOne (TPP) allowing access to interface directly. We will be looking for pilot sites to test HIE and will contact you after go-live to give you dates on when the pilot will take place.
We are currently working with our system partners to ensure that the new system will be compatible with theirs or at least be able to be connected. This work is ongoing.
We are also currently reviewing Maternity pathways in the community and working with Maternity leads to assess the feasibility of providing community midwives with mobile devices that allow them to work remotely at the point of contact with their clients
