It’s been more than six months since NHS England approved our plans to implement a new shared Electronic Patient Record (EPR), scheduled to go-live in 2026. Investing in digital technology enables us to bring patient information together in one place including notes and assessments, appointments, and prescribed medications.
The new Shared EPR will be used by Royal United Hospitals Bath, Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. It will ensure staff have access to health-related information when and where they need it and reduce variations in care across the region and providing better health outcomes for our populations.
We’ve taken great steps already by:
Where are we now?
The EPR programme plan has five stages to it: Plan, Align, Engage, Activate and Measure.
We’re currently in the Align stage, running from August – November 2024. This is where we verify current operational and clinical workflow practises within each of the three trusts and map these processes to develop the future approach.
Current State Review activities are now complete, and our supplier Oracle Health have been on site at all three hospitals, to familiarise themselves with our pathways, patient flows and understand how we work today.
What’s next?
Having one single and shared EPR will help us to reduce variability and standardise clinical care.
Between November 2024 to April 2025 is a pivotal point in the programme where 70% of decisions for the design and development of our new EPR will take place. It’s a significant part of the programme, which will inform future workflows and how we achieve better sharing of information about our patients and their needs.
We’ll continue to make use of the local expertise, which is crucial to delivering a system that works for us all. This is why we’ve recruited colleagues into a range of roles including workstream leads and working with subject matter experts from all three trusts to drive this transformation forward.
A series of workshops are being set up to collaborate on various workstreams from Patient Administration Systems (PAS) Outpatients and EPMA to Data Migration and Reporting. Please make every effort to attend these if invited.
Then, we’ll turn our attention to testing, integration, and training to ensure that the implementation of our new shared EPR is delivered efficiently, effectively, and safely.
Find out more about the EPR Programme, including a set of frequently asked questions on the intranet [LINK]
I’d like to thank everyone who has given up their time and shared their knowledge during this phase. It is invaluable to ensuring that the new approach works from the outset, and I appreciate everyone’s contributions to assist with this piece of work.
