07.10.15
Taunton and Somerset FT leads the way with open source EPR
Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has rolled out the first open source electronic patient record (EPR) in the UK.
The system – now live in A&E, theatres, outpatients and the hospital’s 30 wards – is pioneering changes in the NHS as trusts have always depended on proprietary software to record and manage patient information.
NHS England has previously recommended an open software approach due to its flexibility and the freedom it provides to organisations to purchase systems, share innovation, accelerate technology developments and nurture relationships between customers and suppliers.
Its head of programme commissioning, Richard Jefferson, said the deployment of the open source programme in an NHS hospital represents a “landmark moment” in the state services and “validates the idea that open source can play a significant role alongside proprietary offerings”.
He added: “The growing numbers of open source communities such as those within NHS England’s Code4health initiative are an exciting opportunity to deliver innovation, quality and value through collaboration and are putting clinicians at the heart of decisions.”
The FT has adopted software called openMAXIMS after its firm released the code for its open source EPR technology to the NHS just over a year ago.
Open source software has previously “been praised” for encouraging doctors and nurses to engage in the deployment of major IT systems , thus allowing IT teams and developers to work together to design and implement bespoke software that meets the clinical needs of each organisation.
Dr Chris Swinburn, clinical lead for the project at the trust, said: “Our clinicians have been involved right from the start, from influencing the procurement of the software right through to the design of the system to suit our clinical needs and processes.
“Following the go-live, we believe we have developed a robust EPR system that can be replicated in other hospitals. This can deliver wide-reaching benefits across the NHS.”
And Malcolm Senior, director of IT at the trust, said the open source option presents an “affordable, flexible system that will deliver the functionality we need”. He added that clinicians found it “intuitive to use and have taken to it very well”.
Senior wrote for NHE last year, explaining the changes in more detail.
Functionalities in the programme include the patient administration system that records demographic details, scheduling, and referral to treatment (RTT) status of the trust’s 500,000 yearly patient visits.
Theatre and anaesthetic departments will also be able to update record digitally instead of relying on paper-based processes – a recommendation previously outlined by health secretary Jeremy Hunt. The FT will also be able to move towards hospital-wide “paper-lite working” by developing apps for ward staff, clinical notes, e-prescribing and interoperability with other NHS IT systems countrywide.
Patient data across all departments were migrated from existing system into the new open source software within two days, preceded by an “extensive training programme” for 2,500 staff, including clinicians and administrative users.
In our September/October 2015 edition, NHE has an interview with Wye Valley NHS Trust, which recently became the second trust to pick an open-source EPR from IMS Maxims, and is working closely with Taunton & Somerset.
(Top image c. Nick Chipchase)