20 January 2015
The next step in a major technology transformation project has been taken by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with the appointment of a key contractor to begin implementing a new Clinical Portal.
The news comes just a few weeks after the Trust also announced a new Electronic Patient Record would be introduced at the City’s adult hospitals and community services by the end of 2015.
HP Enterprise Services UK has been selected as the prime contractor in the development of the new Clinical Portal which is part of the £35m Transformation Through Technology project to revolutionise how patient care is delivered in the city’s adult hospitals and community services.
A clinical portal is a secure web-based system that provides a single, unified view of patient information. It brings together patient information and results from different departments and specialities and, ultimately, other NHS organisations, giving a total picture of a patient's care. It will provide the Trust’s staff and clinicians with fast, secure, real-time 24/7 access to health records whatever their location, improving clinical productivity and allowing them to spend more time with patients.
Dr David Throssell, Medical Director, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We need to have a complete picture of each patient when we are providing their care. This new portal will act as an umbrella across a number of our current computer systems, meaning hospital and community health staff will only have to log in once to view the different patient information systems, on one screen. It will enable a single, clinical view of every patient and will enable more joined up working between community, acute and primary care professionals. The more information we have, the better the quality of care and treatment we can offer. In short, the clinical portal will give us the ability to access key patient information, wherever we are and with one click of a button.
“Many of our staff work outside the hospital in the community or in patients’ homes and so having the right information available is also key. The clinical portal will enable this to happen and it will mean staff do not have to keep asking patients the same questions, because once the information has been inputted into one system it can be viewed via the clinical portal. Drug information, diagnosis results and other important information about the patient's history will be instantly available across different systems, through this new clinical portal. This will vastly improve the overall patient experience within the hospital and when visiting our satellite clinics.
“Finally, the clinical portal will give us the technology to talk to other NHS organisations, sharing information and getting expert advice. As the NHS advances, other hospitals which have the same technology will be able to join up with us. When a patient is admitted to another NHS organisation or when they are visited by their GP, we will soon be able to share vital information with their healthcare provider. This can only be a good thing for our patients.”
“Forward-looking healthcare providers like Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust know that integrating information around the patient journey and improving clinical productivity are key to improving patient care and reducing risks,” said Nigel Kirby-Green, vice-president, healthcare, HP Enterprise Services UK. “Working with Orion Health and Imprivata, HP will provide an up-to-date view of all clinical activity within the Trust while ensuring the security of patient-related data.”
“Our web-based Clinical Portal, Rhapsody Integration Engine and Healthcare Pathways will give the Trust cutting-edge systems to support the radical change in care that needs to be delivered over coming years,” said Colin Henderson, Managing Director, UK & Ireland, Orion Health. “Clinicians will have a fuller picture of patients’ medical history, and staff will be able to coordinate care more effectively. As a result, patients will benefit from quicker access to results and a smoother journey through the hospital and community services.”
Chris Shaw, General Manager of the Imprivata OneSign Products Group, added: “Imprivata’s solutions eliminate the need to manually enter and re-enter usernames and passwords, which increases productivity while meeting data security requirements.“
The new Clinical Portal is due to be ready to use in Autumn 2015.