Known as EpicCare Link, the secure digital portal to CUH’s Epic electronic patient record system (EPR) is currently available at Granta Medical Practices in Cambridgeshire – a large practice group comprising of five GP surgeries.
At the touch of a button GPs, community nurses and administrative staff at the practices use this portal to securely view information in their patient’s hospital record to advance shared patient care in a timely and more effective way.
They are able to view latest information about shared patients – from conditions, tests and procedures to results, treatments, clinical letters and recommended follow-up care.
Dr Afzal Chaudhry, renal consultant and chief clinical information officer at CUH, said: “Having secure access to clinical information held within our electronic patient record is bringing huge benefits to our GP and community colleagues at Granta Medical Practice and to our shared patients.
“For example, if a patient visited our emergency department and then went to Granta the following day, their GP would know everything about the care they received and any follow-up care or treatment that is required.
“This real-time information sharing to benefit patients is the future of healthcare and we are proud to be at the forefront of digital advancements in the NHS.”
Dr James Morrow, the managing partner of Granta Medical Practices, welcomed EpicCare Link by saying: “Both Granta and CUH have invested in modern electronic health record systems. Being able to access patient records seamlessly and in real time for both hospital and community settings helps co-ordinate and improve the delivery of care. We very much welcome this active collaboration for the benefit of our shared patients.”
This is another technological breakthrough for CUH. Last year, the Trust launched its MyChart patient portal, which allows patients’ access to their health records in its Epic system.
In April 2018, CUH successfully linked its EPR with West Suffolk Hospital’s Cerner EPR, enabling real-time sharing of patient records between the hospitals to improve care and safety, and prevent unnecessary repeats of tests or procedures.
About Cambridge University Hospitals
Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) is one of the largest and best known hospitals in the country, delivering high-quality patient care through Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie Hospitals. CUH is a leading national centre for specialist treatment for rare or complex conditions and a university teaching hospital with a worldwide reputation. CUH is a key partner in Cambridge University Health Partners (CUHP), one of only six academic health science centres in the UK, and is at the heart of the development of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC), which brings together on one site world-class biomedical research, patient care and education. As part of the Campus development, Papworth Hospital is creating a bespoke, purpose-built hospital, and AstraZeneca is building a new global R&D centre and corporate headquarters. The Campus is one of the government’s 11 National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) comprehensive biomedical research centres.
About eHospital at Cambridge University Hospitals
In October 2014 the Trust implemented the Epic electronic patient record system across both its hospitals, as part of its award-winning eHospital digital transformation programme (Digital Trust of the Year 2017). The Epic system brings all clinical and administrative information relating to a patient in one place, recorded in real time, improving quality, reducing duplication and eliminating unnecessary delays to patient care. It is used in both inpatient and outpatient areas and spans all major clinical areas: A&E, wards, critical care, outpatient clinics, surgery, pharmacy, laboratory, and radiology services. Typically there is 3,200 concurrent clinical staff accessing the system at peak times.
CUH is the first NHS Trust to implement a digital programme of this kind or scale, and the only UK trust to achieve Stage 6 of the Healthcare Information Management Systems and Society’s (HIMSS) international Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) within a year of an electronic patient record system going live. In 2016 NHS England announced CUH as a Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) due to the success of its eHospital digital transformation. The vision of its GDE programme is to empower staff, connect patients and align services through five pillars: empowering staff to deliver safe and excellent patient care; connecting into the community; safeguarding electronic personal health information; developing digital maturity; and creating a sustainable platform for technology. www.cuh.nhs.uk/ehospital
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More about Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) visit: http://www.cuh.org.uk/