EMIS to launch customisable homepage

GP computer supplier EMIS is planning to launch a personalised home page for patients from which they will be able to view their medical record, patient information, health news and any other internet content they want to add.

The start page, which is based on similar tools such as iGoogle, will offer patients the chance to view their medical record via EMIS Access, if there GP has signed up for patient record access, as well as content from the patient information site www.patient.co.uk, its patient experience forum and any other tools available on the web. The link to EMIS Access would enable to patient to book appointments or order repeat prescriptions online. It would also provide a secure way for patients to communicate with their doctors by email if practices opted to do so.

Sean Riddell, managing director of EMIS Healthcare, told EHI Primary Care that a name for the tool has not yet been decided but he hoped that it would be launched in January. Riddell said the page might be described a patient social networking site.

EMIS is working on technology which will enable patients to use their mobile phones to generate a unique and changing PIN number to access the transactional services such as medical record viewing and repeat prescription ordering.

He told the EMIS National User Group conference that the same information and services available in the electronic health record on EMISWeb could be made available to patients in a patient health record, tailored to patients’ needs. Patients would also be able to add additional elements to the page such as requesting news on particular conditions, getting weather alerts and adding tools such as the Framingham risk calculator.

Riddell added: “This mash-up of different data will start joining things together and the tying up of news, knowledge and other services is how I see it going.”