Open source EPR gives Taunton options

Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust says IMS Maxims’ open source plans are giving it options it has never had before as it prepares to implement the company's electronic patient record system.

However, trust IT director Malcolm Senior has said the EPR’s open source benefits are being put to one side as the trust focuses on getting the first phase of the system live by May 2015.

Taunton chose IMS Maxims as its preferred bidder to provide its patient administration system as well as A&E, theatre and reporting modules in March.

The announcement came as IMS Maxims confirmed plans to become open source and release the source code for its EPR system on GitHub , meaning Taunton could become the first acute NHS trust to implement an open source EPR.

However, Senior said the trust chose IMS Maxims as a favourite before it announced its open source plans. It will have a “traditional” support contract with IMS Maxims, although it will not pay any software licence fee.

“We’re looking to get support from them because it’s their system, and you just have to make sure you keep risks to a bare minimum when you’re migrating, because you’ve got a hospital to run.”

Senior argued the software’s open source status will give the trust flexibility to look for other support providers once it is set up, rather than being locked-in to one supplier.

“This gives us options we’ve never had before: we will stick with [IMS Maxims], but if we develop our resources in-house, we could run ahead and then we will be able to look around elsewhere.”

Senior told attendees at an NHS England open source open day earlier this month that “phase one” of the project will involve launching the patient administration system, theatre and A&E modules by May 2015. After the go-live, the trust will look at how to make the most of open source, he said.

“We’re not going to get bogged down in open source stuff and think we’ve got to do it by next Tuesday, but there is a real desire to do this and share stuff that people will use, because we’re all part of this as British taxpayers.”

The trust will train its IT team so they can work with IMS and take over some of the system support work. Senior said the trust has finalised a project initiation document with IMS Maxims and is holding workshops with staff over the next two months to discuss the new system and any changes that need to be made.

The trust went out to tender for an electronic patient record system worth up to £35m in collaboration with the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust in March last year. However, Taunton had to move ahead with the contract award due to pressure to transition to a new system before its Cerner contract expires in October 2015.