Wrightington moves ahead with Allscripts

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust is fine-tuning design plans for its Allscripts electronic patient record system, as it prepares for a “biggish bang” go-live in mid-2016.

The trust completed assessment work for its existing EPR last month, and has loaded the Allscripts system into a development environment as it begins configuration training.

Last September, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh told EHI News it had chosen Allscripts as its preferred supplier http://www.ehi.co.uk/news/EHI/9630/wrightington-picks-allscripts-epr  as part of a move away from a best of breed approach to a “more clinically complex” system.

Stephen Dobson, the trust’s IM&T director, told EHI News the trust completed its current state assessments in early January, assessing how clinicians are using the current EPR compared to the functionality that Allscripts can provide.

“We’ve been sitting down with as many clinical people in as many clinical areas as we can to collect information on what exactly they do in each area, and do that with the knowledge of what Allscripts is.”

Dobson said the information collected will also allow Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh to make changes to the EPR as it beds in, adjusting to meet user needs.

“It’s not just going to be ‘go live and we’re done’ – this will provide a platform where we’re forever making changes to the system.”

The trust has also run a number of engagement exercises to explain the purpose of the project and Allscripts’ capabilities, with “a bunch of people” applying to become involved due to their interest in the new EPR.

Dobson said the Allscripts EPR has been loaded into a development environment at the trust in the last fortnight, with configuration training for staff also starting around the same time.

This month, the trust will start working on its future state designs for the EPR based on the information it has collected from clinicians.

Dobson said the first phase of the go-live will take place by the second quarter of 2016, with the “biggish bang” including electronic prescribing, clinical documentation, order sets and patient flow.

The second phase of the go live will cover A&E and business intelligence, the third phase will include patient and clinical portals, and the fourth is yet to be finalised.

“I’m very excited about it: there’s been a lot of clinical engagement and everyone is welcoming it with open arms,” Dobson said.

He said the trust is undertaking a significant infrastructure refresh alongside the Allscripts implementation, including upgrades to the virtual desktop infrastructure and the wireless network as well as a roll-out of mobile devices for staff.

IT services company Trustmarque, which is the intermediary for the trust’s contract with Allscripts, will also provide project and programme Management services during the implementation, Dobson said.

“It gives us a double whammy, because we’re getting support from Allscripts, the trust itself and these guys – it’s good to have that independent experience there to help out.”