Cancer e-prescribing at BMI

A cancer electronic prescribing systemr is being rolled out to 30 private hospitals.

BMI Healthcare will install iQemo, supplied by Knowledge Medical Systems, at all 30 of its hospitals that offer chemotherapy by September 2016.

The company is in the middle of a pilot phase using iQemo at several of its sites and expects the full system to go live at four hospitals before Christmas.

Nichola Evans, group director of oncology for BMI Healthcare, told Digital Health News: “From our point of view working across pharmacy and IT e-prescribing is clearly the way forward in terms of ensuring reduction of risk and improving quality.”

Evans added that the decision for BMI Healthcare to move from a paper-based system of chemotherapy prescribing in oncology was influenced by researching the opinions of BMI Healthcare consultants and discovering that e-prescribing was one of the top ten most requested developments in oncology.

She said that the company considered introducing e-prescribing right across its services, but decided to focus on oncology as that is the area of e-prescribing that is “very much embedded across the whole healthcare sector”.

For Evans, one of the main positives of iQemo is that it is a browser-based service, which means it does not need to be installed onto a hospital’s computer system and can be accessed from any device.

 “It is very easy to access, it is intuitive – in terms of when you use it its’ very straightforward. I’m not hugely technically minded and I can use it. That usability is very important; when we are getting it into 30 sites,” she explained.

“The feedback has been excellent. The staff are all aware this is a positive way forward.”

The full iQemo service has already gone live at The BMI The Beardwood Hospital in Blackburn.

“That includes the whole e-prescribing, but also the pharmacy element and administration element. We have seen that work the whole way through. It is a complete system rather than just e-prescribing,” Evans said.

iQemo is able to integrate with BMI Healthcare’s patient administration system Oracle's PeopleSoft  and there are plans in place to integrate it with the pharmacy and pathology systems.

The deal adds to Knowledge Medical Systems’ existing partnership with private healthcare companies, which includes a ten year contract with Healthcare at Home to supply iQemo.

The company is also attempting to make an impression in the NHS and is currently working with Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.