NHS Wales Informatics Service develops IT system for Covid-19 testing

An IT system for the testing of Covid-19 has been developed by NHS Wales Informatics Service and will be used in community test units across Wales.

It will mean the test results of patients who are tested for Covid-19 can be stored digitally on the Welsh Clinical Portal and added to a central database.

The system will help to speed up the requesting process in laboratories and will allow for a greater number of samples to be booked in and accurately labelled.

The digital record of every patient in Wales who is registered with a GP practice can be accessed on the system, so testing will not be restricted to an individual’s health board or local authority.

The system also allows clinicians and data analysts to differentiate which Covid-19 tests were requested in community settings and which have been carried out in hospitals for inpatients. This will provide a clearer picture of how the outbreak is being managed across Wales.

Test results will be accessible to healthcare professionals via the Welsh Clinical Portal and the WCP Mobile App, which means clinicians will be able to access their patients’ results while on-the-go or at the bedside.

Technology and IT systems have seen a surge in demand since the outbreak of coronavirus. The most notable increase in use was recorded for Microsoft Teams, the NHS App and NHS 111 online.