Digital Health’s monthly roundup of contracts and go lives

Digital Health’s monthly roundup of contracts and go lives features a patient engagement platform go live at North Tees NHS Foundation Trust, the biggest ever single go-live of Epic’s EPR worldwide at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and the signing of a contract between Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and Patients Know Best. 

Cheshire and Merseyside ICS sign region-wide AI deal

Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System (ICS) has signed an agreement with C2-Ai, a tech provider, to expand its AI-backed decision support model used to help find, prioritise and support the highest risk patients on waiting lists.

C2-Ai’s technology is helping to improve patient outcomes, reduce admissions to A&E, and cut the length of the average hospital stay.

The tool will now be used across all nine acute trusts in the region, including Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; East Cheshire NHS Trust; Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

MyHealthCall PEP goes live at North Tees

Patients at North Tees NHS Foundation Trust can now digitally manage their hospital appointments through the NHS App, thanks to a new patient engagement platform (PEP).

The Health Call PEP allows patients at the trust to book, cancel and amend appointments, as well as view useful information ahead of upcoming appointments. In addition, they will receive email and SMS notification reminders, helping to reduce the number of did not attends (DNAs).

Kath Tarn, head of outpatients and place-based care at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust, said: “The new function on the NHS app makes managing your appointments much easier but we appreciate some people will prefer the traditional paper-based appointment system.

“Patients will be offered the chance to make, rearrange and cancel their appointments with the app. It’ll provide reminders of your appointment and alert you if anything changes.”

Joint Epic EPR go-live for Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College

A new electronic patient record (EPR) powered by Epic officially launched this month at both Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

The joint go-live of the new system is the biggest ever single go-live of Epic’s EPR worldwide. It integrates hundreds of IT systems into a single electronic solution, ensuring staff have a complete overview of a person’s care.

At the same time a partnership venture between the two trusts and SYNLAB called Synnovis has gone live with a new Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) which is also powered by Epic.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells set to deploy Patients Know Best

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with Patients Know Best (PKB) for its personal health record solution.

The deal means Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells became the third acute trust in the Kent and Medway ICS to contract with PKB. Patients within the trust will have a single place to access their health information.

A portal, set to go live at the end of October, will allow patients to use PKB to request to book, reschedule or cancel appointments. The portal can be used via PKB’s web browser or the NHS App.

Additionally, patients will gain access to tools which will help them make informed decisions and have more control over their healthcare.

Digital experience management solution set to save £3m at Princess Alexandra

The implementation of a digital experience management solution from Riverbed to Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust is estimated to save the trust up to £3m in IT costs over five years.

The Alluvio Aternity solution from Riverbed was deployed at the trust’s three hospitals: Princess Alexandra, Herts and Essex Hospital and St Margaret’s Hospital. It works by proving real-time application and device analytics and automated remediation to help cut IT costs and improve productivity.

A year on from deployment, Princess Alexandra reports it has gained almost 700 hours quarterly in productivity, the equivalent of an extra 28 days for patient care. It has also streamlined IT service desk tickets, resulting in improved user experience.

Liverpool Women’s goes live with Magentus eConsent

eConsent software has gone live at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, allowing staff and patients to access improved decision-making and consent confirmation for a range of medical treatments.

The Magentus solution is a cloud-hosted solution which ensures patients have been fully informed and consented to more than 100 planned procedures at the hospital. Patients can receive all the information they need ahead of a procedure, so they can understand the risks and benefits before making a decision to proceed.

The digital solution frees up staff to focus on the patient rather than form filling.

Richard Glynn-Jones, Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust programme manager, said: “eConsent is improving patient experiences, saving consultant time and standardising the information delivered during the consent to treatment process.

“The digital service supports shared decision making by clinicians and compliance with General Medical Council guidelines requiring doctors to ensure patients are aware of all risks.

“Patients can now review their digital consent form and information leaflets in their own time, signing it at home or by attending a scheduled virtual clinic with their clinician.”