West Yorkshire trusts share test results using Clinisys ICE OpenNet

Clinicians working in five of the six trusts in the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT) can now access test results from across their pathology network following the deployment of Clinisys’ ICE OpenNet.

Clinisys ICE OpenNet is a web-based order communications and results reporting system used in NHS hospitals and GP practices, which enables clinicians to see pathology results from across the network, with the aim of avoiding unnecessary repeat testing and supporting patient diagnosis and treatment decisions.

The software was rolled out during spring and summer 2024, across Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS FT, Harrogate and District NHS FT, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and Mid Yorkshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, with Airedale NHS FT expected to go live with the solution in winter 2024.

Janine Bontoft, laboratory information management system (LIMS) implementation manager at WYAAT, said: “The priority for any pathology network is to work as a network and to share information for the benefit of clinicians and patients.

“We have been rolling out a single LIMS from Clinisys, which supports standardised ways of working and information sharing for pathologists.

“However, the LIMS doesn’t share results with clinicians.

“ICE does that, and ICE OpenNet is a cost-effective way to make results available to more clinicians, so they can support patients across the network.

“Many technology projects struggle because they require a lot of change management.

“With ICE OpenNet, nothing changes. People press the same button, but instead of seeing results from just their trust, they see results from across the network.”

The WYAAT roll out of ICE OpenNet is one of the largest in the country, with each instance of ICE being connected to five others across six trusts that employ 50,000 staff and order over 50 million tests per year.

Simon Davies, project manager at Clinisys, said: “Many hospitals and GP surgeries would be unable to function without ICE, and ICE OpenNet means they can see more pathology and other test results in the same, familiar, view.

“That is a huge benefit to health services because, at the moment, results to support referrals from one site to another have to be sent by email or paper and may not be safe or efficient. Or patients may visit a different emergency department, where their tests have to be repeated.

“With an ICE OpenNet link in place, all their results are available, online, 24/7; wherever they were ordered or conducted”.

The pathology network is now looking at how it can share results with neighbouring primary and community organisations and with the local shared care record, which includes data from a wider range of trust, GP, and local authority systems.

Meanwhile, in February 2024, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust begun working with Clinisys’ WinPath LIMS, forming part of the larger project to deploy a single LIMS across the WYAAT.