Mental health provider, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, will develop the potential of its new electronic prescribing technology and widen staff access to critical healthcare data through work with global interoperability leader, Enovacom.
The partnership will see Enovacom’s Integration Engine securely connecting the trust’s new Civica electronic prescribing management administration (ePMA) system with its Advanced Carenotes electronic patient record.
This will ensure the trust can share data between the systems.
As a result, the trust will be able to fully implement the prescribing system in time for the 2022 deadline set as part of its membership of the NHS Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) scheme.
Enovacom will also provide a knowledge transfer programme and ad hoc consultancy to help the trust become autonomous users of the flexible interoperability middleware.
Sussex Partnership Trust - a Fast Follower on the GDE programme with fellow Enovacom customer Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust - is actively building on the increased use of digital technology seen during the pandemic.
Gurprit Pannu, chief digital information officer, said: “Interoperability is a key priority for the trust as we look to pursue a digitisation strategy that aims to improve care, treatment and efficiency.
“Greater data sharing will enable us to share records securely with other partners, and provide tools that support a more flexible workforce.”
The trust provides mental health and learning disability services for people living in South East England and it rapidly grew its use of virtual consultations during the pandemic, and is now looking to create infrastructure to enable more of its staff to work flexibly.
Innovations include a staff app, increased use of virtual private networks, and a digital recovery college.
Enovacom’s Mark Smith, UK business development director, said: “By working with Sussex, Oxford and Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, we are seeing the importance of interoperability in helping the NHS aims to deliver ‘What Good Looks Like’ for health IT.
“These more-mature digital mental health trusts, through their active engagement with the GDE Programme, are part of a growing community of Enovacom users who leverage our interoperability systems and expertise to help deliver more-integrated, person-centred care.”