Electronic maternity data capture solution could save NHS £16m a year

Published: 16-Oct-2012

Anoto and the Perinatal Institute announce successful trial of E-Preginfo solution


Digital pen technology company, Anoto, has joined forces with the Perinatal Institute (PI) to devise a new electronic maternity data capture system that aims to revolutionise the collection of maternity information, particularly within community settings.

The new system, E-Preginfo, provides an end-to-end solution for complete data capture of PI pregnancy notes using digital pens.

The system electronically underpins PI’s nationally-used notes, which form a core maternity dataset for secondary analysis, and will be an essential component of the planning and delivery of maternity care, helping to improve safety and reduce inequalities as well as meet national data requirements.

It uses digital pens with digitalised pregnancy notes and a data collection system that can either be a stand-alone storage and reporting system or can be linked to the local trust’s maternity information system. It will be particularly beneficial for community midwives who traditionally collect the majority of data in hard copy, before that data is manually entered into a hospital’s electronic records system, which is expensive in terms of clinical time.

The solution has already been successfully trialled within six maternity units across the West Midlands and has received positive feedback from clinicians.

“E-Preginfo offers a quality assured, cost-effective solution that captures community data accurately and in real time while also improving clinician efficiency,” said Professor Jason Gardosi, director at the Perinatal Institute. “The solution will offer considerable savings – potentially £24 of clinical time per pregnancy, which with 680,000 births across the UK annually, amounts to a potential saving to the NHS of £16m per year.”

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