Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) will implement new prescribing cloud software to enable clinicians to make the best prescribing decisions for patients.
Civica Prescribing, designed specifically for mental health and community care settings, includes robust safety measures to stop errors in medication dosing.
And it provides precise patient information, guidance, and support for clinicians to improve clinical safety and patient care.
HPFT provides health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental and physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk, and North Essex, employing around 3,000 staff delivering services in the community and inpatient settings.
Prescribing and medicines information at the trust is currently managed on paper.
But HPFT wanted to implement an ePMA system to use across all its services, integrating with its existing Electronic Patient Record and pharmacy system to achieve a closed loop across medicine prescribing, supply, and administration.
The new five-year contract supports the trust’s digital transformation programme to develop more patient-facing and self-management technology and improve data analytics and interoperability between systems.
Along with integrating with the pharmacy system, Prescribing will link with the NHS Electronic Prescription Service in future.
Hakan Akozek, chief information officer at the trust, said: “Our vision is to work together with our service users, their families, and carers to achieve the best-possible outcomes for everyone who needs our care.
Civica Prescribing will help our frontline staff operate more efficiently, reducing risk via safer prescribing and increasing safety for our service users.”
Steve Brain, executive director of health and care at Civica, added: “By joining up and digitalising health systems we can provide clinicians with more-timely access to accurate information, helping them make the most-informed decisions in the interests of their patients.
“We will support service change across HPFT to help improve health for all and provide patients with better access to their records and improved patient care.”
