NHS trusts in Teesside and Kent deploy smart IT

As the NHS in all four nations continues preparations to manage winter clinical pressures, two NHS trusts have accelerated deployment of modules of their smart Electronic Patient Record Systems (EPRs), aimed at further improving patient safety while streamlining hospital stays.

Both South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust are using Miya Precision, the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)-based EPR platform developed by Alcidion.

South Tees has now joined Dartford in going live with the Miya Observations and Assessments module, previously known as Patientrack, Alcidion’s electronic observations and assessments capabilities.

Dartford has also now gone live with Miya Flow, an intuitive journey board that provides clinical staff with access to real-time information on patient status.

This is far more than a traditional EPR and there is genuine excitement that we are going to leapfrog some of the technologies in other parts of the health service with what we have coming

Miya Observations includes an early warning system that shares critical information as soon as it is recorded, rather than simply passively capturing a patient’s vital signs on a paper-based bedside chart.

The resultant information allows clinical staff to more easily focus on those patients immediately in need, improving patient care. And this, in turn, contributes to a shorter length of hospital stay.

Andrew Adair, chief clinical information officer at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Miya Observations is just the first component of a clinically-responsive transformation programme that will digitise paper processes, join together systems across the trust, and provide the foundations for regional integration.

“This is far more than a traditional EPR and there is genuine excitement that we are going to leapfrog some of the technologies in other parts of the health service with what we have coming.”

Lindsay Garcia, chief nursing information officer and interim deputy chief nurse at South Tees Hospitals, added: “I am excited about introducing Miya Observations, which will work alongside other elements of Miya Precision to deliver dynamic feedback on a patients’ condition to the ward.

“As we go further in our plans around clinical decision support, our new technology will support our brilliant clinicians in making even more improvements for patients in incredibly-busy and complex environments.

This is ultimately about helping to make it easier to do the right thing for patients, at a time when nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals are working in extremely-challenging circumstances

“This is the start of transformational change that will have much-needed benefits for both patients and clinicians.”

Dartford and Gravesham is the first NHS organisation to choose Miya Precision in the UK and the first to roll out Miya Observations and Assessments with Miya Flow.

Miya Flow supports the care team in streamlining patient journeys and sharing information via digital patient ‘journey boards’ – displaying a consolidated view of patient information, key results, and tasks to support improved patient flow.

The solution was deployed to medical wards in September and rapidly extended to surgical wards in October, providing a whole-trust view of real-time patient clinical status, including estimated discharge dates.

Neil Perry, the trust’s chief information officer, said: “We are proceeding at pace and believe that Miya Precision is the fastest way for us to achieve a high level of digital maturity.

“It is also a way for us to move beyond the traditional EPR, to support our clinicians, and to make the care we deliver to patients more efficient and safer.

“The journey boards have enabled us to make sure that 100% of our patients have an estimated date of discharge recorded and that helps wards to make sure discharge dates are met, which, in turn, helps to address the huge pressure we are under.”

Over the next six months, Dartford is planning to deploy Alcidion’s clinical noting, discharge notes, e-prescribing, and clinical decision support.

It is also further rolling out its use of Miya Flow as a ‘command centre’ that will provide full visibility of the bed and patient status to help address winter pressures across the trust and the Integrated Health Partnership Board.

And the trust has agreed a contract with Alcidion to use Miya Precision to replace the legacy system that it uses to run its diabetes service.

NHS organisations have shown that technology can be a power for good in the NHS when it is designed to meet real clinical needs

This specialist application will expand the use of the platform from inpatients to include outpatient services, where it will also be integrated with the Dartford developing personal health record from Patients Know Best.

Lynette Ousby, managing director at Alcidion, said: “NHS organisations like our customers in South Tees and Dartford and Gravesham have shown that technology can be a power for good in the NHS when it is designed to meet real clinical needs.

“This is ultimately about helping to make it easier to do the right thing for patients, at a time when nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals are working in extremely-challenging circumstances.

“These examples clearly show how effective technology can help the service in meeting those needs, especially at critical times like the imminent winter pressures.”