NHS bodies in north of Scotland to use portal for information on health and social care
Four health boards in the north of Scotland have commissioned a portal for sharing information on health and social care as part of the effort to fulfil the Scottish Government’s eHealth Strategy.
NHS Grampian, which will host the portal, has joined NHS Highland, NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland in a deal with Orion Health to provide the portal.
The first phase of the project will involve the development of a shared care record using the company’s Population Health platform to present a clinically relevant view of the patient’s record. It will present clinical data from the two patient management systems (PMS) currently used by the four boards, the region’s two Scottish Care Information stores, the picture archiving and communications systems (PACS) and the Emergency Care Summary data.
It will also allow users to access information contained in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Orion Health Clinical Portal. This is regarded as an essential project requirement as patients in the north of Scotland regularly receive treatment there.
The second phase, due to be completed by early 2019, will allow users to access information held within the region’s GP practice and social care systems. This will provide a first in giving the boards access to joined up health and social care information.
Regional effort
Iain Ross, head of eHealth NHS Highland, said: “The regional approach to data sharing that we are taking is driven by clinical priorities, and an understanding of the complexities of delivering joined up care in some of the remotest areas in Europe.
“Our patients flow across the region, but sometimes their data can be slow to follow them. By linking systems across primary, secondary and social care for the first time our clinicians will have the complete picture of a patient, ensuring they can make the most informed decisions. It’s about ensuring that the patient stays at the heart of everything that we do.”
The portal will use Orion Health’s integration engine Rhapsody and its Clinical Data Repository products to support the capture and presentation of data.
The new eHealth Strategy for 2018-2022 will be launched this spring, and has been redeveloped from the earlier strategy to recognise the evolution of integrated health and social care.
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