The shared care record-based Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System ( ICS) has been operational and aims to transform the region’s health and care systems.
Staff can access a patient’s record from their regular IT system, eliminating the need for an additional login, because the shared care record from Orion Health is integrated into the existing systems used by the different health and care providers.
The launch of the record is a significant step in the region’s effort to integrate health and social care, according to Tom Abell, CEO of NHS Mid and South Essex ICS.
” By providing our health and social care teams with quick access to vital patient information, we can improve patient safety, reduce duplication, and ensure more coordinated and tailored care”, he said.
The system “makes our services more effective today, and it also ensures we are better prepared to meet the changing and growing needs of our population.”
The shared care record platform is now used by the region’s serious, community and mental health services, as well as GP practices, to look up information such as medical conditions, allergies, referrals, discharge summaries and mental health summaries.
Social care services are not yet a part of the shared record, but they will be a part of the next stage of the program, which will bring in three local authorities ‘ adult social care services.
The ICS hopes that the care record will improve care for patients who have complex health conditions and frequently receive care from multiple organizations, which have n’t always been communicating well because patient information was previously kept in silos.
In the first week of it being life, roughly 1, 300 staff members accessed the record, supporting the care of more than 9, 000 patients. When the record is fully implemented, the ICS anticipates that it will save £1.7 million in annual efficiency and give staff more time to concentrate on patient care rather than operational tasks.
The roadmap for the roll-out has five to six phased go-lives, allowing for updates to be implemented slowly. Finally, the shared care record will include additional data sources, such as pathology and radiology results, as well as possibly onboarding more organisations involved in patient care in the region, such as deliberate, community and social enterprise organisations.  ,
The Mid and South Essex ICS covers a huge part of the county, and includes Essex County Council, Southend-on-Sea City Council, Thurrock Council, seven district councils, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, North East London NHS Foundation Trust, Provide, East of England Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, and 180 GP practices in the area. Additionally, it covers a number of community volunteer services and separate watchdog organizations.  ,
The ICS is also planning on rolling out a patient-held record system, as well as a data and analytics platform, as part of its modern strategy.
