A NEW digital system to replace paper patient records is to switch on next month in a health trust area ahead of a future roll-out across the north.
The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust is launching the new 'encompass' system on Thursday, and has described its introduction as a "digital milestone" seven years in the making.
The system will provide immediate access to patient information and records, and patients will be able to interact with the system using a smartphone app.
Following its launch in the South Eastern Trust on November 9, it will be rolled out across other trust areas within the next 18-24 months.
Belfast Health Trust will be the next trust area to implement encompass.
Chief Executive of the South Eastern Trust, Roisin Coulter, said: “Our staff have been working tirelessly and training every day in order to implement encompass on November 9, when this digital innovation will go live.
“At a later stage of the roll-out, everyone across Northern Ireland will be able to install an app on their mobile device called ‘MyCare’ where they will be able to access their own patient records. This will be revolutionary.
“It will of course be a time of change and adjustment for our staff as they get used to the system, so we are asking the public to be patient during the first few weeks of going live.
“There will inevitably be disruption to services in the initial period but every effort will be made to keep this to a minimum. The long-term gains for service delivery are immense.”
Dan West, chief digital information officer at the Department of Health said: “encompass is an important part of the transformation of our Health and Care sector. It is more than just an IT system – it is a clinical and operational change that will help our most precious resources, our staff, to deliver the best services they can to people in Northern Ireland.
“It simplifies things, allows care workers to see the right information at the right time, eliminates heavy paper records, and reduces duplication of tests. It makes managing medicines easier for our pharmacists, and provides better quality data for improvement of our services in the future.”
