Emis : TPP and EMIS announce direct data sharing

Thursday, 12 March 2015

The UK's two leading GP software suppliers, EMIS and TPP, have announced they are to enable direct interoperability between their core clinical systems.

The move will support NHS clinicians in delivering more integrated patient care across multiple settings.  It will particularly benefit out of hours care and facilitate new models of care provided by GP networks or multidisciplinary providers.

The providers' core clinical systems - SystmOne and EMIS Web - together hold the primary care medical records for the majority of the UK population.

They are also used more widely across a range of care services, including community and some hospital settings.

The new agreement between the companies will see the implementation of a phased programme of work, starting with pilot sites and then rolling out nationally. The primary focus will be to enable clinicians using one system to 'call' a patient's record directly from the other system - and to send data back into that system, to record the consultation or treatment given.

The EMIS-TPP Solution will be provided at no cost to customers and will be supported by existing robust and proven security models. The companies also hope to deliver functionality to support cross organisational working such as shared tasks and shared appointment booking.

In a joint statement Dr Shaun O'Hanlon, Chief Medical Officer at EMIS Group, and Dr John Parry, Clinical Director at TPP said: "This is a development which has improved patient care - not commercial benefit - at its heart.

"As leading suppliers of information technology to the NHS, we have a joint responsibility to support the best possible patient care.  By enabling the direct flow of information between our two systems, we will make it quicker and easier for clinicians to deliver integrated patient care across the country and in many different clinical settings.

"We believe this will make a significant contribution to the efficiency of the NHS, to the quality and safety of patient care, and to the daily working lives of thousands of GPs and other clinicians."

Geoff Schrecker, Chairman of the EMIS National User Group, said: "This is a very welcome development that will unlock the patient record for clinicians across the country, and allow innovation and collaborative working between health sectors. It's a fundamental step forward for joining up patient care."

Hazel Chappell, Chair of the SystmOne National User Group, said: "I was delighted to hear the news from TPP about this project. It's a fantastic development for the integration of care across all NHS organisations. In an era of new care models and collaborative working, it will be transformational for the way healthcare professionals share information about their patients."

EMIS Group media enquiries to: Ruth Devlin or Libby Howard

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