Electronic Health Record
Who are we?
We are a partnership, working together to deliver the very best in patient care across south east London.
Alongside Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, we will be delivering a truly transformative programme of work for our patients.
We are passionate about providing the best possible care and supporting all of our staff to work efficiently, so that they have more time to spend with our patients. This is why we’re embarking on a journey to transform the way we deliver patient care through the Apollo programme.
The programme will deliver an electronic health record (EHR) system as well as a number of supportive technologies, replacing paper documentation, joining up patient records and making these easily accessible for our clinicians at the point of care.
This is not just about new technology, but changing the way in which we work and care for our patients every day. We want to empower our patients by providing them with better information and to create a modern digital working experience for our workforce.
Apollo will be the most ambitious programme of clinical pathway transformation we have undertaken. Powered by Epic software, a new EHR will replace many of the systems we currently use with a single, integrated and comprehensive source of information. We are aiming for a target launch date of late 2023.
We are calling the implementation of our EHR programme Apollo for many reasons:
- Apollo reflects our ambition: the programme will include Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals – following their merger in February. It will include more specialist services than any other UK Epic implementation to date, as well as our community services.
- Apollo reflects the task at hand: Epic will transform the way that all our staff work. At the right time every one of us will have a role to play in successful implementation that will extend into all corners of the organisation.
- Apollo reflects the difference we’ll make: from going live in late 2023, Epic will transform the way that our services are delivered and how our patients engage with us and get involved in their healthcare. It will bring unique opportunities for research from basic science, through better data capture, to patient-driven service improvements and greater efficiency.
Staff will be able to access the information they need more efficiently so that they spend more time with our patients. This change will also help patients to play a more active role in their health as a partner in their own care. They will be able to securely access their patient record from the comfort of their home and staff will have access to patient records at the click of a button from any location.
The programme will not only deliver our new Epic EHR system but will help to improve and implement other new technologies. We will be investing in a significant upgrade to our core network, integrating medical devices, introducing speech recognition technologies and intuitive reporting solutions.
We are looking for people to join our patient panel and help us build our exciting new digital system. Find out how to become a patient influencer.
Frequently asked questions
How will a new EHR benefit our patients?
Joined up and integrated patient records will help our staff work with our patients to achieve better health outcomes and mitigates risks to patient safety.
We are operating in a growing digital world, and the portal will also allow patients to play a more active role in their health as a partner in their own care. Patients will be able to securely access their record from the comfort of their home and communicate with those providing their care.
How will a new EHR benefit our staff?
A new EHR system will improve the way we work, making us more efficient and able to spend more time with our patients. Staff will have access to patient records at the click of a button in any setting whether they are in a clinic, on a ward or at a patient’s home.
The EHR will consolidate a number of existing systems and in some cases integrate with others to reduce the number of log-ins. The system will also reduce the amount of information manually entered with streamlined data entry, medical device integration and voice technology.
We will not only have access to the information we need but will have powerful analytics and reporting tools to support management of services. This will support us in reducing our waiting times for diagnosis, treatment and discharge.
What is Epic?
Epic is a US-based provider of electronic health records and other healthcare applications. It is used in some of the best hospitals around the world, as well as in the UK. Epic has been implemented in Cambridge University Hospital Trust, University College London, Great Ormond Street and Royal Devon and Exeter. Other Trusts in the UK have also selected Epic and will be going live over the next couple of years. This includes Northern Ireland Health and Social Care, Manchester University Trust and Frimley Park Hospital Trust.
How do I find out more?
We will be updating this web page regularly and ahead of going live in late 2023 and we will make sure both patients and staff know what to expect.
How do I get in touch?
For general enquiries on the programme please email [email protected] or for recruitment please email [email protected].