The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust has signed a contract with Kainos, an IT consulting company, to deliver its document and record management using electronic documentation technology.
The contract with Kainos has been set-up to address the unmanageable quantity of paper based case notes that must be processed and stored. The Trust currently has more than half a million case notes both on and off-site and it operates across a 45-acre site. The retrieval and management of notes so that they are with the right clinician in the right department at the right time, has traditionally proved time consuming and complex.
As part of the contract Kainos will establish a high-end scanning operation on the Trust site. The scanning operation will be managed by Trust staff and will enable the scanning of case notes required for clinic appointments and also case notes for all new patients. The scanning operation has been developed to allow the bulk scanning of an initial high priority 40,000 existing patient case notes. Back scanning of existing case notes on the Trust premises removes any concerns around patient confidentiality, which could potentially arise with offsite scanning.
The Kainos contract will also aid the Ipswich NHS Trust in compliance with upcoming sector rules. Next year for example, electronic production and transmission of discharge summaries within 24 hours becomes mandatory and is a key target for all NHS Trusts from April 2010.
Neil Turnbull, Head of Programme Delivery, in the Information Management and Technology department of The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust commented: “At the time we were selecting a partner to implement our Electronic Document & Records Management (EDRM) system, Kainos demonstrated a deep understanding of EDRM technologies and processes and their experience in managing large-scale projects was evident to everyone who met them.” He continued, “They know EDRM technology, systems and services and we understand healthcare and patient care. Blending these skills and knowledge bases is making for a very successful outcome.”
