Document scan and store at NHS Lothian
A document scanning and storage solution, being implemented by NHS Lothian, is set to revolutionise the management of the clinical records of around 800,000 patients in the region, delivering enhanced security as well as significant time and cost saving efficiencies for the NHS Board. Glasgow-based Northgate Information Solutions, in partnership with e-Docs UK, has been working with NHS Lothian to address the escalating problem of document storage and protection, which historically has resulted in the creation of over 5m patient records (equating to over 32km of shelf space) stored by the Board.
As a result of its investment, Northgate and e-Docs UK have introduced the latest scanning and storage technology to digitally record the clinical records of all existing and new patients. As the average patient record comprises approximately 220 separate pieces of paper, the system ensures all data relating to an individual’s health is readily available via the new secure system, from x-ray reports and prescription records to GP referral letters and consultant discharge summaries.
In addition to providing a more immediate overview of an individual’s clinical history, the software application also indexes each document to improve speed of access for future referencing.
The solution, able to process around 30,000 documents per day across four hospital locations (Western General Hospital, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and St John's Hospital) electronically transfers all scanned information straight to the nationally developed data repository NHS Scotland’s centralised data storage facility - SCI-Store - offering further data protection benefits, and eliminating the risks and delays associated with the manual transfer of paper copies.
According to Martin Egan, NHS Lothian’s Director of eHealth, the investment will pay huge dividends: “This new technology will dramatically impact on our administrative processes. Cost savings and efficiencies will be delivered by significantly reducing time spent manually lodging and recording data. The enhanced data security and support services give us a level of protection which is critical to the running of our entire operation.”
James Turnbull, MD of Northgate’s Infrastructure Solutions division says: “Our successful partnership with e-Docs UK is helping to deliver tangible benefits for NHS Lothian.”
When the roll-out of the project across the four sites is complete, Ian Daniels, sales & marketing director of e-Docs UK believes the new patient record management system will offer great potential to the health sector in general. "Our eHealth business sector is rapidly growing and we believe this presents a great opportunity to assist other NHS Boards to address similar challenges.”
Source:http://www.northgate-is.com
Web:http://www.e-docsuk.co.uk/