Benenden to deploy Oasis EPR

26 Jun 2008

Private healthcare group, the Benenden Hospital Trust has signed a five year contract with Oasis Medical Solutions, to implement the Oasis patient administration system.

Benenden, whose main hospital is in Cranbrook, Kent, has been using a legacy PAS for the last ten years, but, due to an increase in NHS business as part of the Choose and Book initiative, needed a system that could integrate directly.

Jane Abbot, clinical services director at Benenden, said: “Over 97% of our patients rate the quality of care and treatment they received from us as excellent or very good. We need the best information system available, to help us sustain the high standards we set ourselves.

“Two considerations were very important to us; our system needs to have the right communications in place with national initiatives like Choose and Book and it must be compatible with the wider IT strategy of Benenden Healthcare Society.”

The group formed a selection board for its new system, involving a variety of staff including clinicians, and eventually chose the Oasis system from Oasis Medical Solutions, formerly Capula Healthcare.

Oasis has been developed as an electronic patient record system with modules for all acute healthcare settings. It includes basic administration, as well as order communications and reporting modules, theatres, radiology and sexual health. Benenden will also use its Choose and Book module.

“Our final decision was based on the quality and scope of the Oasis product and the commitment of Oasis Medical Solutions at every level in the company,” Abbot added.

Once fully deployed, Oasis will be operational in all areas of the hospital and is intended to go live in February 2009.

An Oasis Medical Solutions spokesperson told E-Health Insider: “Oasis will offer Benenden a more efficient, effective, streamlined system across the whole hospital providing seamless integration between departments. Planning is currently under way for this large deployment, which will all go-live at the same time.”

The hospital will also use the Oasis Access component of the system, which is designed to facilitate an interactive approach to the collection of data via direct engagement of patients.

Self-service kiosks will be installed so that patients can check-in, complete self registration, provide additional information before their appointment or take part in questionnaires and surveys.

Richard Moxon, sales director at Oasis Medical Solutions, said: “This is a very important contract for our company. Benenden Hospital Trust is an independent organisation with the freedom to choose a system from any supplier in the market. They have demonstrated their confidence in us and, through the quality of our products and our commitment and experience, we will show that their confidence is justified.

“In May 2008 Oasis Medical Solutions was awarded framework contracts in 12 categories by NHS Connecting for Health in the supply of IT services to the NHS. Our role is to design and deploy systems which provide our customers with the information and streamlined processes they need and to enable them to work with new national healthcare initiatives.”

Link

Oasis Medical Solutions

Joe Fernandez

Reader's Comments

Interesting....

26 Jun 08 11:58

where Trusts have choice, they don't choose the CRS - I wonder why ?

Re: Interesting

26 Jun 08 12:49

This might sound like a metaphysical question but how will we know when CRS exists?

And until it exists why should anyone choose it?

EPR vs PAS

26 Jun 08 13:59

We really need to understand what we're talking about here. Is it a PAS (as described as being implemented in the first paragraph) or is it an EPR (as described in the title and which Oasis describe as being available)? It is absolutely critical that there is no confusion between these two fuctions. I'm afraid Oasis have just added to it.

Google/health

26 Jun 08 22:30

If I were a USA citizen I would hold and build my own healthcare EPR on google/health or the like - doctors value crucial information like who I am, my confirmed medical diagnoses, current medications, allergies, immunisations and most recent health documents like clinic letters and discharge summaries. I can decide what goes on, I can decide who sees it. The record is not locked away so that I cannot see it, but any NHS employee can. This is "patient power".

Maybe in the philosophy of computing an EPR and a PAS are incompatible?

Maybe IT experts have never thought a philosophical thought at work?

(I accept Google may make zillions out of selling cumulative health data, but doesn't the same go on in the NHS GP land anyway)

Post edited by EHI

PAS/ EPR /HISS /Care record- terminology unimportant

26 Jun 08 23:23

We put in an EPR in 2000. It sits on top of the PAS, and provides the views used by clinicians whereas the PAS is generally used by admin staff. Which is how I'd differentiate them.

But clearly the EPR in this article is linking to Choose and Book, and running outpatients, with a self check-in facility akin to some GP systems. These are PAS functions.

The issue that has tripped up the Care Records is the sort of reporting demanded of NHS organisations by the DoH. As it is running in a private hospital group, presumably they are somewhat immune from these requirements, which also suggests that Oasis is not getting tested there in a way which proves anything on reporting for NHS organisations.

And the article says nothing of what one might consider the more advanced EPR functions - clinical noting, electronic prescribing or decision support.

What is in a name ? Depends on which decade, and which supplier, and which strategy, but do please look below the hood !

No problem !

30 Jun 08 17:33

From my experience, users of Oasis have no problem doing NHS reporting.