iSOFT, a CSC company, has completed an initial implementation of its e-prescribing and medicines administration solution (ePMA) at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, under moves to transform patient safety, clinical outcomes and operational performance.
The project was completed in five months, with the first phase focusing on the bone and marrow transplant unit, oncology and haematology wards, ahead of a roll-out across all wards and departments at the trust's three main hospitals.
The project follows an agreement in June that included iSOFT's ePMA and i.Pharmacy products. This gives Leicester a complete prescribing and medicines management solution to improve dispensing, stock control and further promote medicines good practice across the trust.
"With new and complex medicines being introduced almost on a daily basis, the risk of adverse interactions and clinical errors has increased exponentially," said Beverly Collett, the trust's associate medical director. "Given the sheer volume and complexity of drug information, it is impossible for prescribers to recall all of the potential interactions and their clinical significance. iSOFT's ePMA will support our clinical teams by improving communication and clarity of information, while reducing process complexities that can introduce clinical risk."
The trust is a long standing customer and uses a host of iSOFT patient, clinical and departmental solutions. "This is a clear sign that University Hospitals of Leicester continues to derive genuine value from its partnership with iSOFT," said Adrian Stevens, managing director of iSOFT's UK and Ireland business. "These latest innovations will allow it to build on systems that are familiar and trusted to further improve efficiency and deliver tangible benefits to patients."
iSOFT ePMA provides new opportunities to improve the communication of medicines related information between medical, nursing and clinical pharmacy teams. Advanced drug formulary management, underpinned by clinical and workflow based decision support, provides a highly effective environment to help improve a hospital's performance in relation to medicines. In-built reporting and data analysis tools provide executive and management visibility of performance to help proactively address areas of concern or promote good practice.
Proven at large acute and specialist hospitals in Australia and New Zealand, iSOFT ePMA is shown to halve adverse medication errors that can prolong a patient's stay by up to four days, and so block hospital beds and increase costs.
Related news articles:
- iSOFT's Profile
About CSC
CSC is a global leader in providing technology-enabled business solutions and services. Headquartered in Falls Church, Va., CSC has approximately 97,000 employees and reported revenue of $16.2 billion for the 12 months ended September 30, 2011.