Colleagues across the Trust are using our new ePR. This may mean some tasks will take a little longer than usual. Please bear with us as we get used to our new system.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Our Cerner Millennim Electronic Patient Record is now LIVE!
Our new ePR went live Trust-wide in June 2023 and has transformed the way we work and provide patient care, with vast benefits for colleagues, patients and their families.
At ELHT the programme is known as ‘eLancs’ and it has been designed to improve patient care by replacing paper-based notes and records with a new suite of digital tools and technologies. The programme is patient focussed, clinically led and digitally enabled.
What does the ePR mean for the Trust and you, our patients?
This digital transformation marks a big change for the Trust, as it changes the way that we work and provides a smoother care journey for our patients.
Electronic Patient Records (ePR) provides clinicians with more information at their fingertips, meaning they can make better, more effective decisions.
The new system features decision support tools, meaning their decisions will be made based on the best available information. Plus, they can now take information from many sources.
The ePR provides a more efficient way of working for our colleagues.
It enhances communication across clinicians and teams, reduces duplication and reduces some of the data collection burdens from people by capturing some information automatically.
Paper records have been replaced by digital records and our new ways of working will take advantage of this digital approach.
Not only is our digital system more enviromentally-friendly, but it helps to make a number of administrative tasks easier to manage as information will flow around the Trust more easily, in comparision to paper-based health records.
In turn, this means the patient care journey is a smoother one. Patients won't have to repeat the same information multiple times or have to wait for their records to be transported around the Trust - it's all at the clinicians fingertips in a new, digital format.
Take a look at our brochure below for further information about our new ePR
Frequently asked questions
Click on the headings below to learn more about our new Cerner Millennium Electronic Patient Record (ePR):
Access to records will only be available to authorised staff and there is a strict governance policy around this. The information will be stored off site and the data will therefore be less vulnerable to cyber-attack or to outside agencies. All patient data will be stored in the UK.
Electronic patient records will start to be built as soon as the system is introduced. Over time paper records will gradually become less relevant and the need to access and store them will reduce. Paper records that need to be accessible on the new system can be scanned in and there is also functionality built in to create forms.
However, the ePR is not intended to be a direct replacement for all paper notes, as in many cases there is a better way of doing things electronically. This transformation project will impact on all members of the team and we’ll be looking at workflows of all specialities to design smooth processes.
Yes. We’re currently working with Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System and other regional providers in development of a solution that will feed into local trusts. It is important patients can move smoothly between services.
For example, if you are a patient at Royal Blackburn Hospital your records will be available at all sites.
The system is a hosted system running through East Lancashire Networks. Any community site that has access to East Lancashire’s network will, with the correct permissions and access be able to log into the system. EMIS will continue to be used in the community.
Enhanced resilience is already being built into our IT systems to ensure the infrastructure is ready and suitable for eLancs. Developments include quadrupling internet speeds across the Trust, introduction of 400 new wireless access points and the addition of new network technology that’s ten times faster.
If connection is ever lost temporarily, back up data would be immediately available to support our business continuity systems — and typical ‘up-time’ for the software is 98.98%. Any system updates needed will be managed and controlled.
Yes. There will be an interface built in to enable a live link between the ePR and the pharmacy system. A key member of the team is the Chief Pharmacy Information Officer who is leading on this part of the project.
We are now investigating whether this will be feasible by go-live. If the timescale to build and test an interface is not feasible, we will print medicines supply requests off from the ePR system and dispense from the information on the printout. This approach mirrors current working practices and will be used as an interim solution.
Doctors will have immediate access to detailed information about patients and will quickly be able form a more complete picture. The more information they have got, the better decisions they can make and they will be able to give the patient more relevant information about what's happening to them.
ELHT clinicians will have access to the GP summary record within the ePR record, supporting more effective continuity of care and coordination of joint care.
The ePR will mean hospital stays are safer for patients. The system will give prompts to doctors and nurses to make sure that patients get the right care at the right time.
The system will flag up things like allergies and past histories, so it will have a direct impact on patient safety.
One of the big benefits for us in East Lancashire, where we have lots of sites, is that doctors will be able to see what is happening to a patient, no matter what site they are on.
Patientrack is the digital tool to record patient observations. Rather than recording standard obs on paper charts, teams now record them on iPads using the Patientrack app. Early Warning Scores (EWS) are calculated automatically and alerts provide reminders when checks are due, to improve levels of care for patients and free up time for staff.
One of the biggest benefits is having more information about patients in one place. Less time spent searching for information means there is more time for patient care, resulting in faster decisions about appropriate treatment.