Northumbria NHS Trust digitises 1m+ patient records

Overview

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which provides community care, mental health services and secondary care for around 500,000 people across Northumberland and North Tyneside, has accelerated its digital transformation journey. Supported by Mizaic and Cleardata, the Trust digitised millions of patient records, with all services live by July 2022 and all historic records scanned by October 2023.

The challenge

The project to digitise medical records at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was driven by three key factors. First, its digital strategy required modern systems to meet the needs of clinicians and improve patient care across four acute hospital sites, including NSECH, England’s first specialist emergency care hospital. The reliance on physical documents was inefficient, hindering timely access to patient records and integrated care. Collaborating with Cleardata, the Trust needed a solution to digitise and streamline access to millions of patient records. Our MediViewer EDMS aimed to enhance patient outcomes and operational efficiency by addressing these critical challenges.

The solution

As an early adopter, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust partnered with Mizaic for business change activities and received support for ongoing specialty changes. Before going live, we provided bespoke training to 73 medical records staff and 26 clinicians, showcasing MediViewer’s features for maximum user value. MediViewer was deployed in the Trust’s Microsoft Azure datacentre, aligning with its cloud-first initiative. Built for UK healthcare Trusts, MediViewer offers rich features and allows multiple authorised users to access and share vital information efficiently.

Since its initial implementation in paediatrics, MediViewer has proven to be a valuable tool for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. It supports the Trust in achieving its service modernisation goals and enhances the standard of patient care.

Trust benefits

● With MediViewer, health records and admin preparation time has been halved, saving three to four hours per day that was previously spent collecting and chasing up notes.

● This investment has saved space and eliminated the need for offsite storage and taxi transportation for case notes. Integration with Silverlink PAS and Nervecentre EPR provides clinicians with a seamless 'one-stop shop' for accessing MediViewer through their EPR.

● In addition to freeing up a significant amount of real estate for the Trust, the project has also brought employment opportunities to the local community, with Cleardata creating 70 new jobs in Northumberland.