Clinical Information System to enhance patient care

MEDIA RELEASE: May 8, 2013

Clinical Information System to enhance patient care for Central Region DHBs

A partnership to deploy a single Clinical Information System (CIS) that will improve healthcare delivery across the Central Region’s six DHBs has been signed by Central Region Technical Advisory Services (TAS) Chairman Murray Georgel and Orion Health.

The innovative new system, consisting of Orion Health’s Hospital solution and clinical option suite, is an exciting addition to the region, which includes Hawke’s Bay, Wanganui, MidCentral, Wairarapa, Hutt Valley and Capital & Coast District Health Boards and will offer ‘clinicians a system they could only dream of four years ago’.

“This is part of a wider Central Region Information System (IS) Programme which will assist DHBs in improving patient care and reducing clinical risk, and underpins the Central Region’s Service Plan,” TAS Chairman Murray Georgel said, on behalf of the six DHBs.

Implementation of the CIS will occur in several phases over the next two years. This contract is the first step towards achieving the shared care vision of the New Zealand IT Health Board.

The CIS is an important development in the care of the region’s patients, said Dr Peter Hicks, Capital & Coast DHB Executive Director Corporate and Clinical Support. “There are many advantages the system can offer. The deployment of Orion Health Hospital will give us the opportunity to have a better picture of a patient’s hospital medical record and as more information becomes electronic there is an opportunity to be very innovative”. “Having a single hospital clinical record system in the region, will allow us to connect to a single primary care shared record system in the region and form a complete information package for our patients. The clinical and patient safety advantages are obvious,” Dr Hicks said.

For patients it also means that once the Central Region IS Programme is complete, clinicians in the Central Region will have access to patient information when the patient is away from their local DHB. “This is the first step towards completion of the Central Region IS Programme which addresses the constant frustration of patients arriving at hospital, outside their local DHB, and the hospital having no access to the patient information at their local hospital,” says Richard Makower, Emergency Department Physician in Hutt Valley DHB.

Orion Health CEO Ian McCrae believes its technology will help underpin transformational change in how healthcare is delivered in the region. “When we develop software our focus is on delivering a solution that provides better healthcare outcomes for the people of New Zealand and around the globe. The Central Region has an excellent vision and plan that will ultimately result in efficient and patient centric healthcare delivery for consumers of healthcare services across the region. We are excited to be partnering with TAS and the six District Health Boards to deliver this vision.”

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