User views on EPRs to be revealed

The winners and losers from the ‘great big mental health system survey’ will be revealed at the fourth annual National Mental Health Informatics Network meeting at EHI Live 2013 in Birmingham.

This year’s congress, on 5 November, is titled ‘Mental health Informatics- Building the Future’ and will focus on developments in mental health informatics in a post-NPfIT world.

The results of the survey, which asked people to rate their electronic patient record systems, will also be revealed for the first time.

Chair of the BCS mental health specialist group Dr Joe McDonald said the survey attracted around 2,000 responses and has highlighted “clear winners and losers” when it comes to system usability.

“It will be interesting and we hope it will be the beginning of sharing more information about what works and what doesn’t, which is a basic function of the network,” he said.

Speakers include Beverley Bryant, the director of strategic systems and technology at NHS England, Mark Davies, clinical and public assurance director at the Health and Social Care Information Centre, and national clinical director for mental health Geraldine Strathdee.

“It’s the only time in the year when the mental health informatics community are all in one room and we invite very senior people, not so much for them to talk to us, but as an opportunity for us to be heard,” Dr McDonald said.

He said there is a lot going on in the area that needs to be discussed, including the move to ‘payment by results’ and what systems need to be in place to ensure activity is properly captured.

Experts will discuss changes to the data-sets providers have to collect and “how to measure the quality of what we do”, he added.

“That’s always a problem in mental health, so it’s about picking outcome measures, learning about what others are doing and comparing clinical systems.”

Dr McDonald said its three previous annual meetings have always been sell-outs and so urged people to book early.

Booking entitles members to attend the congress and the rest of EHI Live on 5-6 November at the NEC in Birmingham.

EHI Live 2013 is a two day conference and exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham on 5-6 November. This year, the conference is free for all visitors, and registration is open now.