Hertfordshire Partnership ups drive for interoperability across trust

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is embarking on an interoperability journey to deliver more coordinated care for patients.

Using technology from Enovacom, staff at the mental health trust were able to connect data from its Civica electronic patient record (EPR) for use in other systems.

It has allowed data held in one clinical or operational system to be used in others, saving time and making it easier to update referrals, assessments and case notes.

The trust used the same technology to automate its flu campaign, connecting appointment and email management systems. The trust was able to contact a list of active staff members to set up appointments to have a jab and sent email reminders to those who had not.

The trust has also been able to integrate telehealth equipment with the EPR. Readings that service users take at their own home, such as blood pressure, glucose levels, oxygen saturations, are automatically entered into their records in the EPR.

Avi Reddy, head of information, business intelligence and systems delivery at the trust, said: “Interoperability is a fundamental part of the digital transformation of the NHS as it looks to realise the clinical, safety and operational benefits of data-driven care.

“This work means trust staff have the tools and skills to master our data integration destiny.

“We are already seeing how quickly staff can use Enovacom technology to connect data and systems, which is helping share information to underpin the continuous improvement of the delivery of care. This will have a tremendous impact on our interoperability and integrated care ambitions.”

Hertfordshire Partnership, which serves more than 400,000 people, has been working with Encovcom since spring 2020.

The trust was recently announced as one of 25 trusts to receive £250,000 to help them become future Digital Aspirants.

Health secretary Matt Hancock exclusively revealed the second wave Digital Aspirant trusts at Digital Health Rewired on 18 March.

Seven trusts are set to receive up to £6 million over three years to deliver their digital ambitions and a further 25 will receive seed funding of £250,000 each to develop digital strategies.

Thee Digital Aspirant programme aims to accelerate procurement, deployment and uptake of the technology that is needed to underpin digital transformation.

Mark Smith, of Enovacom, added: “The work with Hertfordshire is a highly timely demonstration of how the power of interoperability can be harnessed directly by NHS staff, which is hugely useful as mental health trusts look to digitise in the most cost-effective way possible, in keeping with the vision for mental health in the NHS Long Term Plan.

“Mental health trusts might not feel they have the resources to help advance their digital ambitions in the way they would wish. With Enovacom, they are given the holistic interoperability toolkit that will help them make the most of the technology and data they possess, using the resources they already have.”