ISoft commits to Synergy in primary care

ISoft is to focus primary care development in the UK on its existing primary product Synergy, and to use a Lorenzo-based portal to enable information sharing.

The healthcare IT system supplier has launched a hosted version of Synergy, which is used by 80% of iSoft primary care customers in the UK, and said it is committed to primary care.

Last year Gary Cohen, former iSoft executive chairman and chief executive, announced that Lorenzo Primary Care would be available in the UK from quarter four 2010.

However, when asked about this launch this week, an iSoft spokesperson told EHI Primary Care: “ISoft remains committed to primary care and continues to intensify its focus through continued development of our Synergy solution, which has a strong clinical following, particularly in large practices.

“Going forward, our strategy is to utilise a Lorenzo-based portal solution to sit above primary care systems, including our own, to enable a composite view of the EHR.”

Isoft said its portal solution had been developed, but the company is adding functionality to enable it to be successful in upcoming procurements across northern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

ISoft launched its hosted solution for Synergy at last week’s iSoft User Group conference.

Adrian Stevens, managing director for iSoft’s UK, Ireland, Scandinavia and North Europe Region business, told the conference: “There is a perception in the market place that iSoft has lost its focus on primary care, which is not the case.

"ISoft is committed to primary care and has a roadmap for all of our primary care products.”

ISoft said its Synergy hosted solution offers practices a managed system together with the capability to maintain an autonomous clinical database, independent of every other practice within the same hosted environment.

The first GP practice to switch to hosted Synergy was the Bewdley Medical Practice in Worcestershire. Practice manager Richard Gunn said it had seen a number of immediate benefits.

He said: “Operating costs have been reduced in terms of utilities, consumables, support, and the space savings have been really beneficial for providing enhanced patient care.

"What is more, the transition took place transparently to the users, and yet we have retained the all-important ability to manage the presentation of information and report settings just as we always have done.”

Stevens said a hosted solution would benefit customers by saving time and money and would also support extended hours, as all maintenance and software upgrades would be done remotely.

ISoft has two other primary care systems in the UK; Ganymede, which is used in Wales, and Premiere, which is used by practices elsewhere in the UK.

ISoft told EHI Primary Care that its strategy is to migrate Premiere customers to Synergy, with practices able to choose between Synergy Version 1.9 and Premiere Version 3, which will enable a copy of the current Premiere environment to be viewed in Synergy.

ISoft said its Ganymede primary care solution was longstanding and proven to service the needs of its customers in Wale and would continue to be a system of choice in Wales well into the future.

A spokesperson added: “We will maintain the longevity of the application and continue to develop and support it to the satisfaction of our customers in Wales."

ISoft said it had enhanced its existing UK primary care engagement programme and had recently launched a number of customer engagement activities in England and Wales.

Adrian Stevens from iSoft will be speaking on ‘integrated care – the key to transforming the NHS’ in the ‘connect all’ stream at eHealth Insider Live 2010.

Online registration for the event, which will be held at the NEC in Birmingham from 8-9 November, is now open.