Emis has eye on interoperable records

Emis Group says it is in a good position to capitalise on a push for fully interoperable electronic health records, as it prepares to release its financial results for 2014.

In a trading update for the year ending 31 December, the company reported its revenues grew by 30% in 2014 “including a double digit percentage organic increase”.

Chris Spencer, CEO of Emis, said NHS England’s Five Year Forward View strategy, which stated a commitment to fully interoperable electronic health records,  will play to the company’s strengths.

The update says the company’s market share in primary care is “broadly unchanged”, with Emis Web now live in over 4200 GP practices and the England roll-out programme almost complete.

Emis’s Welsh GP practices are scheduled to move to Emis Web by the end of 2015, while Northern Ireland practices will begin to upgrade for the first time towards the end of the year.

The company also maintained its market share in the community pharmacy sector, having launched a suite of integrated products to connect pharmacists, GPs and patients and with a next-generation pharmacy solution ready to be piloted later in 2015.

Emis reported growth in community, child and mental health, including new contract wins in Bristol, Glasgow and South Tyneside.

 It has also made new contract wins in secondary and specialist care, including Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s decision to implement an electronic prescribing solution from Ascribe, which is owned by the Emis Group.

“While the later than anticipated securing of certain contracts has delayed the recognition of some revenues into 2015, the strong order book and pipeline are encouraging for further progress in the coming year,” the update says.

It says its acquisitions of electronic messaging and order communications supplier Indigo 4 Systems and diabetic eye screening and ophthalmology imaging services provider Medical Imaging are both expected to improve the group’s earnings in 2015.

Spencer said the company “delivered strong growth and fresh prospects” in 2014, trading in line with expectations and winning significant new contracts.

“As custodians of well over 40 million such records, across every major area of healthcare, we remain uniquely placed to help provide faster, better and cheaper healthcare through connected software and services.”

Emis will report its final results for 2014 on March 19.