Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust has chosen Epic as its preferred supplier for an electronic patient record system. The implementation of the new EPR is still pending approval of a full business case by NHS England and finalization of contracts. The value of the procurement has not been revealed.
The new EPR, to be introduced over the next two years, will replace up to 25 major systems, including many paper-based ones. This move aligns with the trust’s goal of securely and efficiently sharing information across NHS organizations, as well as with primary care and mental health services.
The trust’s deputy chief executive and director of transformation and partnerships, Adel Jones, emphasized the strategic importance of the new EPR, stating that it will help improve information sharing and support their trust strategy.
The CCIO, Dr. Michael Green, expressed excitement about the opportunities the EPR will bring and the potential for the trust to become a truly digital organization by leveraging new technologies.
Additionally, the Chief Nurse Informatics, Chrissy Dixon, highlighted the EPR’s potential to facilitate information sharing across various services and sites, allowing patients to track their healthcare information digitally.
Epic executive Leslie Selby also noted the benefits of the new EPR, including a single joined-up record of care, convenient mobile access for patients and clinicians, and secure data exchange with other organizations and services across the region.
Despite these advancements, the trust has faced IT infrastructure challenges, as identified in the latest Care Quality Commission report, which cited outdated infrastructure as a barrier to information sharing. The trust had to declare a critical incident after a major IT failure in 2019.
Epic is already in use at neighboring Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, as well as several other English NHS trusts, signaling confidence in the system’s capabilities.
