NHS Scotland set out its eHealth Strategy 2008 - 2011 to replace the current GP System (GPASS) used by 683 practices across Scotland as part of a broader programme of support for improving eHealth in primary and community care. The market in Scotland has since opened up to competition with the objective to replace the existing system by March 2012.
Glasgow and Clyde is Scotland's largest health board with 269 GP practices, of which 243 currently use GPASS. Deployment of EMIS software will commence shortly at the Glasgow sites, with the full impact of the contract taking effect during 2011 onwards.
In January 2010, EMIS was selected by NHS National Services Scotland as one of only two companies to receive preferred bidder status and in the past few months the Company has undergone a robust tendering process with the health boards.
Prior to the formal notification of EMIS preferred bidder status, 51 GP practices within the Ayrshire and Arran Health Board had already chosen EMIS to replace its existing software. It is expected that other health boards will reach their decisions in the coming months.
Sean Riddell, Chief Executive of the Group, said: "This is excellent news for EMIS. As we outlined at the time of our IPO, Scotland represents a key growth market for the Company. As Scotland's largest health board, the Glasgow & Clyde contract makes up a significant proportion of that opportunity.
"We believe that EMIS' user-friendly format, advanced functionality and competitive pricing position us well for further growth in Scotland and we look forward to reporting additional successes in other parts of the country as the results of the tendering process are announced."
Anout EMIS Group
EMIS Group is the UK's leading supplier of software and related services to GP practices, with approximately 39 million patient records in the UK held on EMIS' software.
Established in 1987, EMIS' core activities include software licensing and support, hardware support and maintenance services, hardware sales, third party software sales and training services.
The Group's software includes all of the functionality specified in NHS accreditation standards for GPs, including holding the patient's cradle to grave electronic healthcare record, practice appointment booking systems and consultation and intelligent prescribing modules.
EMIS Web represents the next generation of clinical software systems and the Directors believe it has the potential to transform the delivery of healthcare by enabling GPs and other healthcare practitioners to connect with each other and securely share access to a patient's cradle to grave electronic health record.
For more information, visit www.emis-online.com.