Seventy practices - just under half of all EMIS practices in Wales – are now linked to the Individual Health Record (IHR). This will enable emergency and out-of-hours clinicians to securely access key information from patients' GP-held medical records.

In a separate initiative, the first EMIS practices in Wales have now gone live with the My Health Online (MHO) service. This is a secure online portal that enables patients to contact their GP practice about non-urgent matters, for example viewing test results and requesting repeat prescriptions.

EMIS has successfully introduced the service to a handful of practices as part of a pilot phase, before rolling it out more widely. The company is one of four GP system suppliers working with NHS Wales.

Barry Davies, practice manager at the Wellspring Medical Centre in Gwent, one of the live practices with MHO said: "The online access is popular with patients across the spectrum, from people with mobility problems who struggle to get to the surgery to professional people with really busy jobs. We have a patient who works in London during the week and is able to use the system to order repeat medications. They have the prescription sent to a local pharmacy for dispensing and picking up when they come home at weekends."

In future, the practice plans to extend online access to allow patients to email their GP and view notes from recent consultations.

Sean Riddell, Chief Executive of EMIS Group plc, said: "We are delighted to support NHS Wales in its plans to streamline and modernize healthcare services.

"Both the IHR and MHO projects are excellent examples of how collaboration between different suppliers - and a commitment to interoperability between their systems - can improve services for patients and clinicians alike."

Related news articles:

• EMIS' Profile

About EMIS
Established in 1987, EMIS* is the UK's leading supplier of software and related services to GP practices. As at 18 March 2011, 53.8% of GP practices in the UK use an EMIS system.

As at 31 December 2010, EMIS Web had been successfully deployed at 44 GP practices, a further 1,665 practices had ordered the familiarisation service, allowing them to run EMIS Web alongside their existing system before upgrading, and 433 GP practices had ordered the system itself.

* EMIS is a registered trademark of Egton Medical Information Systems Limited. Registered in England. No 2117205. Registered Office: Fulford Grange, Micklefield Lane, Rawdon, Leeds LS19 6BA