The parent company to Patientrack - which provides technology to NHS hospitals to alert staff when patients are at risk of harm - has entered into a reseller agreement withhealthcare software provider Better by Marand tohelp hospitals tackle medication errors.
The news follows a renewed focus on prescribing in the NHS, with the subject featuring strongly in the recently published NHS Long Term Plan, and in a review into over-prescribing that was launched by health and social care secretary Matt Hancock in late 2018. The Long Term Plan has also promised the publication of a new patient safety strategy in the NHS.
Alcidion will resell the OPENeP electronic prescribing and medicines administrationsystem, alongside its next generation patient safety platform, to hospitals in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Unsafe medication practices and medication errors continue to be the leading cause of injury and avoidable harm in healthcare systems around the world. In the UK, one paper that examined medication related incidents identified 6.5 actual and 5.5 potential adverse drug events per 100 admissions, a significant number of which werepreventable.
OPENeP, which has been chosen by Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, an NHS Global Digital Exemplar, and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust,will now be made available to Alcidion customers that wish to procure the technology as part of their digitisation and patient safety ambitions.
Donald Kennedy, general manager for Alcidion in the UK, said: "This partnership will undoubtedly interest many of the NHS hospitals we work with to enhance patient safety and the working lives of healthcare professionals. This is an important step in our expanding offering to hospitals that are determined to use digital technology to make it easier for staff to deliver safer and better care for patients. We continue to listen to and respond quickly to the needs of the NHS."
OPENeP is a closed loop electronic medication management system that enables proper adherence to medication administration such as delivering the right dosage to the right patient at the right time and provides clinical decision support for complex prescribing scenarios including order sets, IVs, titration and anti-microbial stewardship.
One of the significant benefits of OPENeP for hospitals is that doctors, nurses and pharmacists will no longer rely on paper records or writing prescriptions by hand, with all medication management information stored and readily available via computer devices. Clinical staff can also receive proactive alerts when entering orders that could cause patient harm, like interaction with an existing medication or the wrong dose.
Kate Quirke, managing director at Alcidion, said that OPENeP will extend its solution portfolio to address this key clinical activity and to complement its existing workflows.
"Medications data is a critical element of the information required to improve patient safety and healthcare delivery. By adding this to our existing capabilities, we can offer our customers the opportunity to implement a modern medication management solution alongside our Miya Precision platform," she said.
"When combined with our electronic observations and clinical documentation solution, Patientrack, and Smartpage, for clinical communication, our customers will have access to a modern, mobile, EMR platform with enhanced decision support capabilities."
Roko Malkoč, OPENeP product manager, observed: "Patients should be the focus, and it is in their interest to always get accurate treatment of the highest quality. By collaborating with Alcidion, we aim to create an environment that maximises patient safety, improves collaboration among staff, and prevents unnecessary errors. All this will lead to better patient outcomes."
About Better by Marand
Better by Marand is one of Europe's leading healthcare IT solution and professional service providers. They collaborate with a variety of clients on the same goal - to set them up for the future. The future that moves towards open platforms and away from siloed solutions. The future where clinical teams can work with any digital solution provider without being tied to a particular vendor. In turn, storing data in an open, vendor-neutral format will incite vendors to innovate and create better solutions.Their core technology solution, the Better Platform, is well-aligned with this vision and is based on openEHR specifications. Their OPENeP by Better product (a closed-loop medication management system) is built on top of the Better Platform and follows the same vision. Their innovations have so far taken them to 3 continents and 15 markets, including the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Malta, Russia, Norway, Finland, Italy and Slovenia.
About Alcidion
Alcidion Group Limited (ASX:ALC) has a simple purpose: to make healthcare better with smart, intuitive solutions that meet the needs of hospital and allied healthcare, worldwide. The Group consists of three healthcare software companies; Alcidion Corporation, Patientrack and Smartpage, and MKM Health, an IT solutions and services provider. Each company brings a complementary set of products and skills that create a unique offering in the global healthcare market; solutions that support interoperability, allow communication and task management, and deliver clinical decision support at the point of care to improve patient outcomes. With over 25 years of combined healthcare experience, the Alcidion Group of companies brings together the very best in technology and market knowledge to deliver solutions that make healthcare better for everyone.
About Patientrack
Patientrack helps hospitals deliver safer care - which is also more cost-effective care - by ensuring observation and assessment protocols are carried out correctly and consistently, and by automatically calculating early warning scores and alerting clinicians when interventions are needed. Through early identification of deteriorating patients, and the promoting of necessary assessments, Patientrack helps hospitals meet national and local targets for improvements in patient safety, improving patient outcomes and supporting frontline staff, while at the same time cutting costs and reducing paper. Patientrack was developed in conjunction with health professionals and its effectiveness in delivering both patient safety and cost improvements has been proven in a peer-reviewed clinical journal.Patientrack customers in the UK include Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, Basildon and Thurrock Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, NHS Fife, and Noble’s Hospital in the Isle of Man.