The Care and Health Information Exchange (CHIE), which started as the Hampshire Health Record 17 years ago, successfully completed the move in March and saw usage increase to a record 130,000 patient records viewed in June.

The programme is now extending the record to new settings, starting with care homes, and to increase the breadth and depth of data shared so users have even more information on which to make timely decisions about patient care.

Ben Panton, programme manager at South Central and West, the NHS support and transformation service that supports CHIE on behalf of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care System (ICS), said: "A lot of hard work has been put in over 18 months to move the record off its old platform and onto Orion Health, and there has been terrific collaboration between Orion Health, CHIE and all its partners to make it happen.

"From the project management and the technology side we were pleased to see the final feeds move over, and all our users on the new system. But the work doesn’t stop there. We are now planning an iterative process to improve the product, to bring in more data, and to increase the number of users.

"We are also planning to work closely with the Dorset Care Record, which uses Orion Health, as part of our Wessex Care Record partnership introducing interoperability between the two systems, so that clinical and care professionals in Dorset have access to CHIE and vice-versa.

"NHS England and NHSX are pushing for every area of England to have a 'basic' or 'minimum viable solution' shared care record in place by September. CHIE has been recognised as a national leader in this area, and the move to Orion Health will enable us to build on its achievements."

CHIE was originally created in the early 2000s and has developed organically over 17 years, with new partners, data feeds and functionality being added over time. In 2018, it embarked on a transition project to a new provider, as part of developing and enhancing the system for users.

The project required close partnership working between the NHS and local authority providers involved, the Orion project and technical teams, and CHIE's own management and project teams. Communications were also essential to keep all the partners and stakeholders informed on progress.

Dr Emma Davis, a local GP and clinical lead for CHIE, said: "This transition has been an exciting opportunity to progress CHIE and enhance the ability of health and care professionals to provide joined up care to their patients. I am looking forward to continuing our collaboration with Orion Health to drive forward the use of technology in health and social care."

One of the first developments being planned by the CHIE team is extending the use of the care record to care homes, so health and social care professionals have more information about residents out-of-hours or in an emergency.

Andrew Eyles, CHIE Senior Responsible Owner and Digital Programme Director for the ICS, said: "The transition to the Orion Health platform was a significant undertaking and a first of type project completed during the COVID pandemic. I’m so grateful to the CHIE team, Orion Health and all our partner organisations for the incredible effort that’s made it a success. I’m now looking forward to the next chapter!"

The Wessex Care Records partnership was one of the first three local health and care record exemplar (LHCRE) areas in the country and was formed in recognition of its progress on digital innovation and the flow of patients across the Dorset/Hampshire border.

The Dorset Care Record was set-up five years ago and has used Orion Health's technology from the outset. The Wessex region, which covers 3 million people living in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, was chosen as a local health and care record exemplar in 2018.

Gary Birks, General Manager at Orion Health said: "We are delighted to see the hard work in migrating CHIE onto the new Orion Health platform pay off and are looking forward to supporting its further development alongside the Dorset Care Record and the Wessex Care Record to support care across the Wessex region.

"CHIE is a recognised leader in shared care records in England and many areas will be looking to its progress with interest, as they look to develop their own shared care record solutions. Working in partnership with CHIE and its stakeholders, we are looking forward to realising further benefits for care professionals, patients and users."

About Orion Health

Orion Health is committed to continuous innovation, investing substantially in research and development to cement its position at the forefront of precision medicine.