Opinions sought on EHRs in informatics survey

Clinicians and support staff are being invited to comment on their experiences of electronic health records in a survey being undertaken by students at the Yorkshire Centre for Health Informatics (YCHI).

The poll, which is ongoing, is aimed at GPs, hospital doctors, nurses and secretarial staff, and aims to find out the current state of health record use across the country. It covers patient access to records, priorities in accuracy, security and levels of information, and whether electronic systems should

Another poll is searching for opinions from NHS staff in the Leeds area on access to the Results Service, which is run by Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust (LTHT). The Results Service gives access to all test results generated in hospital and in primary care.

A pilot is currently taking place allowing five GPs within Leeds access to information on the system, and LTHT are intending to expand it to their clinicians.

The poll asks which clinical and administrative staff should have access to patient results and what kind of security and auditing system needs to be put in place.

Dr Rick Jones, lecturer in clinical biochemistry & immunology said that around ten students were studying for an MSc in multidisciplinary informatics at YCHI, and the surveys were part of their research.

YCHI, which has collaborative with Accenture, LSP for the North East and Eastern cluster, runs the courses for IT professionals wanting to get into the healthcare field. "It’s in recognition of the fact that we need more health IT specialists," said Dr Jones.

The final results of both polls will not be made publicly available until the research is published, however anybody who completes either poll will receive a password to view the results so far. All entrants will also be entered into a prize draw for a bottle of champagne.

Links

EPR Benefits Questionnaire
Results Server Benefits Questionnaire