EMIS Web to receive CfH approval by autumn

EMIS Web, the next generation clinical system from GP system supplier EMIS, is likely to get NHS Connecting for Health assurance approval by September or October. It will then be available for full use by GPs.

EMIS says its web-based system is being made available to the NHS in three releases.

Release one, which runs in parallel to existing GP systems and offers a read-only view, has already been installed in more than 1,400 practices.

Release two, which offers read-write access in a non-GP environment, is being used in about seven locations across the country, including Liverpool, Tower Hamlets in London, Cheshire and Gateshead.

Release three is due to begin CfH’s Common Assurance Process testing in late May. This read-write release will include the latest CfH functionality for the Summary Care Record, Choose and Book, release two of the Electronic Prescription Service and GP2GP.

Sean Riddell, managing director of EMIS, said he expected EMIS Web to be fully assured by the end of September or October.

He told EHI Primary Care: “We are giving practices install dates into late October because we are confident it will be fully assured by then and be available under the GP Systems of Choice contract as a level four hosted application.”

Riddell said the CfH test phase was “very comprehensive” but that EMIS was replicating the testing cycle internally before submitting EMIS Web for external testing.

Riddell said the 1,400 practices that had already installed release one would be able to switch over to using EMIS Web at their own pace. Latest CfH functionality such as release two of the SCR and release two of EPS would first be made available via EMIS Web.

He added: “Practices will be able to switch over as and when they are ready. The latest CfH modules will be first available on EMIS Web and then we will see what the appetite and time period is for practices to move fully to EMIS Web. If practices want to stay on LV and PCS we will make the modules available on what will be LV and PCS Web.”

Riddell said release two of EMIS Web was being used in a wide variety of non-GP services including physiotherapy, learning disabilities, clinical assessment services, diabetes, ultrasound and ophthalmology.

“Outside of GP-land, release two is being used for a wide range of different services and offering a range of clinical data sharing with explicit consent. It’s no longer a GP system.”

He said EMIS was awaiting the final conclusion and announcement of CfH’s contractual negotiations with CSC and BT but hoped it would be able to “dovetail in” with local service providers’ plans.

He added: “BT have already publicly said that the way forward is interoperability and we hope to see the same attitude coming out of CSC. There is an assumption now that there will be a mixed economy of systems.”