InterSystems has announced that the first stage of the Swedish National Patient Summary Project (NPÖ) has been successfully deployed.
The Örebro County Council and the Municipality of Örebro healthcare region in central Sweden has connected to the NPÖ in the first stage of a project to create a Swedish national health record.
The solution is being extended to more than 500 doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and staff at two private nursing homes.
The NPÖ will make real-time patient information available on a national level to county councils, local authorities and private healthcare providers.
Eva Leach Elfgren, project manager of the National Patient Summary project, said: “We put a lot of focus on continuous delivery and ensuring that the information we produce benefits the care providers.
She added: “Time is vital to an extensive project like the National Patient Summary. We can’t just keep developing, we have to get out there into the real world and make sure the service is truly useful for the healthcare and welfare sector. That is our highest priority.”
Prime contractor Tieto won the NPÖ contract from the Sjukvårdsrådgivningen SVR AB (the Swedish Healthcare Advisory Organization) last year.
InterSystem’s HealthShare software was chosen to provide a health information exchange software platform for the health records.
The deal, which is worth more than €12.2m, was made for a period of five years, with the option to extend the contract for a further two years.
Matt Sandström, Intersystem’s county manager, Nordic, told E-Health Europe: “The developments being made will eventually equate to the Holy Grail for doctors-informed decision making and improved patient safety by avoiding errors and adverse effects.”
“Also the project is about professional use at the moment, at a later stage of the project there will also be functionality for individuals to access their own records via the internet.”
The solution is being delivered nationwide in a number of stages. Östergötland will be the next area to connect to the service and it is intended that three other county councils will be prepared for connection by the end of 2009.
Sandström added: “At present Sörmland, Blekinge, Uppsala, Västra Götaland and Stockholm have all expressed interest.”
Related article: TietoEnator wins Swedish eclectronic healthcare record contract with InterSystems HealthShare
Links: Tieto