Wolverhampton City Primary Care Trust has awarded a contract to PCTI to supply its document management and electronic document transfer software to all Wolverhampton practices.
More than 50 practices in the PCT will receive the software solutions over the next few weeks, with roll-out due for completion in February 2011.
Stuart Cooper, head of IM&T strategy and development at Wolverhampton City PCT, said: “The key drivers behind the project were the efficiency gains at a GP practice and the improved quality and speed of information.
"A year ago, it could take six to eight days for a document to reach a GP’s desktop. By using EDT, letters are with a GP within 24 hours which no doubt benefits patients.”
Cooper said the PCTI solution offered high levels of security and was very flexible. “Documents are received electronically when a practice prefers and can be entered into a workflow instantly.”
As well as the electronic document management software practices will be using PCTI’s workflow solution, iWorkflow, and Intellisense which uses OCR to automatically detect the patient, their filing details and any associated Read coding.
Ric Thompson, managing director of PCTI, said increasing numbers of customers were adopting the company’s EDT solution to send and receive electronic documents directly between provider and GP.
He added: “This is having a huge positive impact for the practice, hospitals and patients.
"The hospitals are realising significant cost savings, the practices are receiving electronic documents directly into their workflow with automatic patient filing and patients can discuss their clinical letters with their GP days after a discharge.”