The Perinatal Institute is piloting an online pregnancy record to give women improved access to maternity information and allow them to share their record with others.
The patient-controlled pregnancy record, MiApp, is based on work with Patients Know Best, which provides patient-controlled online medical records systems.
The online record is intended to replace the institute’s patient-held, paper-based maternity notes, which are currently used in 60% of English maternity units.
At the start of their pregnancies, mothers will be given the option of accessing their maternity records through an app on their smartphone, tablet or laptop.
They will be able to share the records with GPs, other clinicians or family members, ensuring that there is a single view of their medical history.
Jason Gardosi, director of the Perinatal Institute, told EHI the organisation wanted to replicate the patient-controlled nature of their paper notes while making better use of technology.
“We felt it makes sense now to make into the 21st century and make the record electronic so we can have the same content constantly updated while fitting with national guidelines.”
Gardosi said the electronic record will save midwives’ time by removing the need for duplication when entering information into paper notes.
“This sort of link-up is important for saving midwifery time, because they can spend a lot of their time entering in information two to three times when they’re filling out forms.”
The electronic record will allow maternity departments to ensure pregnant women still have access to information about their care and are engaged with clinicians, while making greater use of new IT systems, he said.
“As maternity systems are put into place around the country, what is happening is that the record in essence is being taken away from the mother, and the primary record then becomes part of the hospital-based system.
"Midwives might have access to it in the community, if they’re lucky; but the mother is left with nothing.”
Dr Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, founder and chief executive of Patients Know Best, told EHI that moving to an online record will ensure all patients and care professionals have access to the same integrated record.
Al-Ubaydli said structured data from hospital systems, such as blood test results, will flow automatically into the record. Mothers will also be able to connect their own devices at home, such as a glucose monitor or scales, and feed the information into the record.
Patients Know Best is also developing a tablet app for midwives with electronic forms replacing the paper-based documents they currently use, he said.
Al-Ubaydli said the company is also working with the creators of eRedbook, the digital version of the ‘red book’ given to parents and carers at a child’s birth recently endorsed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, to avoid duplication of effort and work on sharing information across the two platforms.
The pregnancy record is currently being piloted at two sites, and will be made available more widely after the pilots are completed in April next year.
Patients Know Best has also announced that it has secured another $1.7m of investment. The money will come from venture capital fund Maxfield Capital, and will enable it to develop its product further and hire additional clinical staff.