HP launches open source EPR for UK

Hewlett Packard has launched the UK version of its electronic patient record system through NHS England’s open source programme, saying it has already received a “stellar” response.

The Healthcare Information System, as the EPR is known, is already in use in more than 120 hospitals in Spain, including the fully paperless 300-bed Hospital Comarcal d’Inca in Mallorca.

The EPR has a full suite of modules, including a patient administration system, e-prescribing, requests and results reporting, and an A&E admissions system.

The web-based system is designed to be used across primary, mental health, community, acute and social care settings.

Peter Thackery, HP’s UK healthcare business lead, told EHI News the EPR was first developed 20 years ago and has since gone through three iterations.

Thackery said that as the Spanish healthcare system is much more integrated than in the UK, the EPR has been designed for use across all care settings.

Chris Clark, a business consultant for HP, added that the EPR allows clinical staff to design their own forms, reports, workflows and pathways, allowing them to share their work with the open source community and meet specialised requirements.

“The workflow engine we’ve got behind scenes enables you to enhance workflows throughout the system… and with the forms editor, you can change the variety and format of forms, so it’s very flexible and very responsive to local clinical needs.”

Clark said the one of the company’s future priorities for the system is developing a solution to enable patient access to records.

EHI News first reported on the company’s open source plans in 2013, after HP confirmed that it was working with NHS England on the possibility of joining an open source framework.

Thackery said HP chose to take the open source route because it “wants to be a force for change in the NHS” while developing new business models for its EPR.

“At the end of the day, we’re responding to a need: HM Government have been very keen on pushing open source; we feel we have a fantastic asset here; and this is a different way of delivering software in the NHS.”

He described interest in the EPR as “stellar” and said there has already been significant interest from trusts.

HP’s EPR is being offered on three lots of NHS Shared Business Services’ £1.25 billion framework, covering core clinical systems, standalone A&E systems, and standalone e-prescribing.

Richard Jefferson, NHS England’s head of business systems, said the launch of the open source HP EPR is part of the organisation’s work to give trusts “a real alternative to traditionally licensed EPR systems in their move to paperless working.”