Derby becomes Agfa’s first Orbis customer in the UK

Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has become Agfa’s first UK customer for the Orbis clinical information system.

The trust will implement Orbis within its adult critical care and step down units, and integrate the system with medications prescribing and administration.

Implementing the Orbis ICU-Manager software should help Derby Teaching Hospitals to automate the collection of data from monitors and devices in the ICU, eliminating the need for manual transcription.

“Orbis ICU-Manager will provide us with tools to help us reach our goals of improving clinical safety, efficiency and cost effectiveness, as well as our planning and care processes,” said Dr Nick Reynolds, consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care, in a statement.

“It offers the flexibility and innovation we need to handle the specific requirements of our critical care environment.”

Phased implementation will start immediately. The project was funded by the NHS England’s Integrated Digital Care Technology Fund. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Agfa HealthCare is a subsidiary of Belgium’s AgfaGvaert Group, a €2.6 billion imaging and information technology specialist.

Orbis is among of the most widely installed electronic patient record and clinical software in continental Europe, with over 1,700 installations.  

Agfa first launched Orbis in the UK in 2007. Three years later, it introduced a modular version that it said would integrate with a hospital’s existing infrastructure and give hospitals control over the pace of roll-out.

The ICU-Manager software can be locally configured, and site-defined workflows can be set up to support interfacing to bedside devices and equipment, clinical decision support, reporting, and specific terminology for critical care clinical notes.

The Derby Teaching Hospitals agreement also includes Orbis Medication, which encompasses drug prescription with clinical decision support, drug administration, pharmaceutical validation, and resupply.

“We are pleased that the first Orbis implementation in the UK will support the adult critical care unit of Derby Teaching Hospitals with a flexible clinical information system that meets its specific needs,” said Grant Witheridge, managing director UK and Ireland, Agfa HealthCare.