Oxford Health NHS Trust has selected Better to implement an electronic prescribing and medicines administration (ePMA) system.

The OPENeP system will be integrated with the trust’s electronic patient recording to provide a better overall view of the patient.

The ePMA will be piloted on an inpatient mental health ward before being rolled out across the trust.

It will enable staff to electronicall prescribe and order medication, access decision support and ultimately replace hand-written prescriptions and drug charts.

The trust is the second global digital exemplar providing mental health services to choose Better’s OPENeP as the result of an initiative to develop a procurement framework for open systems and platform technologies that was led by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, which also uses the system.

Matt Cox, managing director of Better in the UK and Ireland, said: “We are really pleased to be working with Oxford Health on e-prescribing and medicines administration.

“Oxford is a forward thinking and innovative trust now looking to further their digitisation and we are very pleased to be supporting them in this journey.”

The trust will also implement Better’s Clinical Portal and the Better allergies module to enable clinicians to more easily access information about their patients and maximise the use of the data.

To support its digital transformation and the creation of a digitally enabled workforce, the trust will be enrolled in the Better Innovation Programme to explore and test new digital services for adult mental health.

Implementation will be supported by IT consultancy firm CGI.

Donna Kelly, senior vice president for South and Midlands at CGI, said: “The ePMA solution will aid the trust in providing a more consistent service, offering patients an even higher quality of care.

“We are proud to be able to support Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust with their implementation and we look forward to building a strong strategic partnership bringing our delivery expertise from working across the NHS.”

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