The Royal Marsden has announced a partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital to deliver a new digital health record.

Powered by Epic, the digital health record (DHR) will replace the cancer research trust’s electronic patient record and aims to support the delivery of safe care.

Through partnering with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) the Royal Marsden hopes to exploit the “digital excellence, technologies and learning” that GOSH made through its clinically-led DHR implementation in 2019.

The new DHR falls under the Royal Marsden’s Digital Transformation Programme and will begin in August, with the new Epic system going live across the trust from March 2023.

The initiative means that both trusts will have access to a world-class DHR supporting the delivery of high-quality and safe care. The platform will also support research, innovation and education.

Lisa Emery, chief information officer at the Royal Marsden, said: “From quicker access to patient records to improved availability of documentation and a patient portal, the new system we plan to develop in partnership with GOSH will significantly improve patient outcomes, safety and experience.

“It will also give us more access to accurate real-time health information at our fingertips, which will enhance our existing life-saving research capabilities. Overall, the new system will help us access our digital records more easily, work more efficiently, and prescribe more safely – to the benefit of both staff and patients across the trust.”

GOSH is also set to benefit from the partnership; by working on future developments jointly, it will be able to better care for patients while saving money.

By pooling skills, expertise and resources, both organisations will be able to maximise the benefits that DHR brings.

It’s another positive step for The Royal Marden’s digital transformation, following on from its March announcement of a paperless clinical trial management system.