EMIS and TPP share data

EMIS and TPP are working on a data-sharing agreement to allow clinicians to see information held in each other’s systems.

The GP IT companies plan to deliver one-to-one local health community data-sharing for clinical commissioning group areas using both EMIS and TPP systems.

The new agreement, described by the companies as “groundbreaking” and “momentous”, means clinicians using one system will be able to view patient records from the other system.

This will be subject to sharing agreements and patient consent at the point of care.

EMIS managing director Neil Laycock told EHI the two companies were working together to find pilot sites for the new data-sharing arrangement. Areas with high populations of TPP and EMIS users tended to be in the North East and South East of the country.

The functionality would then be rolled out across England.

The news follows an announcement in January that TPP had agreed to work with Healthcare Gateway Ltd – a 50:50 joint venture company formed by EMIS and INPS – to share patient data via the Medical Interoperability Gateway.

Laycock said the new agreement was a point-to-point relationship rather than the MIG which allowed data sharing between numerous organisations.

He said customers of the two systems had been asking for some time to be able to share information.

“The whole industry has been waiting for TPP and us to get together to share, there’s an overall demand from the community to start looking at this data anywhere.”

Together, EMIS and TPP hold medical records for 60 million patients.

TPP cheif executive Frank Hester described the development as a big step forward in enabling truly integrated care.

“It’s fantastic that we can offer this level of integration to the NHS for free. This will transform the delivery of patient care across the NHS,” he said.