How Sunrise Supports Electronic Patient Record System Replacements in the NHS

In a bid to revolutionise healthcare services, the NHS is embarking on an ambitious journey of digital transformation. One of the key pillars of this transformation is the adoption of Electronic Patient Record (EPR) systems across all NHS trusts by March 2025, with an interim target of 90% implementation by December 2023. This initiative, spearheaded by the Department of Health and Social Care, aims to streamline processes, enhance patient care, and improve overall efficiency within the healthcare system.

Understanding the Electronic Patient Record Project

Electronic patient records, or EPRs, represent a fundamental shift from traditional paper-based systems to digital platforms for storing and managing patient information. With electronic patient records, healthcare providers can access comprehensive patient data in real-time, facilitating faster diagnosis, more informed decision-making, and better coordination of care.

The transition to EPR systems is a significant undertaking for NHS IT teams, requiring meticulous planning, resource allocation, and project management. As the deadline for implementation draws near, the need for efficient and effective project management tools becomes paramount.

Your Partner in EPR Project Management

As a trusted partner in EPR project management, Sunrise stands ready to support NHS IT teams in navigating the complexities of electronic patient record system replacements. Here's how Sunrise ITSM's dedicated project management module addresses the unique requirements of healthcare projects:

• Tracking of Anticipated vs. Actual Time and Costs:

Maintain a clear overview of project budgets and timelines by tracking anticipated versus actual time and costs in real-time. This feature empowers project managers to identify any deviations early on, enabling them to take corrective actions swiftly to keep the project on track financially and temporally.

• Resource Management:

Efficient resource allocation is essential for ensuring the timely and cost-effective delivery of EPR projects. Sunrise facilitates resource management by providing tools to allocate resources effectively, monitor their utilisation, and adjust allocations as necessary. By optimising resource usage, NHS IT teams can enhance project efficiency and minimise wastage.

• Requirements Management:

Sunrise enables thorough documentation and management of project requirements, ensuring that all deliverables align with stakeholders' expectations and regulatory standards. By maintaining a detailed record of requirements, NHS IT teams can mitigate the risk of scope creep and ensure that the project stays focused on its objectives throughout its lifecycle.

• Task Scheduling and Milestone Tracking:

Effective task scheduling and milestone tracking are critical for monitoring project progress and meeting deadlines. With Sunrise, you can easily identify project tasks, allocate resources, and schedule milestones according to your project plan. This ensures that progress is monitored systematically, and potential delays are addressed proactively to keep the project on schedule.

• Issue Management:

Sunrise provides robust tools for monitoring and managing project-specific issues. Team members can log and track issues efficiently, assign them to the appropriate personnel for resolution, and monitor their progress until closure. This streamlined approach to issue management minimises disruptions and ensures that project activities continue smoothly.

• Risk Identification and Mitigation:

Identifying and mitigating project risks is crucial for minimising potential disruptions and ensuring project success. Sunrise facilitates risk identification by providing tools to assess and prioritise risks based on their likelihood and impact. Moreover, it allows you to track mitigation strategies, enabling proactive risk management throughout the project lifecycle.

Benefits of Managing Your EPR Project with Sunrise ITSM

Managing your EPR project with Sunrise ITSM presents a plethora of advantages that can streamline your project management process. With this integrated solution, you'll experience:

• Enhanced Understanding of Project Deliverables:

Sunrise provides a comprehensive platform to articulate project objectives and deliverables clearly. This clarity fosters a shared understanding among stakeholders, reducing misunderstandings and enhancing overall project comprehension.

• Clear Visibility of Project Status and Risks:

The platform offers real-time visibility into project progress and identifies potential risks promptly. This transparency empowers project managers to make informed decisions and take proactive measures to mitigate risks, ensuring smoother project execution.

• Increased On-Time and On-Budget Project Completion:

With Sunrise, you can monitor project timelines and budgetary constraints rigorously. By leveraging our tools and functionalities, you can adhere to schedules and financial limits more effectively, leading to timely and cost-effective project completion.

• Improved Resource Allocation:

Sunrise facilitates efficient resource allocation by providing insights into resource availability, utilisation, and allocation. With this information to hand, project managers can optimise resource distribution, ensuring that the right resources are allocated to the right tasks at the right time, thereby maximising efficiency and productivity.

• Integration with Microsoft Teams

The ability to implement a two-way integration with Microsoft Teams allows IT teams to update and resolve tickets directly within Teams, sending notifications to relevant teams and channels. Instead of having to switch to a separate system to update or close tickets, team members can now handle these tasks directly in Microsoft Teams. This seamless integration streamlines the process, making it easier for everyone involved to collaborate and manage tasks effectively, all while keeping everything in one location.

Seamless Incident Management with Sunrise ITSM

Seamless incident management streamlines the process of addressing and resolving incidents within the NHS IT infrastructure, particularly concerning the EPR project. Here's how it facilitates this crucial aspect:

• Centralised Incident Tracking:

Sunrise ITSM provides a centralised hub where all incidents related to the EPR project are logged and tracked. This centralised approach ensures that no incident goes unnoticed or unresolved, enabling IT teams to maintain a comprehensive overview of the project's incident landscape.

• Efficient Incident Resolution Workflows:

With predefined incident resolution workflows and automation capabilities, Sunrise accelerates the incident resolution process. IT teams can categorise and prioritise incidents based on severity and impact, ensuring that critical issues receive immediate attention while less urgent ones are addressed in due course.

• Real-time Incident Monitoring:

The platform offers real-time monitoring of incident statuses, enabling IT teams to track the progress of incident resolution efforts at every stage. This real-time visibility empowers stakeholders to stay informed about the incident management process and take timely actions as needed.

By offering a robust incident management framework, we empower NHS IT teams to promptly address and resolve incidents related to the EPR project, thereby minimising disruptions, enhancing service quality, and ultimately contributing to improved patient care outcomes.

The replacement of electronic patient record (EPR) systems represents a major leap forward in the NHS's mission to modernise healthcare delivery. With Sunrise as a trusted ally in EPR project management, NHS IT teams have the tools and expertise needed to navigate this transformative journey with confidence. From careful resource allocation to smooth incident management, Sunrise empowers NHS teams to seamlessly implement EPR systems, leading to tangible improvements in patient care. This collaboration between the NHS and Sunrise highlights a shared dedication to harnessing technology for the greater good of healthcare, paving the way for a future marked by increased efficiency, accessibility, and quality of care for all.

Experience the power of Sunrise today and take the first step towards digital transformation in healthcare.

Learn more about Sunrise IT Service Management here.