A new £44m computer system is to replace hospital patients’ records in Scotland.
The aim of the new Patient Management System, which has seen six health boards covering 70% of the population signing up to it, is for a paper-free NHS to improve security and give staff more time for other tasks. It is designed to manage bookings, waiting lists, report test results and allow staff to keep track of patient records more easily.
The rest of the boards will join “in the coming months”, said the Scottish government.
The scheme was welcomed by Monklands renal medicine consultant Dr Jamie Traynor, who said: “This Patient Management System is, to me, the first major leap towards a hospital-wide electronic patient record with huge advantages in the delivery of patient care. It is also worth stressing that there will be a level of security built into this system that will exceed what we are able to achieve with paper records.”
NHS Lothian has already implemented the system. Ayrshire and Arran, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Grampian, Borders and Lanarkshire are also signed up to the programme.
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