OnEPR FAQs

No data will be lost in the move from Paris to SystmOne. However, not all information about a patient that is on Paris will appear on SystmOne on the first day that you log in. 

‘Minimum data set’

Each record on SystmOne immediately after go-live will contain information about demographics, referral and other key data agreed by clinicians across the Trust. This is known as the minimum data set and it has been created after asking clinicians the question: if you are seeing a patient on day one after the move, what is the minimum amount of data you will need to be able to access quickly on SystmOne in order to safely and effectively continue with the care you’re providing to that patient?

Documents stored on Paris will not be transferred to SystmOne but they will be accessible through a read-only version of Paris if they are needed. There are several reasons for this:

• It is safer to leave the Paris record on Paris and start afresh with the record on SystmOne.  Each time we transfer data there is a risk that it may not transfer as we would want, and we limit this risk by transferring only the minimum data set
• There are new versions of the key documents on SystmOne, designed by you, that need to be used instead of the old documents. It’s important that we start using those documents and to create, in effect, a new patient record reflecting our new clinical priorities.

All Paris data will be available to view on a 'read only' version of Paris after the launch of SystmOne in your service.

Information provided by GPs and other health professionals

Because many of our partners (GPs and other Trusts) use SystmOne, we will also be able to see information that other health professionals like GPs have recorded about a patient. That could mean that copies of letters and reports that we have sent to GPs will be available within SystmOne anyway, if the GP has attached them to a patient’s record.

Information from other national healthcare systems

SystmOne is connected to the NHS Spine and that means that we will also be able to see the most up-to-date information about a patient from other national healthcare systems, including their NHS number.

Mental Health Act information

After go-live, the Mental Health Act team will manually apply the Mental Health Act information about individual patients.

Desktop scanners and the uniflow printers will be connected to SystmOne. Arden GEM will be able to assist with this. You may also need the DystmOne gateway adding to your laptop if attaching documents from home or remotely. 

There will be an admin - communications tab where admin will be able to record telephone calls.

Our current mental health clinical system – PARIS – has served us well as a Trust since we transferred from Care Notes. The contract for PARIS runs out at the end of 2022, so the Trust is taking the opportunity to look at moving to a full modern electronic patient record system that includes a number of additional capabilities that PARIS cannot provide. This will be done well ahead of the 2022 end date so that we can manage the transition to a new product. That new system will provide things like electronic referrals and discharges, electronic prescribing, access to GP and secondary care records and much more.

We are keen to learn the lessons from the PARIS implementation and a key part of the way things will be different is to engage as many of you as we can in making the decisions about what we want the system to do for us. The other key difference is that we will be trying to take the opportunity to focus our system on the patient and also to standardise the way we do things. Right now we have over 360 different letters and over 560 different patient centred forms.  By reducing this complexity, we’re hoping to make recording on the system more straightforward, less time consuming and improve our ability to provide care. Your contribution to these changes will also make the whole process of implementation easier.

The change to a new EPR is driven by our ambition to transform the way we provide great care to our patients and, as part of that, make the Trust a great place to work. The new EPR will be patient centred – all information will be accessible from looking at the patient record – whether that be basic information, information about their mental health or physical health, or information about their current care. The aim is to make that information much more accessible to people involved in direct patient care and to make things simpler so that we can focus on providing that care. To do that we are aiming to make the process and forms easier to navigate and more consistent. Over and above this, the system will being many new capabilities that will help us transform the care we provide using electronic support – for example via electronic prescribing and medicines administration.

There will be significant benefits. Clinical staff will have a system that is much easier to navigate than at present, storing all of the patient information needed to provide great care in a much more accessible format. The ability to do things electronically – such as referrals, discharges and e-prescribing - will be significantly improved. And access to additional patient information such as GP records, and some secondary care information will be transformed. The system will also enable things we do today perhaps by transcribing information across from PARIS or elsewhere, like MDTs, to run smoothly, and it will conform to all of the national standards – such as NEWS2 and SNOMED – “out of the box” and update them as things change nationally. 

The implementation of the system is being phased carefully a two-year period.  This enables us to make sure that we implement it effectively and gives us time to make sure we iron out any problems along the way, as opposed to one “big bang”.  SystmOne will be fully implemented across the Trust before the contract for Paris ends late in 2022.

We have carefully considered the order in which we implement the system so that we maximise the early benefits and also test the system in areas that are smaller services, which will reduce the risk.  At the same time we are aiming to avoid patients being on two systems at the same time as much as possible – something that caused problems during the Paris migration for many of you. 

The order of services will be broadly:

1. CAMHS and Learning Disabilities - now using SystmOne
2. Older Adults Services - now using SystmOne
3. Working Age Adults phase one - going live on 24 January 2022
4. Working Age Adults phase two - going live on 24 January 2022.

Working Age Adults will include the remaining specialist services.

We’re trying to avoid having to deal with an individual patient on two systems, or have services using both products at the same time.  This means phasing of entire services and structuring the transition in a way that avoids “fracturing” patient pathways, and minimising the risk of re-keying data as well as potentially compromising patient care.

We want you to feel that you are involved in the development as far as you are able to be and so we are aiming to communicate widely within the Trust and using a variety of means, such as all staff updates, updates in Weekly Connect, Team Brief and Team Talk, information on our intranet and drop-in sessions. We are also trying to get out and see as many teams as possible during the course of the work and are happy to come and talk at regular team meetings. The aim is that as many people as possible who make use of the EPR are involved agreeing how it will work best for you and support our team during this crucial transformation programme.

The Trust is aiming to make sure that we involve as many people as possible and we will be looking to provide backfill and support where that is appropriate. There is always a balance to strike here – we are a very busy Trust – but the aim is to remove some of the barriers to participating, and also come to you to provide updates where that is not possible.