Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals Trust roll out System C EPMA at record speed

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust has successfully implemented System C EPMA in Outpatients with further wards on track for rapid EPMA deployment, thanks to a fearless and trailblazing project team. The Brighton Hospital selected System C EPMA as it delivers maximum interoperability and functionality in combination with their existing System C Pharmacy system. The accelerated EPMA rollout is even more remarkable as it came against the backdrop of the first wave of Covid-19.

Speaking to Jan Birley, Project Manager, the pragmatic approach by the team was evident from the start: “We are a project team with a job to get done, and we are out there making sure it happens in the safest way we can. For me, as a project manager, whatever we are spending on any project is public money. So, it has to bring benefits – so we don’t have the luxury to sit back and take as long as we want to wait for the benefits to come from these systems we are purchasing.”

Sam Coffey, Lead Pharmacist – EPMA, is quick to concur, “In terms of us being forward thinking and proactive, we were very quick to take on the latest version of System C EPMA. There is so much rich functionality in this system, the Medicines Reconciliation module and the Task functionality to name just two, I think these are innovative new ways to provide patient benefits as well as user benefits.”

With an intuitive new user interface, created following intensive clinical input, System C EPMA has been welcomed across the Trust. They reaped the obvious benefits of moving to ePrescribing, and losing the problem of illegible writing, notes going missing and eliminating the virus transmission risk that paper brings. However, avoiding potentially damaging drug interactions and being aware of patient allergies at the point of prescription has been another key positive the Trust has noted even in their earliest deployment phase.

With remote training and virtual project team meetings, the System C and Brighton teams set up a strong communication link from the outset and worked in tandem to move the project forward. A shared drug file from Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, which was augmented by the System C team whilst the Brighton team laid the internal project foundations, cut about 13 days’ work from the project.

Nick Wilson, CEO of System C International said “We are so delighted when a Trust takes on their move to EPMA with such dedication and persistence, a rapid deployment such as this sets a benchmark to other Trusts. It sends a clear message that System C EPMA is really user friendly, is rich in functionality and delivers benefits from the very beginning. Our highly experienced project management team provides excellent support to the hospitals team. At this difficult and critical time in healthcare we are delighted and congratulate the team at Brighton on their rapid implementation and in recognising how valuable EPMA is in supporting front line services and patients during this crisis.”

Professor Mike Cross Chief Pharmacist feels this is an exciting time “we are pleased that the team has begun this process with such professionalism and has made such progress. This fits well with our aspiration to not be satisfied with mere implementation. We are all motivated to go further than that and reap every possible benefit that we can from this comprehensive solution”.