London Programme for IT

Step by step - how the acute system works

Over 60 senior London trust colleagues got the chance to see at first hand of the third phase of the Cerner Millennium electronic patient record system for acute trusts at the BT centre this month.

The purpose of the demonstration event on 3 October was to show trust Chief Executives, IT directors and Directors of Operations the new clinical functionality offered by the third phase of the acute system, LC2.

The Cerner Millennium system offers a step by step approach over a number of different releases. Barnet and Chase Farm, Barts and the London and QMS are already using the LC0 version, which is the first step of the release. In June the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust began using Cerner Millennium London Configuration 1 (LC1), which is the second phase of the system. The London Configurations are designed specifically for use in trusts in the capital, meaning they are locally configured and are relevant for London processes. LC2 builds on the foundations laid by releases LC0 and LC1 and has resulted from the hard work of NHS clinicians and managers working alongside LPfIT, BT and Cerner to develop a system with more clinical functions.

A team based at Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust agreed and designed the new components of the system. They held a series of over 200 workshops attended by over 300 participants on work streams including A&E, results reporting, maternity, patient administration and anaesthetics. Their input shaped the development of the LC2 system meant that staff who use the system really got to have their say in its development. Sue Mifsud, Business Process Manager, LPfIT said that ‘It's vitally important that clinicians are closely involved in the development of LC2 as their knowledge and expertise will help to ensure that the system provides the rich clinical functionality that they want. A lot of clinicians have been very generous with their time and experience and we could not have progressed this without their valuable input."

The new functionality of LC2 means that trusts will benefit from more coordinated medication management and enhanced functionality in A&E and theatres. Continuing work on the LC2 release will mean that patient information can be shared securely between care settings, meaning that information will be available whether patients are seeing their GP, visiting their local hospital or attending a clinic in the community.

For an in-depth look at the benefits of the new system and a full explanation of the differences between the releases you can download ‘Shaping the future of patient care in London' from the publications area of the website.