Digital Hospital: Transforming our technology to support safer patient care

Through our Digital Hospital Programme we aspire to be at the forefront of digital innovation using technology to support our teams in delivering world-class care to our patients and the wider population.  This is an ambitious goal but one that will improve the efficiency and co-ordination of care and support people in managing their health and wellbeing.

Our programme will review all our current processes, tasks and practices to establish what is possible in a technology-enabled environment and through the use of the most modern technology available we will deliver outstanding healthcare, and improve how we record, store and access patient information to enable us to provide more efficient, safer patient care.  

At the end of September we are implementing an electronic system to store and manage patient information known as the Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system.  The system will allow us to hold patient records electronically, identifying medical history and ongoing treatment and care requirements, which can be easily shared between health professionals involved in your care.

What does this mean to me?
Whether you receive care as an inpatient, outpatient or in an emergency, all information relating to your care and treatment will be entered by the doctors and nurses into a computer, directly into your electronic patient record.  This will mean that other doctors and nurses who need to know about your care will be able to access up-to-date information via a computer, wherever they see you, without the need to wait for paper medical records. 

Changes you might notice

Inpatients

• no more paper records at the end of your bed
• doctors and nurses will be entering information about your care into a computer
• doctors and nurses will be finding out about your care through you electronic patient record via a computer

Outpatients

• there will be no paper records at your appointment
• doctors and nurses will be entering information about your care into a computer during your appointment
• doctors and nurses will be finding out about the care you have received through your electronic patient record via a computer

Emergency care

• doctors and nurses will be entering information about your care into a computer during your appointment
• doctors and nurses will be finding out about the care you have received through your electronic patient record via a computer

How will you keep my information safe?

We are committed to ensuring your health records are kept safe and handled according to data protection legislation. Information on how we protect your data can be found in our Privacy Policy on the Trust website www.royalberkshire.nhs.uk