There is a wide range of IT facilities and usage among independent and voluntary hospices and only a few have functioning links into NHSnet. Similarly, no single software package is recommended to record patient notes or episodes or used by the majority of independent hospices, NHS hospices or palliative-care units.
Objectives
Our objectives with the Hospice Connect Project are to:
- maintain an accurate picture of the IT position within hospices
- work with software providers to ensure their systems are suitable for use in all hospices and palliative care units and are acceptable to clinicians and managers
- work to link all independent hospices in England to NHSnet so that they may access and contribute to the electronic health record within the NHS Integrated Care Record Service
- work alongside, and share information and experience with, any similar project teams working for the benefit of palliative care units in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We also hope the project will offer:
- the ability to access clinical records 24 hours per day to support clinical activity and to contribute to those records for future use
- the ability to produce information from hospices which will be useful for clinicians and managers for research, audits and national planning.
Links
Software suppliers
NHS IT sites
Other useful sites
These sites may also be useful for those working in IT in hospices:
