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EMIS web upgrade

On 1July staff from AIMTC and EMIS practices went to the EMIS Web launch roadshow and were enthused by the numerous benefits that EMIS Web will bring. Many practices are already keen to upgrade to EMIS web and the PCTs are broadly very supportive of this change, given the obvious potential of the new system. There are some issues about the upgrade process that are still being considered. The message to practices from the last GP IM&T Strategy Group, which discussed this at length, was as follows

• The move to EMIS Web is not cost neutral. The costs and resources needed locally are being scoped, but the total additional funding required will not be available within the existing GP IM&T budget this year. PCTs are exploring with AIMTC how the cost may be covered or offset, including spreading the implementation over time.
• Signing up to the familiarisation service not just about streaming data, it is a commitment to evaluate the system, decide whether to transfer, and manage the data migration within six months. If funds are identified for the upgrade at your practice, the move to EMIS web is still a significant system change; it is not a new front end to your existing system. Practices will need to commit to undergo training, data checking, and recreation of searches, merges and protocols. A senior EMIS manager said of the change “it’s not stress free”.
• EMIS web is not formally released until it has passed ‘First of Type’ testing by Connecting for Health. We need to be able to look at the case studies for the first of type practices once they are released. We will also run a pilot study to evaluate the actual costs, effort required and to ensure that all third party software operates properly with EMIS web.

AIMTC is working with PCTs to plan for EMIS web, and will keep practices informed of all progress or plans. For further details please contact Jane Schofield, project manager on 0117 900 2441, email: jane.schofield@aimtc.nhs.uk