NHS England has called on integrated care systems to support the “convergence” of electronic patient records in order to allow better flow of information between organisations.

But what does this look like in a landscape where acute trusts may use different EPRs, community and mental health trusts often use different systems and the position becomes even more complex when primary care and partners such as local authorities may also need to exchange information?

ICSs will be operating in difficult conditions where capital is likely to be constrained over the next few years and a change of EPR can take years and bring with it considerable disruption to the normal workings of trusts.

This HSJ webinar, in association with System C, will ask how the benefits of convergence can be achieved in the current climate and what are the different ways to doing this. It will ask:

• What is the end goal with convergence and how would improvements in sharing information between trusts and other organisations help to achieve it?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of a “rip and replace” approach to EPRs where all acute trusts in an ICS area move to one system? How feasible is it within the current constraints of the NHS?
• What are the alternatives and what would they deliver?
• Whether areas go for “rip and replace” or supercharging existing systems, how can changes be best managed and who needs to be involved?

Click here to register.

Panellists

Adam Dangoor, CCIO and consultant medical oncologist, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston Trust

Dr Adam Dangoor is a CCIO, and consultant medical oncologist, working at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston Trust. He is the clinical lead for the ICS patient engagement portal project, and also a lead on the trust digital outpatients noting transition. He is involved in trust and ICS digital strategy development. Dr Dangoor is also an oncology advisor for Doctors.net and was in cohort 1 of the NHS Digital Academy. His clinical work involves the treatment of patients with lung cancer and sarcoma, and he is the current president of the British Sarcoma Group.

Paul Jones, chief digital information officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust and chief information officer for the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board

Paul is the chief digital information officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust and chief information officer for the West Yorkshire ICB. He leads a team of 450 digital and information professionals at Leeds supporting colleagues across the trust to deliver excellent, safe patient care.

Guy Lucchi, managing director of healthcare, System C 

Guy leads System C’s healthcare division and is passionate about the power of digital-enabled change to improve patient outcomes and workforce experience. Previously joint digital innovation director for health innovation Manchester and chief digital officer for the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, he has an impressive background as a digital leader, with a proven track record for shaping and delivering some of the largest and most complex digital-enabled transformation programmes in healthcare.

Alison Moore, chair, HSJ

Alison is an HSJ correspondent covering the South East (where she lives) and ambulance services nationally. She has worked in health journalism, mainly as a freelance, for many years and was previously deputy editor of a magazine for doctors.