We held our quarterly meeting with EMIS and discussed how we progress with User Development Requests now that EMIS's main thrust will be developing EMIS-X.
Though with the end of GPSoC there is no financial element in the contract for EMIS to follow user driven requests, they say they are committed to continuing to develop EMIS Web to keep it improving, though changes will be necessarily smaller items than wholesale redesigns. They can accomodate 5 significant UDRs this next year (though there will be other necessary enhancements chosen by EMIS) and we shall help select these using the weighting system we developed with EMIS last year. There is a list of around 230 user suggestions which have been picked up in the last couple of years from Conferences, Facebook, emails and so on and we shall help to refine this to select the 5 most useful or meaningful but practical items for development. We shall publicize these once selected and hold EMIS to their developemnt.
Other items discussed included the stalled rollout of Resource Publisher. This much needed but troubled program has been reconfigured to prevent some of the problems encountered in some surgeries and rollout is planned to pick up again in Q1, 2020. (currently out of around 900 practices / 4,000 which actually have it, only half are using it actively). The amazing new GP Analytics program (see the Conference 2019 presentation) which is written in EMIS-X but available for Web, ihas been delayed until Q2 2020. AF Advisor will be available Q4 2019. A Long Term Conditions Manager which will allow HCAs and others to manage LTCs in a planned way will be released in Q2, 2020 possibly for a fee. Also coming very soon, Remote Consultations script printing (but sadly, not EPS) and EPSR2 beyond GP (EPS by DN or Palliative care) will be a useful improvement to save practices having to produce scripts on their behalf.
EMIS Now is developing apace and is well worth investigating - the Knowledge area has lots of useful articles and videos. Check pout the SNOMED pages, the Service Status area, and update your practice contact lists. 76% of users are now using EMIS Now to log 'cases' and is a much better way of tracking your practice calls to the helpline and for them to identify common problems and respond in a more strategic way. There are around 1,000-1,200 helpline contacts each day - many from some practices and none from others and with powerful analytics, training needs even down to individual practices can be identified.
EMIS's Communication Strategy was discussed. Replacing the Account Managers are Account Directors who will look after all organsiations (primary, secondary, community, pharmacy) within an area to get a 'whole-system' understanding of the local landscape. There are 26 of these to each look after 15 CCGs. Some local meetings have been held and more are planned for after April 2020 and we should all get to know and love our representatives over the next few months..