The digitalisation of healthcare is underway in Ireland, and patients are already realising the benefits.
In an era of integrated care for patients who typically have multiple morbidities, a digital record of their care is increasingly non-negotiable, especially as healthcare finally becomes truly patient-centric. Those healthcare organisations that have adopted digital solutions are witnessing the enhancement of patient safety and new standards in operational efficiency.
In Ireland, the independent hospital sector has been at the forefront of this transformation. With Bon Secours, Blackrock Health, and the Mater Private Network already employing Meditech’s Expanse electronic health record (EHR) solution, the latest healthcare group to adopt the platform is UPMC Ireland.
With four hospitals, two cancer centres (soon to be three) and six sports medicine clinics comprising its network, UPMC Ireland managing director Eamonn Fitzgerald explains that the introduction of the EHR comes as part of a “once in a generation” digital transformation. The introduction of a digital patient record will allow for the seamless transition of patients between their services, he notes, allowing for more connected and better informed care.
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“We have a significant network of healthcare provision which requires us to have an integrated electronic health record solution in order to be able to provide always-on access to patient records, clinical workflows and ability to measure and monitor quality of care,” he says. “The Meditech Expanse platform gives us the benefit of doing that.”
A well-established EHR vendor, Meditech has been supporting Irish and UK healthcare organisations for over 20 years and currently, nearly 80 per cent of private hospitals in Ireland now use or are implementing Meditech.
Having begun her career in this field 40 years ago, Meditech’s executive director, international Gina Kerley has had a front row seat for the digitalisation of healthcare. Originally healthcare software was typically developed for a specific task or individual department - now healthcare’s increasing complexity means that ask is very different. Expanse, Meditech’s EHR, allows for fully connected, integrated care with the patient at the centre, leveraging cloud technology and AI to ensure its adaptability.
Kerley notes that Meditech is continually innovating and modernising their software in order to offer digital solutions that encompass the very latest technology and digital capabilities. This, she says, is an imperative in an era gradually being redefined by AI and other disruptive technologies.
“We’ve fundamentally moved the EHR from a departmental record to an integrated, patient-centric platform where all care revolves around the individual,” she says. “As healthcare continues its rapid transformation—driven by factors like AI and interoperability—our primary objective is ensuring our products remain agile, future-proofed, and always aligned with the evolving needs of today’s health systems.”
While the HSE is finally beginning to grasp the nettle on this - the first phase of the shared care record rollout is eagerly awaited later this year - Kerley highlights independent hospital groups who she says have been extremely proactive in their willingness to modernise and offer patients the benefits of a truly digital health system.
“The private providers have been willing to step forward and make the investment. By doing so, they are saying that digital care is important.”
It’s also an essential step, as it is hoped the shared care record will eventually encompass both the public and independent hospital sector.
When it came to implementing an EHR, the UPMC group did its due diligence, Fitzgerald notes. “We are more than satisfied that we have chosen an excellent solution in relation to the Meditech Expanse platform and together we are working to deliver to our patients in UPMC the ability to provide what our mission motivates us to do, which is life-changing medicine for patients within their communities,” he says.
Patients are used to doing their banking and shopping online - healthcare is just the next step. With patients now seen as equal partners in managing their own health, Fitzgerald says they have a “reasonable expectation” to access their medical information in the same way. The practicalities of this are obvious - no longer will a patient have to tell their own health story to each practitioner they see, improving the patient journey and avoiding duplication or missed care opportunities.
“Not only will it reduce the variability in care processes by having clinical workflows, the EHR will be available to providers who have a right of access to it on an always-on basis 24/7/365, wherever they are in our network,” he points out. “So there’ll never be an issue where practitioners are waiting for a physical chart in order to make a decision about the care of the patient.”
Fitzgerald adds that all members of the multidisciplinary team, from consultants to nursing staff to allied healthcare professionals will also benefit from the seamless flow of patient information throughout the system. “It frees up their valuable time for more patient-facing work.”
In a country where 47 per cent of the population has private health insurance, appropriate interoperability between the public and the independent sector is essential, he adds. The forthcoming shared care record will hopefully go some way towards addressing this, Kerley believes.
“You may have a patient that arrives at the emergency department at one of the HSE hospitals, but they could have just had a surgical procedure at one of the UPMC facilities,” Kerley points out. “So the ability in the future to have that information on that shared care record and be able to share between the different organisations, I think is tremendous. We’re excited about it.”
