South Canty live with regional patient information system

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Te Whatu Ora Health NZ South Canterbury is live with the South Island Patient Information Care System (SI PICS).

Provided by Orion Health, SI PICS will ultimately become the region-wide solution for patient management and administration across the South Island.

Christchurch first introduced the system at Burwood Hospital in 2016, followed by implementation across Canterbury in 2018, the same year that it went live at Nelson Marlborough. Southern is due to go-live in May next year.

The system includes patient demographics, master patient index, appointment booking, waiting list management, patient transfers, records of patient activity, reporting, admission and discharges, and alerts and allergies.

South Canterbury was due to go-live in November 2021 but that was delayed until July, 2022.

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A Te Whatu Ora Health NZ South Canterbury spokesperson says, “the go-live date was governed by the project’s quality criteria and there were certain requirements that were not met to go live at that time”.

The regional system has replaced its inhouse HPS system and the spokesperson says the change for staff has been significant.

“The Timaru Hospital has moved from a system that was more than 25 years old to SI PICS, which has posed some challenges for our teams - as do most shifts in tech systems during the switch-over process - as they get used to the new system,” they said.

Teams are being supported with additional training and having the SI PICS project team available in real time.

The spokesperson says the South Island-wide patient information system allows for better access to patient information across the region, which enables better patient outcomes, and is supported by a South Island-wide team.

“The system’s functions are constantly being improved and kept up to date with Manatū Hauora - Ministry of Health changes and requirements,” they say.

“With SI PICS, the Timaru Hospital can share resources with other facilities and will reap the benefits of further initiatives and value-added projects.”

The spokesperson says the delivery of SI PICS is a necessary starting point for the Timaru Hospital to utilise other computer systems and improve its administrative and clinical processes.

A Te Whatu Ora Health NZ Southern spokesperson said the district is working towards replacing its two existing iPM systems in May 2023 with SI PICS.

“As part of the process, we’re recently identified more than 100 staff champions from throughout the organisation who will be integral to a successful rollout in Southern,” they said.


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