Joined up thinking

PCS Web - a groundbreaking new e-record system that gives everyone in the primary care team instant, online access to patients' records - is being piloted in two PCTs in England from next month.

For the first time in the UK, health visitors and district nurses will have their own tailored e-nursing care records, based on the internationally recognised Omaha classification system.

In this special feature, sponsored by EMIS - the UK's leading provider of IT to GPs - we take a behind-the-scenes look at the two-year development of PCS Web, which has interoperability at the heart of everything it does.

Technology for an integrated healthcare community What would be on your shopping list for an ideal e-healthcare system for primary care? We discover the essential elements that EMIS considered in developing PCS Web, the next generation of the company's software. Making it happen Darren Sheavills, EMIS's Chief Architect, explains why bolting on a product to an existing medical record system wasn't an option in a system that had to meet the needs of all members of the team, not just GPs. A nursing breakthrough Melanie Chambers, IT Lead Nurse (Health Visiting), and Janice Richardson, IT Lead Nurse (District Nursing), at Calderdale PCT explain why PCS Web marks an historic moment for primary care nursing.

E-Health Insider is published by E-Health Media Ltd