Transitioning to digital systems and away from paper records is a service-wide objective for the NHS, but achieving it means having well designed and integrated hardware on the ground to ensure systems are user-friendly, robust and efficient.
That was the challenge for Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK. It operates from two major hospitals, Freeman Hospital and the Royal Victoria Infirmary, and a number of other sites, providing healthcare to communities across the North East of England and beyond.
Supporting digitisation
The Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust was implementing a new patient record system that would allow records to be shared digitally between departments rather than relying on paper documents.
One area where this upgrade would deliver major benefits was in the way outpatient samples are prepared for labs for analysis. Previously, all outpatient samples needed to be entered onto the lab systems and physically re-labelled when they arrive.
The integrated digital system removed this need. However, to do this, the Trust needed a fleet of label printers for its outpatient departments and theatres that could be seamlessly integrated with its digital records system – Cerner Millennium®. They also needed to be robust, compact and user-friendly enough to be used by busy clinicians across the hospital.
To support further digitisation, the Trust developed a document scanning solution to rapidly scan paper documentation into the digital patient record. Labels would now be printed with QR codes that the scanners use to digitally file the paper records in the correct location.
The right prescription
After investigating all of the options available, the hospital’s IT team opted for the Brother TD-2120N label printer, a compact unit that delivers impressive print speeds and which is designed to be robust enough to survive the rigours of the busiest working environments.
The units are designed to work seamlessly with a wide range of digital documentation systems, including those developed by Cerner. The Trust invested in a fleet of more than 550 units.
