Flinders Medical Centre, one of the largest hospitals in South Australia, has implemented the Sunrise EMR platform by health IT firm Allscripts.

The Sunrise EMR is a single-platform acute and ambulatory solution that delivers the most current information to clinicians at point-of-care delivery. 

According to a press statement, its installation is part of a multi-stage rollout at Flinders that began with the replacement of the hospital's previous patient administration system (PAS) in March, followed by a second stage EMR implementation in its outpatient areas. 

A third phase rollout in July saw clinical activation across the entire hospital, including inpatient areas, the emergency department and the remaining outpatient areas.

A final stage implementation is set to activate the maternity and neonatal areas in the Women’s and Children’s division of the hospital.

FMC provides a range of medical services in the southern metropolitan area of Adelaide, the state's capital. 

WHY IT MATTERS

According to Todd Haebich, general manager of Allscripts Australia and New Zealand, the rollout of the Sunrise EMR system at Flinders is a "significant step forward" in the company's "ambitious" implementation of an integrated PAS and EMR solution across SA.  

The Sunrise EMR was first installed in the state through Mt Gambier Hospital in November 2019. The EMR system has since been introduced to Royal Adelaide Hospital and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

THE LARGER TREND

Last month, Allscripts secured a competitive tender to deliver an electronic chemotherapy prescribing system to over 20 hospitals and care facilities offering cancer treatment services across SA. 

The said system is the iQemo solution by UK-based company iQ Health Tech that offers functionalities such as predefined regimens, prescribing, scheduling, dispensing, chemotherapy administration and reporting. The ECPS will be planned, designed and implemented over two and a half years with initial deployment starting in mid-2022; it will be integrated with the Sunrise EMR installed at hospitals and health facilities. 

Meanwhile, Allscripts reported in July that the Sunrise EMR platform is now being used in the ED facilities of public health services under the Gippsland Health Alliance in Victoria.