Delivery of efficiency savings along with benefits in patient experience, care and safety has led the Dorset Care Record to be shortlisted for a national award.

The shared care record is through to the Health Tech Efficiency Savings of the Year award.

Benefits found include the delivery of just over £2m in efficiency savings to its health and social care partners in 2021-2, with efficiency savings increasing over time as more data was added, making it easier for users to find information without logging into other systems or making enquiries.

The DCR team has consolidated benefits into 5 areas – time saving, printing and paper reduction, improved patient safety, improved patient care and improved patient experience.

Peter Gill, DCR Senior Reporting Officer (SRO) and Director of Informatics at University Hospitals Dorset, said he was delighted with the results, particularly as working out benefits is notoriously difficult: ‘It’s worth noting that the benefits work wasn’t easy to crack, with little to no precedent about how to quantify the benefits of a shared care record in this complex system-level programme.

“I am delighted that this has been recognised by judges in the Health Tech awards. The challenge now is to look at benefits beyond simple efficiencies and to provide strong evidence to support additional benefits that are identified.’

The DCR partners with University Hospitals Dorset, Dorset County Hospital, NHS Dorset, Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, bringing together electronically records from primary and secondary care. Last month, more than 81,000 records were accessed by health and social care professionals.
There are now nearly 5,000 staff trained to use the DCR.

The DCR is the first shared care record in England to pilot the Orion Health patient portal, which is expected to be rolled out to Dorset residents next year. It is also working with its neighbouring shared care record in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (CHIE) to share records across the two counties through the Wessex Care Records.