UPMC’s world-class expertise with electronic health records leads to first U.K. contract. Five technology applications will be deployed at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals to improve patient safety and quality of care. Agreement expands UPMC’s international footprint, creating new revenues to reinvest in health care mission. |
PITTSBURGH, April 25, 2008 — The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals, a National Health System Foundation Trust in the U.K., today announced an innovative partnership to deploy electronic-health-record technology at Newcastle’s hospitals. The project, the first for UPMC in the U.K., is expected to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of patient care.
Under the 14-month implementation plan, a UPMC technology team will install and adapt five electronic-health-record applications at three Newcastle hospitals. These applications include inpatient order entry, patient administration, pharmacy management, accident and emergency services and operating room systems.
“This agreement with the distinguished Newcastle Hospitals reflects the technological expertise and excellence that UPMC has achieved after years of deploying advanced information systems throughout our 20-hospital network,” said Charles Bogosta, president of UPMC’s International and Commercial Services Division. “We are pleased that Newcastle has selected UPMC for this complex endeavor based upon our leadership in embracing electronic records for the benefit of the patients and clinicians throughout our integrated global health care enterprise.”
“Our senior health care professionals are delighted with the opportunity to move forward with such enhanced IT systems. In addition, we are considering collaborations with UPMC in clinical medicine, research and development, which will be significantly strengthened by this IT improvement,” said Timothy Walls, M.D., medical director of Newcastle Hospitals.
UPMC and Newcastle also have formed a joint venture to provide information technology services to other U.K. hospital trusts. “Newcastle will be an important proving ground for this partnership,” said Len Fenwick, chief executive of Newcastle Hospitals. “We are confident that others will soon see the value of what we are doing here and will be eager to replicate it.”
The contract is part of UPMC’s broader effort to generate incremental revenue to support its health care, research and education mission in western Pennsylvania and throughout the world. UPMC, which already provides technology services for other health systems in the United States, formed a separate company last year to focus on growing this commercial business.
“The Newcastle contract is the first of what we hope will be many international agreements for our information technology services,” said Dan Drawbaugh, chief information officer at UPMC. “This further demonstrates that the technological advances UPMC has made to provide superior patient care in western Pennsylvania is highly valued and sought after around the world.”
In addition to the Newcastle project, UPMC’s international portfolio includes a recently signed contract to manage the private Beacon Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, two cancer centers in Ireland and a leading transplant hospital in Palermo, Italy. UPMC also provides emergency medical services and training in Qatar.
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals is a leading center for clinical care, teaching and research, serving more than 3 million people. Its services are provided from three main hospital sites: the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Freeman Hospital and Newcastle General Hospital, which together contain just under 2,000 staffed beds.
Newcastle became an NHS Foundation Trust in 2006 as part of the government’s wider program for reforming the health system. Foundation organizations, now numbering nearly 70 throughout England, remain part of the NHS but have much greater independence and authority over the way their services are delivered and developed.
Because of its long-standing commitment to using advanced technology to improve patient care, Newcastle sought an outside technology partner to implement elements of an electronic health record. Through a competitive bidding process, it selected UPMC as its prime contractor. The new system is expected to be fully compatible with the U.K.’s national program for electronically connecting hospitals.
As a sign of UPMC’s commitment to this venture, Donna McCormick, chief information officer of UPMC’s International and Commercial Services Division, will be based in London to oversee the Newcastle project and other international technology initiatives.
About UPMC
UPMC is an integrated global health enterprise headquartered in Pittsburgh and one of the leading nonprofit health systems in the United States. As western Pennsylvania’s largest employer with 48,000 employees and nearly $7 billion in revenue, UPMC is transforming the economy of the region into one based on medicine, research and technology. By integrating 20 hospitals, 400 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites, long-term care facilities and a major insurance plan, UPMC has advanced the quality and efficiency of health care and developed internationally renowned programs in transplantation, cancer, neurosurgery, psychiatry, orthopaedics and sports medicine, among others. UPMC is commercializing its medical and technological expertise by nurturing new companies, developing strategic business relationships with some of the world’s leading corporations, and expanding into international markets, including Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Qatar. For more information about UPMC, visit www.upmc.com.
About Newcastle Hospitals
Newcastle is one of the largest and most successful health care providers in the U.K., employing more than 10,000 staff and with annual revenues nearing £700 million. With local, regional and national health programs and an extensive research portfolio, it is completing a £300 million building program. For more information, go to http://www.newcastle-hospitals.org.uk/.