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Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has further advanced its digital maturity by successfully going live with Altera Digital Health’s ePrescribing and Medicine Administration (ePMA). Disparate and paper-based workflows have been digitised and standardised across 56 inpatient wards and urgent care areas spanning the trust’s three hospital sites, significantly reducing variations in prescribing practice to enhance patient safety.
ePMA is the latest phase in the trust’s integrated EPR programme, having taken a modular, flexible approach. Harry de Voil, Chief Information Officer for Allied Health and Nursing at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals, said: “This latest ePMA go-live is an important step on our digital maturity journey. Not only is it key to driving efficiency, quality and patient flow improvements, but it is also a key enabler for other aspects of our EPR and patient safety enhancements further on in the journey, such as closed-loop e-prescribing.”
The system has streamlined the electronic discharge process by ensuring discharge medication orders are immediately available for dispensing, helping to avoid delays resulting from the transfer of the paper medication chart from ward to pharmacy.
For the clinicians, it is saving time producing electronic discharge summaries (EDS) for primary and community care providers. Prior to go-live, teams had to manually transcribe the prescriptions into the EDS. But now, the information is automatically pulled across from the solution, enhancing patient safety, improving patient flow and enabling clinicians to focus more on direct care.
Clinical decision support and alerts, such as allergy and interaction warnings, have been introduced based on the patient’s record and the medication being ordered, which is designed to support patient safety, reduce medication errors and improve adherence to evidence-based guidelines.
The system is also designed to eliminate patient safety risks and inefficiencies associated with handwritten drug charts being lost, illegible or transcribed incorrectly. Further efficiencies are being released on the wards with instant access to the complete patient’s record and easier identification of missed doses to ensure timely care. The solution also incorporates a decision-support tool for prescribing, adding further enhancements for patient safety.
Faiza Khan, Chief Pharmacist at the Trust, said: “Thanks to the huge amount of planning and preparation work in the weeks and months leading up to launching ePMA and the hard work and professionalism of all the teams involved, the phased roll out across the Trust over a four-day period went really well.
“In the first week alone, we have seen more than 800 patients transcribed from paper to the Sunrise ePMA solution, and more than 23,000 medicines have been recorded as administered. The rollout has been supported by more than 1,000 hours of on the ward support from members of the digital team.
“We’re already seeing the benefits in terms of patient safety and efficiencies for staff—including drug chart legibility, overdue drugs being clearly highlighted, reduced transcription errors and improved efficiency thanks to drug charts being readily available.
“Work will now continue to embed the system, working closely with clinical teams to incorporate feedback to further enhance the system’s safety and user-friendliness.”
Staff engagement was high throughout the implementation with positive attendance at weekly upscaling sessions, regular scenario-based training and user acceptance meetings. Over 100 digital champions were also enlisted to support staff and ensure a smooth transition to the new way of working.
Mark Hutchinson, Executive Vice President at Altera Digital Health (UK & EMEA), said: “I would like to extend my congratulations to Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust for achieving another successful milestone on their EPR roadmap. They should be very proud because the immediate and longer-term benefits of ePMA are game changing when it comes to supporting safer and faster patient care. I’m pleased to report that this go-live means 100% of our UK clients are live with ePMA. The Worcestershire team excelled throughout the implementation, and it was great to be part of that experience. Worcestershire’s approach to lay a solid EPR foundation and build on that with modular rollouts such as this one places them in a strong position for long-term digital maturity and integrated care. We’ll be supporting them in this endeavour as they expand the functionality of their integrated EPR further.”
Media Contact:
Jodie Cheetham, Silver Buck (on behalf of Altera Digital Health)
jodie@silver-buck.com
07967 136010
About Altera Digital Health
Altera Digital Health is a global healthcare IT leader. With more than 30 years of experience, we develop technology to bring next-level healthcare within reach. Our approach to solutions provides a fast, flexible and clinically driven roadmap towards digital maturity across integrated care systems.
With more than 2,700 hospitals in more than 15 countries, our solutions support healthcare providers, governments and military institutions around the world. By keeping the human user at the centre of our design methodology, we are supporting caregivers and helping patients meet and exceed their wellness goals. Together, with our clients, we’re driving a new era of healthcare. To learn more, visit uk.alterahealth.com.
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Altera Digital Health, a leading provider of electronic patient record (EPR) solutions in the UK, has announced a new partnership with PC PAL to enhance paediatric care within its Sunrise™ EPR system – with Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust becoming the first NHS trust to implement advanced growth charting as part of this innovation.
Through the integration of GrowthXP, PC PAL’s world-class paediatric growth charting application, Sunrise users in the UK can access an augmented depth of data to support accurate growth monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment planning. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust’s adoption of this functionality highlights how the flexibility and interoperability of Sunrise enables trusts to tailor solutions to meet specific clinical needs, seamlessly embedding specialist tools into everyday workflows.
The solution provides an extensive library of growth references, including local UK standards, as well as data covering over 50 rare disorders. By embedding within Sunrise, Altera is extending its commitment to equip paediatric specialists with advanced, clinically validated tools that improve both patient care and efficiency.
Dr. Shehriyar Khan, Clinical Information Officer for Women, Children and Sexual Health, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust said: “The transition from paper-based to digital growth charts has revolutionised the way healthcare professionals at MTW track and monitor growth. Replacing traditional paper-based charts with fully digitised charts has improved accuracy, accessibility, and standardisation, enabling our healthcare teams to make more informed decisions and provide better care. There has been overwhelmingly positive feedback from users after transitioning to the digital growth charts, leading to improved efficiency and productivity in the clinical environment.”
Mark Hutchinson, Executive Vice President, Altera Digital Health (UK & EMEA), said:
“We are delighted to bring world-leading growth charting capabilities into Sunrise, and proud to see Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust lead the way with our first UK implementation. This achievement demonstrates the capability and flexibility of Sunrise, enabling NHS organisations to integrate best-in-class resources that directly enhance patient outcomes.”
This collaboration reflects the shared vision of delivering innovative, evidence-based digital health solutions that empower clinicians and improve outcomes for children. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust’s pioneering work sets a strong example for paediatric care across the NHS.
About Altera Digital Health
Altera Digital Health is a global healthcare IT leader. With more than 30 years of experience, we develop technology to bring next-level healthcare within reach. Our approach to solutions provides a fast, flexible and clinically driven roadmap towards digital maturity across integrated care systems.
With more than 2,700 hospitals in more than 15 countries, our solutions support healthcare providers, governments and military institutions around the world. By keeping the human user at the centre of our design methodology, we are supporting caregivers and helping patients meet and exceed their wellness goals. Together, with our clients, we’re driving a new era of healthcare. To learn more, visit uk.alterahealth.com.
About Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust is a large acute hospital trust in the south east of England. Its core catchment areas are Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells and their surrounding boroughs, and it operates from two main clinical sites: Maidstone Hospital and Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury, as well as Fordcombe Hospital which the Trust acquired in October 2024.
The Trust employs a team of 8,000 staff and provides a full range of general hospital services, and some areas of specialist complex care, to around 600,000 people living in the south of west Kent and the north of East Sussex. It also provides outpatient clinics and specialist care, including stroke and sexual health services, to a wider population at locations across the region. The Trust provides cancer services to around 2 million people in Kent, Medway and East Sussex, via the Kent Oncology Centre at Maidstone Hospital, and at Kent and Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury.
About PC PAL
PC PAL is a leading, global, medical software developer providing decision-support modules for integration into medical record systems, notably the child growth charting tool, GrowthXP. Our solutions are used in 20% of the top 100 ranked hospitals in the world.
Media Contact
Jodie Cheetham (on behalf of Altera Digital Health)
Jodie@silver-buck.com
M: 07967 136010
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Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (QVH), a specialist hospital providing life-changing reconstructive surgery, burns care and rehabilitation services, has gone live with its first electronic patient record (EPR) system. The partnership with Altera Digital Health successfully launched the Sunrise EPR platform, replacing many of their patient and clinical documents in paper form and becoming paper-lite in processes.
(Caption: Paper planes made by young patients symbolising saying bye to paper documentation)
Known as Archie EPR, a name chosen by staff, as a nod to pioneering plastic surgeon Sir Archibald McIndoe, this marks the most significant digital transformation the Trust has ever undertaken and is central to QVH’s long-term strategy to become a fully digitally enabled NHS provider.
During go live, QVH was supported by 120 members of staff who became Digital Champions and floorwalkers from Altera, NHS England and other local NHS Trusts helping from day 1, helping the clinical services to adopt the changes more seamlessly. As a speciality Trust with high volume cases of Theatre procedures, it was important that staff felt supported on the ground level and could resolve any challenges that were raised. The feedback from staff has been amazingly positive.
Kirsten Timmins, Chief Operating Officer at QVH, said: “I witnessed one of the smoothest transitions over from analogue to digital, and we couldn’t have done it without our staff embracing this journey. It has been a privilege to be part of this work bringing together QVH staff, digital and technical contractors, Altera Digital Health, NHSE teams and support from neighbouring Trusts. The success of the roll out truly reflects our values as we have succeeded together. Archie EPR will transform the way we work together and across the NHS.”
Mark Hutchinson, Executive Vice President at Altera Digital Health (UK & EMEA), said, “Huge congratulations to QVH on the successful go live of its first EPR and for significantly advancing the Trust’s digital maturity. The new EPR is providing a single source of patient data, so clinical teams have comprehensive, real-time information at their fingertips to improve decision-making and patient safety. This is a fantastic achievement that was made possible by the team’s unwavering commitment throughout to ensure it remained patient focused, clinically led and digitally enabled.”
In the first week:
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4,064 clinical documents created in Archie EPR
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2,729 prescriptions prescribed on ePMA
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11,305 instances of other Trust clinical systems, e.g. PACS being accessed via patient context links from Archie EPR
Archie EPR will allow nursing and clinical teams to receive timely electronic notifications to undertake reviews and guides for decision support, ensuring proactive and responsive care. The future is to continue optimising the system, giving staff more time to focus on delivering exceptional care.
Romana Balle, Chief Nursing Information Officer at QVH, said: “Archie EPR marks the beginning of QVH’s digital journey. It represents a foundational step in modernising our clinical systems and strengthening the digital capability of our organisation. The implementation was very successful and we had positive feedback on clearer access to patient information and more efficient ways of working for teams across the Trust and with the wider NHS.”
(Caption: Paper planes made by young patients symbolising saying bye to paper documentation)
Altera media Contact:
Jodie Cheetham, Silver Buck (on behalf of Altera Digital Health)
jodie@silver-buck.com
07967 136010
QVH media contact:
Simone Onasanya – EPR Communications Lead
qvh.communications@nhs.net
About Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
QVH is a leading specialist centre for reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation, helping people who have been damaged or disfigured through accidents or disease. For more information, please visit www.qvh.nhs.uk.
About Altera Digital Health
Altera Digital Health is a global healthcare IT leader. With more than 30 years of experience, we develop technology to bring next-level healthcare within reach. Our approach to solutions provides a fast, flexible and clinically driven roadmap towards digital maturity across integrated care systems.
With more than 2,700 hospitals in more than 15 countries, our solutions support healthcare providers, governments and military institutions around the world. By keeping the human user at the centre of our design methodology, we are supporting caregivers and helping patients meet and exceed their wellness goals. Together, with our clients, we’re driving a new era of healthcare. To learn more, visit uk.alterahealth.com.
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Annual Harris user conference will gather hundreds for education, training and networking
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — October 16, 2025 — Altera Digital Health, a global health IT leader, today announced its participation in HCTC 2025, hosted by parent company Harris at the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center in Chula Vista, Calif., December 2–4. Altera thought leaders, clients and partners will present during healthcare track sessions at the annual user conference, which brings together more than one thousand attendees to provide technical education, exchange industry best practices and network with other Harris users.
Clients in attendance will hear directly from Altera leadership on the company’s vision for artificial intelligence (AI) and other key industry topics such as clinician satisfaction, financial stability and patient engagement. Breakout sessions for Sunrise™, Paragon®, TouchWorks® EHR and CareInMotion will feature product roadmap previews from solution experts as well as success stories and learnings shared by peer institutions like Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Pipeline Health and Lakeview Clinic. Leaders from Ventus, Managed Services and Altera Cloud will also be onsite to answer client questions and discuss new ways to drive organizational value. Additionally, healthcare track attendees can join sessions presented by Ingenious Med, a fellow member of the Harris Healthcare family, that will focus on common industry pain points and emerging technologies.
“HCTC offers so much interaction, information and exchange of ideas. Engaging with leaders from other organizations using the same solutions and facing the same challenges was invaluable,” said Dr. Michael Josey, Chief Medical Information Officer, Grand Lake Health System. “I’m looking forward to this year’s event, learning from Altera and fellow clients, and taking new strategies back to our organization to work on even more improvements.”
Attendees will also have an opportunity to engage with Altera partners like IMO Health and Crowdstrike during sponsorship showcases and educational sessions. Health Gorilla, a designated QHIN under TEFCA, will team up with Sunrise to provide insights on advancements in nationwide interoperability. FinThrive, a healthcare revenue cycle management software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider, will also join Sunrise to discuss how clients can drive efficiency and revenue at their organizations.
“Healthcare is moving at a rapid pace, from innovation to regulation. No matter their size or location, our clients are facing many of the same clinical, financial and operational complexities,” said Marcus Perez, President, Altera Digital Health. “I’m excited for the discussions to come at HCTC as we dig into our clients’ top challenges and opportunities. It’s all about sharing knowledge among people with the same drive to do right by providers, patients and overall organizations.”
Altera clients can learn more and register for HCTC 2025 here.
About Altera Digital Health
A global healthcare IT leader, Altera Digital Health develops and elevates technology to bring next-level healthcare within reach. Altera’s approach to our solutions is changing the way healthcare is delivered—we see the summit of what healthcare can be, but rather than total transformation, we’re focused on helping organizations take the steps they need to get there. Altera designs digital health services that lead healthcare to a higher place, while we guide those we partner with, all along the way. To learn more, visit www.alterahealth.com.
Media Contact
For Altera Digital Health
AlteraMediaRelations@alterahealth.com
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Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW) has achieved significant time savings across its wards by introducing automated vital signs integration into its Sunrise™ Electronic Patient Record (EPR), provided by Altera Digital Health. The trust now estimates a savings of 2.5 minutes per observation, equating to approximately 50% time saving for clinicians to record observations, freeing up hundreds of hours each year for direct patient care.
Traditionally, clinicians at MTW captured vital signs using portable physiological measuring devices and then manually transcribed results into the EPR. The process was prone to delays, transcription errors and inefficiencies.
Due to the limited availability of Computers on Wheels (COW) on wards and the difficulty of wheeling the device and a COW around a ward, observations were frequently written on paper and entered into the EPR later. This created systemic delays, often 45 minutes or longer, and increased the risk of error, reduced data quality, and delayed visibility of National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) alerts and prompts for follow on actions and escalation of care for deteriorating patients.
With the new solution, data is transmitted automatically and in real-time from bedside to EPR. Time-and-motion studies conducted by the trust revealed that observation documentation now appears in the EPR within approximately one minute on average, down from up to 45 minutes previously. This rapid data entry means clinicians no longer need to backdate entries or search for paper notes, enabling faster decision-making and patient escalation.
“This transformation is more than a technology change – it’s a cultural shift in how we deliver safe, data-driven care,” said Johanna Kelly, Chief Nursing Information Officer at MTW. “Our teams are empowered to act faster and more confidently with real-time information at their fingertips, improving both outcomes and experience.”
Shanese Rochester, Registered Nurse at MTW, said: “I love it, it’s easy to use and accurate. It goes straight to the EPR so there is no need to key in the information after taking the observations. It saves a lot of time not having to log into the EPR after doing the observations and that time can be used to provide other nursing care to the patients.”
For the patient, safety is improved with earlier identification of deterioration to enable faster escalation and improved outcomes. It is also enhancing experience with more informed and timely care discussions during ward rounds and reduced need for repeat observations due to errors or delays.
Designed in partnership between Altera, MTW and Baxter, using its Welch Allyn Connex Vital Signs Monitors, the automation has been honed to include positive patient identification and barcode-enabled user authentication in line with Scan4Safety principles. Trust-localised NEWS2 scoring and device-to-EPR automation ensure robust escalation pathways and reduced transcription errors.
Unexpected benefits have been identified in the form of an increase in the total number of observations recorded per patient in the EPR. During the training programme for the new solution, inconsistencies in how observations were measured were also identified and provided an opportunity to re-enforce best practice.
MTW’s automated vital signs model is now being shared with neighbouring NHS organisations as a regional exemplar. The solution supports interoperability, aligns with MTW’s Green Plan by reducing paper use, and improves compliance with national clinical governance standards.
Mark Hutchinson, Executive Vice President, Altera Digital Health (UK & EMEA), commented: “This capability has transformed how vital signs are captured, recorded, and acted on with a robust digital workflow. It demonstrates the power of digital transformation in improving patient care, enhancing staff efficiency, and pushing the boundaries of EPR capabilities. We’ve very much enjoyed collaborating with the trust and Baxter to reduce the administrative burden on clinicians so they can focus more on direct patient care. Looking ahead, we will be supporting other trusts with vital signs integrations and similar scalable, interoperable system optimisations that deliver significant benefits to patients and clinicians.”