Irish healthcare software companies, Vitro Software and YellowSchedule have announced a new partnership to tackle the growing crisis of hospital waiting lists. The companies will merge their international expertise and experience to create a practical, swift implementation of a long-term solution to address this growing issue in Ireland and the UK with ‘SmartList’. Dr Ruth Barnes, Director of Commercial Operations for Vitro Software says, “Putting the patient at the heart of the ‘SmartList’ solution was essential to its design. It is critical for patients to be seen by care providers in a timely manner to avoid delayed diagnosis and deterioration of their conditions. We are using our international experience as a provider of Hospital Digital Medical Records and speciality solutions for Breast Screening and Mental Health to provide a software solution to the waiting list challenges Ireland faces. We feel that by Vitro Software working together with Yellow Schedule who are experts in their field will provide a long term solution for the waiting list challenges.

South Pacific Private, Australia’s leading treatment centre for addiction, trauma and mental health conditions has implemented Vitro Elements, Vitro Software’s specialist Mental Health Digital Medical Record. The four-month implementation meant that staff and patients benefitted quickly, with patient clinical information being captured digitally at the patient’s side. “We chose Vitro Software’s Mental Health solution because it enabled us to move to a fully digital environment quickly and safely,” says Amy Orsatti, Quality/Systems/Research Manager. “Moving from paper to Vitro’s Mental Health Digital Medical Record was an easy process – it is a familiar, intuitive system that required less than two hours training for our clinicians..."

Digitised records are a key component for successful healthcare. Paper-based records are not just inefficient and take up space, “they also carry the risk of spreading infection”, Nash said. There is a risk of them getting lost, Nash points out. It’s not unusual for hospitals to transfer records around cities “in the back of taxis and even the basket of bicycles”. That’s before you factor in the risks of doctors’ handwriting. EMR is a more efficient, lower-cost option for hospitals that includes the eradication of unnecessary duplicate tests and provides better outcomes for patients, he added. It’s also an area in which Ireland lags.

Vitro Software has successfully implemented a digital medical record for the new Bendigo Hospital as the first stage in its journey to become a paperless hospital. The new Bendigo Hospital is a critical investment by the Victorian Government within the Loddon Mallee region and the city of Bendigo. Mr Peter Faulkner, Acting CEO Bendigo Health said “The hospital is a very technically-enabled environment and the Vitro Software platform has given the hospital the opportunity to commence its digital patient medical record journey.

A major step in the development of Bendigo Health’s Electronic Medical Record (EMR) journey has been put in place, Sláinte Healthcare will implement Vitro to deliver a customised Digital Medical Record for the Bendigo Health in Victoria Australia.