Bringing Hospice Care into the Digital Age: Innovate’s Role in Connecting Patient Records
Innovate has been at the forefront of digitally transforming palliative care across Coventry and Warwickshire. Over the last three years, we have worked closely with local hospices to implement EMIS electronic patient records (EPR) and the Integrated Care Record (ICR), ensuring seamless access to critical patient data across healthcare services.
We have now successfully deployed EMIS across all four hospices in Warwickshire - marking a significant milestone in bringing hospice care into the digital age.
Our Palliative Care Digital Transformation Programme has supported Myton Hospice, Shipston Home Nursing, The Shakespeare Hospice, and Mary Ann Evans Hospice in replacing their outdated or previously non-existent digital systems with EMIS, a modern EPR that enhances efficiency, safety, and continuity of care.
The introduction of EMIS enabled the negotiation of data sharing agreements across the community, ensuring that hospice teams can now view relevant patient records held by other healthcare providers. This two-way, read-only access improves coordination and reduces duplication of effort, enabling hospice staff to focus more on patient care.
The second phase of this transformation, falling under the wider ICR initiative, has further strengthened digital collaboration. Hospices now have access to the full Coventry and Warwickshire ICR directly within their EMIS system – giving them real-time visibility of records from all local healthcare partners, including South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust, George Eliot Hospital, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire, local councils, and West Midlands Ambulance Service.
This formal linkage between organisations enables clinicians to access vital information such as patient history, social care packages, investigations, and end-of-life care preferences – all in one place. As a result, decision-making is faster and more informed, delays in care are reduced, and the overall quality of patient and family experience is significantly improved.
The combined implementation of EMIS and the ICR means that Coventry and Warwickshire is now one of the first areas in the country to adopt such a holistic, integrated approach to palliative care – ensuring that clinicians have the tools they need to deliver truly joined-up services at the end of life.
Tracey Sheridan, Chief Executive Officer at The Shakespeare Hospice, said of this transformative work: “The implementation of EMIS and access to the Integrated Care Record has truly transformed how we deliver care. For the first time, our clinical team has immediate access to the full picture of a patient’s needs, enabling more joined-up and compassionate care. Innovate’s support throughout has been outstanding – responsive, knowledgeable, and always collaborative.”
Jack Foster, Associate Chief Operating Officer at South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust, added: “This work has significantly improved how services across the system communicate and collaborate. By connecting hospices into the wider digital infrastructure, we’re enabling safer, more responsive care for some of our most vulnerable patients. It’s a great example of system partners working together to deliver real change.”
Through these initiatives, Innovate has helped break down silos between healthcare providers, ensuring that hospices are fully integrated into the wider NHS network. By making critical patient data accessible when it matters most, we’re improving care outcomes, reducing administrative burdens, and enhancing the working lives of hospice staff.
As we continue to drive digital transformation across the region, we remain committed to supporting collaboration, innovation, and truly patient-centred care across the local healthcare sector.