McKesson News

-McKesson brings new system to market as it continues to deliver and support trusted healthcare technology within the NHS-

Mels McKesson UK, the trusted healthcare technology solutions and services provider, today announces the launch of a new solution for the UK, based on its market-leading Hospital Information System (HIS) 'Paragon', confirming a multi-staged deployment strategy that will enable Trusts to realise early benefits in accordance with their requirements and timescales.

The announcement comes after McKesson signed a deal with Connecting for Health (CfH) to continue its support for a further four years in respect of the 26 NHS Trusts currently running McKesson patient administration systems (PAS).

McKesson has a track record of success in developing healthcare information systems for the UK, which have been in place for up to 20 years and deliver a trusted and reliable service. McKesson has intricate knowledge of the NHS derived from leading the implementation of the only NHS National System to be fully deployed across England and Wales, the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This, coupled with demand for a new solution from its existing customers, should reassure healthcare organisations across the country that McKesson's decision to introduce a new solution based on an established, proven HIS can be trusted and will provide a compelling option for Trusts to consider.

Paragon is an award-winning* US solution that offers a broad suite of multidisciplinary clinical, patient and administrative functions which are fully integrated as a single solution but which can also be deployed on a modular basis as customer requirements and timescales dictate.

Paragon allows permitted clinicians to access the complete patient record from virtually any location. It is a highly configurable solution, based on Microsoft technology and architecture that offers a complete suite of integrated modules that will allow McKesson to deliver to the requirements of individual local healthcare economies.

Adrian Wookey, VP Service Delivery of McKesson UK, comments, "McKesson has employed a team of UK experts to work with our extensive Paragon team in the US, to ensure that this exciting new solution is fully optimised for use in the NHS."

Wookey continues, "The core system is already clinically rich and many of the changes required for the NHS market will be achieved through straightforward application configuration. Other key requirements will entail some development, such as the need to ensure National Programme/Spine compliance, consistency with UK clinical workflows, national requirements and standards and the use of local terminology and clinical coding. It goes without saying that we will meet all these fundamental requirements in the same way we have already done with our existing clinical systems that continue to support Trusts today and for the next four years."

Wookey continues, "We are confident that compared to other systems coming to the market, McKesson's will be the most cost-effective solution available and will deliver the functionality that is required by our customers today. McKesson is fully committed to ensuring that the solution will continue to develop and evolve to meet the needs of integrated care organisations as they become mainstream and as new models of healthcare provision emerge. As the NHS looks for more efficient ways to manage Long Term Conditions and faces an increasingly ageing population, tighter integration between acute, primary and other levels of care is inevitable. System interoperability is paramount to support this and ensure all caregivers can access a patient's pathway as they move within the healthcare continuum - regardless of the four walls the patient happens to be within. McKesson's new offering will ensure NHS Trusts are able to achieve this."

*Paragon achieved the "Best in KLAS" ranking for Community HIS in the 2009 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report for the fourth consecutive year. Source: 2009 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report; December 2009, www.KLASresearch.com, (c) 2009 KLAS Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved.