There has been a lot of buzz around the new records system Helseplattformen in the past six months. Many health workers have demanded that the introduction must be stopped, but from night to Saturday there is no turning back for St. Olav’s hospital and six municipalities in Trønder. – We are prepared, but we are excited. I am worried, as everyone else has been, says Magnus Amdam. He is a doctor at the emergency department at St. Olav’s hospital, and leading super user of the Health Platform for the doctors in his department. The IT system, with a cost frame of NOK 4.2 billion, is designed according to the principle “one patient – one record”. The goal is for all parts of the healthcare system to be able to use the same system, so that all patient information is immediately available at both GPs, nursing homes and hospitals at the same time. The health services in Trondheim municipality already adopted the medical record system in May, and since then, emergency room doctors in particular have expressed despair over a system they believe is slow, complicated and simply not good enough. St. Olav’s hospital should actually also have participated in the rollout in May, but postponed it at the last minute because they did not see it as prudent and were not ready. However, they are now, says hospital director Grethe Aasved. She herself will be in place at St. Olav when the Health Platform is turned on at three o’clock tonight. – It will be very exciting. I am not so excited about the system as such anymore, because I now know very well what we get and what we have practiced, says Aasved. – Perhaps the most exciting thing is when you press the button, if they actually work! That the systems that should be down are down, and that the Health Platform is up. Hospital director Grethe Aasved is very excited about how the Health Platform will work at St. Olav’s hospital. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news Still standing strong due to unrest The hospital director says that they have prepared with extra high staffing throughout the weekend. In addition, the American supplier of the IT system, Epic, has flown in around 300 experts to assist in the rollout in the first two weeks. Around 200 of these come from the USA, while the rest are flown in from Bristol. – There will be an army of employees to assist at St. Olav’s and in the municipalities that go live. They will wear vests at the hospital so that healthcare personnel who need help can call them, says implementation executive at Epic, Kate Cubick, to Dagens Medisin. Responsible for preparation in the Health Platform, Trude Basso, says that it is common for Epic to provide manpower when introducing a system. – But it is not so common for them to come with so many resources to also assist outside the departments, she says. – It probably has something to do with the fact that there has been a lot of unrest, which means that the will to organize and show that you can make this happen becomes stronger. For the healthcare personnel, this means that they have the opportunity to get help more quickly. Trude Basso in the Health Platform says they are well prepared now and that there is a positive atmosphere before the rollout. Photo: Morten Andersen / news Basso says that it is expected that mistakes and challenges will appear at the start – exactly what you don’t know until the system is up and running, and things will then be dealt with continuously. – We have now done the best we can, and both at St. Olav and in the municipalities they are well prepared. A dress rehearsal was held in the municipalities a few weeks ago, and it went well, so we are betting that it will go well now as well. Triple system from midnight Initially, there are 700,000 people in central Norway that this system will apply to. Beyond St. Olavs, the Health Platform will be rolled out in the municipalities of Os, Røros, Holtålen, Indre Fosen, Åfjord and Ørland. Local introduction manager for the three latter municipalities, Tove Penna Steen, is looking forward to it. – Now we have worked for this for so long, so it will be incredibly fun to be able to use what we have been waiting for, she says. – We believe this will be good, and that it will give the citizens a more coherent health service. It will be exciting to wake up tomorrow and see if everything we have worked for is working. In the municipalities of Fosen, they are looking forward to using the Health Platform, says Tove Penna Steen. Photo: Ingrid Lindgaard Stranden / news The excitement is also palpable at St. Olav’s hospital. – I have slightly different feelings, actually. We have been prepared for it for quite some time, and now it is coming, so we just have to get out of it, says emergency nurse Ida Grimstad. Emergency physician Magnus Amdam emphasizes that they will not release the old system until they are sure that it is safe. – We run a triple system from midnight – old system, new system and paper. Nothing will be turned off until we know that the new system is working. Doctor Magnus Amdam and nurse Ida Grimstad are excited. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news
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American Epic has flown in 300 employees to assist in the rollout of the Health Platform – news Trøndelag
