Better wins Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust EPMA contract

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (HWHCT) has contracted Better to deliver its award-winning Better Meds EPMA solution across the Trust’s mental health recovery units and community hospitals.

The procurement will fulfil the last of the Trust's obligations as a Global Digital Exemplar and marks a significant step forward in its digital transformation.

Better Meds was selected after scoring favourably during demonstrations with clinical staff and for its functionality for end-of-life care and for the speed at which it could implement the solution, whilst also being competitively priced.

Lisa Yates, Deputy Chief Information Officer at Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, said: “As a mental health and community trust we have some unique challenges, particularly around end-of-life care and specifics around prescriptions of antipsychotic medications, for example, which require a lot of rigour. The functionality around syringe drivers and infusions for use with end-of-life and palliative care was significantly better than any of the other solutions that we tested. This along with Better’s use of openEHR technology, really provided us with a simpler, easier to use system”.

The Trust was also looking for a supplier that could integrate its EPMA solution into its existing electronic patient record system and community patient management software, which Better Meds had a track record of achieving.

Yates added: “Our neighbouring trust, Wye Valley NHS Trust, has successfully implemented Better Meds and spoke favourably of the speed and success of the project. We also spoke to several other Better Meds customers and heard lots of positive feedback, which further endorsed our decision.”

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust delivers mental health services across two counties (Herefordshire and Worcestershire) and so was looking at the track record of Better to deliver its solutions across boundaries - something that it proved in its delivery of Better Meds within Wye Valley, which also provides services in Powys, Wales.

Adrian Aggett, Client Director, Better UK & Ireland, said: “We have invested significant time and effort to ensure Better Meds meets the needs of our customers, so we are heartened to hear the positive feedback from clinical teams, particularly in relation to the usability and functionality. This is the 10th contract win for Better Meds in the UK, which is a testament to the strength of the solution and the effort at which our teams go to in order to deliver for our customers. We are looking forward to working with Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust to help improve the safety and efficiency of the care they provide through the benefits of using Better Meds.”