A new system to file and update patient records will be introduced next year, the Bermuda Hospitals Board announced yesterday.

The electronic Patient Electronic and Administrative Records Log – Pearl – will give each patient one record, no matter which BHB service they used.

A BHB spokeswoman explained that Pearl would help reduce duplication and delays and improve co-ordination of care and access to full information for the patient and clinical team.

It also has the potential to have greater connectivity outside the hospital.

Michael Richmond, the BHB’s chief executive officer, said: “Implementing a full electronic medical record will help us upgrade, and meet the standards of care expected in hospitals around the world.

“Electronic medical records are a tool for staff to use in the delivery of care that puts the patient at the heart of all we do, it helps us in our mission to deliver the highest quality and safest care each day.”

BHB staff began working on the project in April after a year-long delay because of the Covid-19 pandemic. About 350 staff have been involved in more than 1,000 workshops and meetings.

Dr Richmond said: “BHB staff and physicians have been working hard since April in order to implement our first integrated electronic medical record.

“We appreciate that they have been keeping this project moving even as we have gone through the waves of the pandemic.

“The pressure of time is on us as our current clinical system is old and no longer supported.”

Wesley Miller, the BHB chief of staff, said that the new system would improve healthcare services.

He added: “It actively encourages safe care because of the safety alerts built into the system, which help clinicians make timely decisions.

“Someone with clinical indicators that suggest sepsis or stroke, for instance, can be immediately flagged.

“These are conditions in which a fast therapeutic response is critical to the outcome of patients.”

Dr Miller said that the Pearl system had other advantages and could cut the risk of mistakes.

He added: “Medication alerts can be flagged that stop errors in doses or contraindications with other medications the patient is on.

“Clinicians will use the EMR to write up their notes, review test results, make diagnoses, make referrals, prescribe medications and communicate with other people in the care team, or to other departments involved in a patient’s care.

“One patient, one record, wherever you go in BHB.”

The new system will be used in clinical, support and administrative areas across the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute and the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre.