Epic Care Link and other FHFT / GP digital interfaces

When Frimley Health launched its new electronic patient record (EPR) in 2022 it instantly catapulted the Trust from one of the least to most digitally advanced trusts in the UK, revolutionising the way care was delivered.

With a clinical desire for data-driven care and improvements to safety using advanced digital technology, all clinical areas across our hospitals and community sites have been completely transformed with the introduction of Epic EPR, which replaced over 200 digital and paper-based systems and will hold a complete record for every patient.

Full details on how Epic EPR affects primary care can be found in an essential guide.
You can also read through our EpicCare Link FAQs.

Frimley Health have been rolling out EpicCare Link (ECL) to GP practices across the Frimley ICS.

How can EpicCare Link help you?

Frimley Health’s EpicCare Link is a secure web-based portal that allows our primary care clinicians and teams to access our electronic patient record (EPR) to view their patient’s Frimley Health chart in real-time. GPs can use it to drill into clinical visits that occur at the Trust to view discharge summaries, medication changes, notes, results, and more.

Please remember that EpicCare Link is an additional functionality that you have a choice in signing up to. It does not replace any of your existing patient documentation processes.

Help signing up to EpicCare Link (ECL)

Finding an ECL account 

Almost every GP practice has a named site administrator (normally the Practice Manager). Many practice staff accounts have already been created but not activated, so please contact your Site Administrator to request an account. The site administrator will be able to see inactive accounts on the system and will liaise with the Frimley Health EpicCare Link team as required. See support section below for further details.

Creating a new ECL account

If you need a new account, your site administrator can assist in setting this up by liaising with the EpicCare Link team. 

Support for new practices

If your practice has not signed-up and now wishes to register an interest, please email fhft.epiccarelink@nhs.net and your request will be processed by the team.

EpicCare Link Guidance and Support

Please find the updated guidance links below:

• Epic care link user guide
• Epic care link site administrator guidance
• BHFT Epic care link site administrator guidance
• If you have any questions, please email the EpicCare Link team via email on fhft.epiccarelink@nhs.net.

Testimonials

Karl Bennett General Practitioner, Oakley Health Group

"It’s valuable to have in primary care. The main benefit [of EpicCare Link] is that it fills some of the gaps I’ve got in my patients’ information and show results that might not have been automatically shared with me."

"It also helps us GPs to ensure that accurate prescribing occurs following an outpatient appointment or hospital attendance. In some cases it has also helped me to identify and contact a specific clinician involved in a patient’s care.”

How can Connected Care help you?

The Connected Care Shared Care Record provides important information about a person in one central place, drawing information from local systems of a growing number of care settings across Berkshire West and Frimley ICS including Primary Care, Secondary Care, Social Care, Community and Mental Health.

The Shared Care Record can be accessed directly from EMIS. From a patient record in EMIS go to the View ->My Record pane and click on Graphnet Portal to open the Shared Care Record. (The Shared Care Record is hosted by Graphnet Health Ltd)

One of the many reports that can be accessed via Connected Care is the ‘Transfer of care notifications’ which shows your patients that are currently in A&E, an inpatient or recently discharged from Berkshire Healthcare, Frimley Park, Heatherwood, Wexham Park or Royal Berkshire Hospital.

How to access Connected Care?

To access Connected Care Reports login to Connected Care https://connectedcare.uk.com/ using your personal Connected Care account and then click on the Dashboard menu to select your report.

Help signing up to Connected Care

New Connected Care accounts can be requested by emailing: frimleyicb.connectedcare@nhs.net. (Please include your work email, role and practice and let us know what access you would like.)

Help and Support / Additional information

For more information, please email: frimleyicb.connectedcare@nhs.net or view some recent additions to the Shared Care Record and to see a range of reports and lists that are available to Primary Care through Connected Care.

Radiology

As a primary care clinician you will continue to request radiological diagnostics via ICE. ICE will connect electronically to our new radiology module within our new electronic patient record (EPR) called ‘Epic Radiant’.

To support the ICE/Epic connectivity, ICE was upgraded in June 2022, all practices were asked to set up new trading partners instructions.
*You will not receive ICE reports if this has not been set up.*

Please also note that both Frimley North and Frimley South practices will be selecting and using ‘Heatherwood and Wexham Park’s’ incidence of ICE for all Radiology requesting. This is because we are moving to a single cross-site incidence of ICE, this will have many benefits to our patients.  For appointed procedures (e.g., ultrasound) you will need to indicate which hospital site your patient would prefer to have the test carried out at.

Help and Support (Radiology)

• Guidance on ICE ordering for Frimley South practices 
• For technical IT ICE / Epic Radiant radiology support (including personal login/user codes) - please contact the BSPS ICE IT Team: fhft.iceepicsupport@nhs.net. For urgent technical support (24/7):  0300 615 3411
• For further support details please visit tab called 'Frimley Health Key Contacts' under referrals and key contacts

Pathology

The Pathology service is run by Berkshire and Surrey Pathology Services (BSPS).

Help and Support (Pathology) 

It is recognised that changes in the delivery of healthcare have resulted in the delegation of some traditionally led tasks to non-medical, but professionally registered professionals such as nurses, allied health professions (AHP’s) and other health and care professionals.

One of the elements of these roles affected by this change has been the need for non-medically qualified referrers (NMR) to be suitably authorised to request appropriate imaging examinations. It is essential that we optimise the benefit of such a development, but ensure the associated risks are identified and appropriately managed, as some examinations involve an exposure to ionising radiation.

FHFT must accept the delegation of such tasks as appropriate and justified in accordance with the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017.

Our policy for the requesting of Radiological Imaging Examinations by Non-Medically Qualified Referring Professionals (NMR) from FHFT.

This policy specifies the framework and process to achieve acceptable practice for non-medical referrers requesting imaging examinations. In addition, it reflects the responsibilities of the individual referrers and FHFT in accordance with the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017.

It also includes a specific evaluation process, NMR application form, NMR supervisor confirmation form and a checklist for primary care (Appendix 3). The evidence listed in Appendix 3 should be shared with the relevant leads, who can also provide further support: 

For Primary Care MSK/FCP NMRs: 
Sylvia Wojciechowski - sylvia.wojciechowski@nhs.net  

For Primary Care non-MSK NMRs:
Joanna Hodgkinson - joannahodgkinson@nhs.net

Alerting of abnormal / concerning clinical findings from FHFT to GPs

• GP will be alerted of abnormal / concerning clinical findings by email via the practices generic email address.
• The email will be titled ‘RADIOLOGY ALERT’. Please note, this is sent alongside the report via ICE/GP systems.
• Practices will monitor their generic inboxes regularly throughout the working week and share alerts with the relevant clinician as a priority.
• The practice email addresses have been provided to FHFT by the Frimley CCG primary care contracts team frimleyicb.primarycarecontracts@nhs.net who are responsible for the verification, updating and managing the email lists. They will notify FHFT’s Interface Development team of any changes.
• Practices should proactively contact the CCGs contracts team frimleyicb.primarycarecontracts@nhs.net with any known changes to email addresses as it is important that these alerts reach practices and clinicians in a timely manner.

View the Standard Operating Protocol

For radiology requests:

For x-rays, please complete and print off the paper request form ‘FHFT-Primary Care Radiology (X-Ray)-Request Form For ICE Downtime (FHC3171)’ available on DXS in the radiology section (Frimley Health and Care/Radiology/4.Frimley ICS Referral Forms), and give to the patient to bring to the X-ray department. The patient details will be manually uploaded, and the examination performed. The results will be available on ICE when ICE has been restored or radiology will contact the GP practice if results demonstrate an urgent or unexpected finding.

For all other imaging requests (Ultrasound, Fluoroscopy, CT or MRI) please request using ICE when normal services are restored.

For pathology requests:

Please complete the manual forms and put the completed form in a bag with the sample and send to lab. If you need access to the form, please contact the BSPS helpline (details below).

Patient details will be entered manually by pathology staff when the sample arrives at the lab.

MyFrimleyHealth Record gives patients access to their Frimley Health record including the ability to view test results, schedule and view appointments, communicate and supply information to their care team, and much more.

Everything the patient can see in MyFrimleyHealth Record and more can also be viewed by you in EpicCare Link. Some information that is hidden from the patient in MyFrimleyHealth Record includes sensitive test results or MDT notes. However, through EpicCare Link, you can still view that information.

Help and Support

• Further information is available via the MyFrimleyHealth Record website using this link: https://myfrimleyhealthrecord.fhft.nhs.uk
• If a patient has a question or experiences an issue with My Frimley Health Record, they can email our helpdesk at: fhft.myfrimleyhealthrecord@nhs.net

FHFT would like to ensure our electronic patient record system called ‘Epic’ and the ICE ordercomms system (managed by BSPS, for radiology and pathology ordering), always have the most up-to-date GP and GP locum clinician details.

To support any changes, it is crucial that Primary care update PCSE (Primary Care Support England) with any GP change of details as soon as possible, as PCSE update the national Organisation Data Service (ODS). FHFT receives a monthly ODS feed into their electronic patient record (Epic).

To ensure our systems remain accurate in-between the monthly ODS feeds, please use the form below (Appendix 1) to notify FHFT and BSPS of any GP and Locum changes i.e., starters, leavers and changes in details. Please email the form to:  fhft.iceepicsupport@nhs.net and copy in the ICB Contracts Team (FIO) frimleyicb.primarycarecontracts@nhs.net.

The Epic / ICE team will then update ICE and Epic accordingly and provide new logins for ICE (if requested). We would very much appreciate you adding in the subject line of the e-mail if the request is for a New Starter, Leaver or for ICE Access as this would help the relevant team to action your request.

Please note, information regarding practice mergers and closures etc., is dealt with separately as part of the practice’s discussions with their Primary Care Place based teams. This team holds a directory of who to contact across the interface with any changes.

Appendix 1 – FHFT & BSPS GP & GP Locum Change of Details Notification Form

Help and Support

For any Radiology and Pathology support, please see contact details on referrals and key contacts under tab 'Frimley Health Key Contacts'.