In line with NHS England’s plans to go paperless by 2020, clinical software developer Ethitec has produced a five-step guide to assist healthcare services in transitioning to paperless working.

By April 2016, clinical commissioning groups must submit plans addressing how they will eliminate the use of paper by 2020 and the guide draws upon Ethitec’s success in implementing paperless records to highlight learnings for NHS organisations. It details five simple, but key steps, based on completed deployments, to ensure a successful transition to fully electronic clinical records.

Ethitec’s Managing Director, Simon Taylor, commented: “Robust and intuitive software, backed by a well-thought out implementation, is far more likely to be accepted by clinicians, while achieving the objectives of the service. From our experience, there are certain hallmarks which characterise successful projects and these are easy to replicate with careful planning.

“We hope that our five-step guide empowers healthcare providers to make the transition to a fully paperless service. Paperless working not only boosts efficiency but also enables providers to deliver a better service and experience for patients.”

The five-step guide can be downloaded from Ethitec’s website here, and is also backed by case studies, including Frimley Park Adult Therapy Services.

Ethitec has supplied solutions to the NHS for over thirty years. Using this experience, and in line with the interoperability agenda endorsed by NHS England and new easier access rules for national services, it is challenging the ‘one size fits all’ approach that caused the demise of the National Programme for IT.

As part of a sustained, privately funded investment programme, Ethitec’s flagship clinical information system, Tiara9, received certification for use with the NHS e-referral services, which enables GPs to book appointments directly with NHS or Any Qualified Provider organisations.