Emis software plays key role in vaccine rollout
Platform keeps track of patients’ jabs
HEALTHCARE TECH firm Emis Group expects the pandemic will lead to an acceleration in technology investment across the sector, as the Leeds-based firm revealed the key role its software is playing in the vaccine rollout.
The software firm’s Pinnacle platform is recording the number of vaccinations being administered and making sure the information goes into GP records.
Emis supported over 15 million Covid-19 vaccinations after the software system was deployed in 1,400 UK vaccination centres.
Andy Thorburn, chief executive of Emis, told The Yorkshire Post that the key challenge in adapting the software for the mass vaccination rollout was scale.
He said: “The Pinnacle application is designed for clinical commissioning so making sure that the records, the audit trail and the whole process is managed across the NHS.
“It’s also been used historically for flu vaccinations. That’s why it had applicability for any vaccination programme.
“The key thing was we had to scale the application infrastructure. In history you just didn’t need to process so many records so quickly.
“The big thing we did was to scale the application by over tenfold in about ten to 12 days to get to the level where we can process now around about 200,000 vaccinations an hour should we need to.
“In the early days, some of the peaks were regularly 40,000 vaccinations
an hour. The big challenge was scale and we have managed that with collaboration from NHS Digital.”
He praised the team and NHS Digital for collaborating together effectively.
Mr Thorburn said: “The experience of this has been very positive. We have been working hand in glove with NHS Digital. We meet with them twice a day.
“The collaboration has been outstanding.
“Working as a single team with one common purpose which is to support the rollout of immunisation across England.
“It’s a real credit to everyone that is involved. It’s been a really good experience.”
Emis reported a resilient financial performance with recurring revenue up 4 per cent to £130m and an increased final dividend for the tenth consecutive year.
Mr Thorburn said: “It was a really good year.
“The numbers show a bit of a standstill but that is absolutely not the story. We’re building for the future.
“We’re really pleased. I couldn’t ask for any more from everyone involved in the company.”
The firm said it is well positioned to meet evolving requirements of healthcare sector today.
“I think we’re well positioned to deliver great solutions for our customers,” Mr Thorburn said.
“We’re feeling good about where we sit. We’re feeling great about what we did last year.
Emis has also supported largescale epidemiological Covid-19 research with NHS England, Oxford University and the London School of Tropical Hygiene & Medicine.
It is also working alongside Oxford University to undertake a major clinical research project in the treatment of Covid-19.
The firm said it expects to return to growth in 2021, with new product developments leading to opportunities for higher growth levels in 2022 and beyond.