Claypath & University Medical Group decided to switch their clinical systems from EMIS Web to SystmOne, with a go-live date set for 15 July 2024.
The project involved practice process optimisation, pre-go live training and support provided by the NECS Clinical Systems Specialist team, along with ongoing onsite and remote assistance after the transition.
Michael Doughty, Practice IT Support Administrator
Given the scale of the practice and the complexity of migrating from EMIS to SystmOne, the Training Team provided extensive support both practice-wide and individually. This included pre-arranged sessions and on-demand assistance for technical issues, training, and general change management.
Practice Process Optimisation (PPO) sessions helped the practice adapt its workflows for SystmOne and address technical issues ahead of the go-live. In-depth training sessions covered critical areas like Workflow, Scanning, Clinical Reporting, Online Access, and ICE setup. These sessions were insightful, offering the practice a solid foundation to revisit if needed.
The team attended all key migration meetings, staying informed about the challenges the practice faced. Training audits ensured staff completed their SystmOne Online Introduction Course, and tailored sessions focused on complex topics like Prescribing workflows.
As a previous SystmOne user, I received valuable support to refresh my skills, with onsite and remote assistance continuing through go-live. Overall, the Training Team facilitated a smooth and successful system migration.
The challenge
Claypath is a large practice with over 30,000 patients, making them their own Primary Care Network (PCN). With more than 70 staff members involved, planning the pre-go-live training for the migration to SystmOne required careful coordination by both the practice and trainers. The practice has a branch site and a separate building for the prescribing team, requiring additional trainers and a support plan to ensure the team could access help after the system went live
a significant issue arose regarding how repeat medications were migrated, particularly around medication review dates.
In EMIS, Claypath used a maximum number of issues for nearly all repeat medications, but SystmOne uses individual review dates and/or maximum issues for each medication. While the last coded review date migrated, SystmOne automatically set the next due date to one year after the previous one, which doesn’t align with how EMIS handles reviews. Repeat Dispensing medications also migrated as regular repeat templates, making them harder to identify once reauthorised.
Pre-go-live tasks added pressure on staff, who often weren’t aware of how incomplete or unplanned tasks could impact the go-live process, increasing the risk of disruptions during the migration.
The solution
The practice were engaged in the migration project from the start, asking questions and requesting additional meetings to address emerging issues. Practice Process Optimisation (PPO) sessions were introduced to review existing system processes and highlight differences between EMIS Web and SystmOne early on. Regular meetings and support with the practice IT lead helped address issues such as ICE login problems and Recall mapping, with detailed email explanations provided for clarity.
To manage the large number of staff needing training, the practice released staff in groups for End User Training (EUT) sessions. They also utilised online SystmOne training courses, allowing some staff to train at their convenience. Condensed PPO sessions freed up time for additional EUT sessions, accommodating staff unavailable during scheduled days.
The practice followed guidance to add appropriate codes to repeat dispensing medications in EMIS Web, allowing easy identification once migrated to SystmOne. Meetings with prescribing leads helped design new processes for managing repeat medications, with recorded videos showing staff how to use SystmOne for these tasks.
Support across the two sites was facilitated by allocating two trainers to the main site and one to the branch, with a super user assisting at the prescribing premises. Internal Teams chat was set up to track and manage support requests effectively after the onsite support days.
Despite the large number of staff and additional support needs, the project was completed on time and within the allocated trainer resources. All necessary post go-live training was provided to the relevant staff, ensuring a smooth transition.
Thanks to the extra support provided to the IT lead, all pre and post go-live tasks required by TPP were fully understood and completed on schedule. This helped ensure that the migration stayed on track and that no key tasks were overlooked.
New processes were successfully implemented at the practice to address prescribing issues that arose during the migration. These processes ensured that the transition to SystmOne did not disrupt prescribing workflows and helped staff adapt to the differences between EMIS Web and the new system.
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