Our electronic referral information sharing system (ERISS) is available for all health and social care providers in the North West.
ERISS serves to enhance communication with our key stakeholders to help improve patient care and their integral outcomes. It provides a secure, single point of access for the sharing of patient information between organisations. It’s easy to use, intuitive and was developed in conjunction with clinicians and professional groups.
How does ERISS work?
There are two main functions within ERISS; referral processing and alert request management. If an ambulance crew attend an incident where after treatment, the patient does not require transfer to hospital; the ambulance staff can check which referral pathways are available within that area. A referral can be created within ERISS, which alerts the appropriate care provider.
The referral will then be securely managed within the system, ensuring that all referrals are followed up and providing reporting capabilities.
A number of common referral types are provided by the system (e.g. diabetes, falls and safeguarding), each of which will be routed to an appropriate care provider.
Operating in the opposite direction, ERISS provides a method for GPs to alert us to the presence of care plans or medical conditions of patients when responding to an emergency call to their address. Details of conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and end of life palliative care can be entered into ERISS, which will prompt NWAS users to update their computer-aided dispatch system, and remind the GP shortly before the alert is due to expire.
ERISS provides a secure and central information sharing hub that has delivered the following benefits:
- Improved clinical decision making and information sharing which delivers more appropriate care
- Reduced demand for specific clinical areas
- Reductions in unnecessary hospital admission, which will clearly help deliver savings
- Ability to assess safety and effectiveness of pathways
- Vastly improved quality of information being shared