The optimisation gap: why having an EPR isn’t the same as using it well
The optimisation gap: why having an EPR isn’t the same as using it well
Co-authored through the UK EPR Network and convened by the Healthcare Innovation Consortium (HIC), this white paper brings together insights from leading digital health suppliers and NHS system partners — Alcidion, Altera Digital Health, BridgeHead, Integrella, First DataBank (FDB), Orion Health, SI-Squared and System C — to explore why having an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) is not the same as using it well. It examines the growing “optimisation gap” between EPR deployment and the delivery of meaningful improvements in efficiency, patient flow, clinical experience and system performance across the NHS.
From sharing data across organisational boundaries and preserving the longitudinal patient record to orchestrating patient flow, improving data quality and preparing for AI-enabled care, the paper sets out the technical, clinical and organisational foundations required to move from digital implementation to genuinely integrated, high-performing care.
In this report:
• Why EPR adoption alone isn’t enough
• Real examples from acute, community and system settings
• How interoperability, data quality and workflows enable safer, more efficient care
• How to make optimisation continuous — not a one-off project
~25-30 min read (circa 6397 words)
