EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – The Scotland National Health System (NHS) will be launching a new health IT suite to move along the nation's healthcare integration goals.

The InterSystems Ensemble, developed by Cambridge, Mass.-based InterSystems is expect to help the NHS with a seamless integration of health IT services.

“This incremental program will help Scottish hospitals move towards a paper-light, if not paper-less, working environment, streamline patient services, bring about faster diagnosis and treatment and aid the development of a virtual electronic health record,” said Robin Wright, chair of the eHealth Leads Group.

InterSystems Ensemble, a platform for integration and the development of connected applications, was purchased within the framework contract for the national Patient Management System.

NHS officials said the investment in Ensemble is expected to facilitate the delivery of healthcare improvement as described in the Scottish Better Health, Better Care Action Plan and the eHealth Strategy 2008-2011. The use of a common integration platform will enhance the secure flow of clinical and non-clinical information to improve patient safety and clinical outcomes, officials said.

The new IT system includes new tools for management of costs through standardization and component re-use. NHS officals expect additional benefits to be realized from integrating existing applications and building on prior IT investments.

The new system will become a kingpin in Scotland’s existing Patient Management System.

“The time is right to promote the use of a common integration platform, and Ensemble is well placed to fulfill that role.” said Eddie Turnbull, head of architecture and design for the eHealth Program. “Ensemble will be at the heart of the Patient Management System, and we can build on that to deliver other objectives such as a clinical portal. Integration is key to the Service Oriented Architecture approach that is core to our eHealth Architecture Vision.”

Paul Grabscheid, vice president, strategic planning for InterSystems said Ensemble will "provide an opportunity to leverage existing systems and prior NHS investments to enhance the delivery of quality healthcare throughout Scotland."