Cardiac patients can now skip the trip to the hospital and get their heart monitors fitted at home thanks to a firm based in Rawdon.

EMIS Group has created a tailored system to allow specialist GPs, cardiac physiologists, and cardiographers to safely assess and manage patients remotely.

The innovation means that the waiting time for a heart monitor fitting can be cut from 18 weeks to just six weeks.

Dr. Shaun O’Hanlon, chief medical officer at EMIS Group said: “Throughout the pandemic, the NHS has found innovative ways of delivering patient care, and we are proud that EMIS technology has supported them during this very challenging period. The Community Cardiology Service is a brilliant example of how patients with complex needs can be cared for in their own homes by specialist GPs using joined-up technology.”  

The aim is to keep cardiac patients out of hospital by offering timely, high-quality care close to where they live. 

Through data-sharing agreements with individual practices, GPs with a special interest in cardiology (GPwSIs) can view the patients’ full medical record held by their own GP, enabling more informed care.

Dr. Matt Jackson, a GPwSI and director of Integrated Cardiology Solutions said: “The ability for our doctors to view a referred patient’s full care record via EMIS is the most important benefit. 

“We get limited information from a remote consultation compared to seeing a patient face-to-face. We can’t examine them or observe their current state of health, so we rely on what they tell us, but this is significantly less over the phone or video than they would give us face-to-face. Being able to see their complete care record and medical history helps us to fill in the blanks and ask the right questions to make a robust diagnosis.” 

GPwSIs can securely access the EMIS system from wherever they are based, meaning that the service can solve local recruitment difficulties by employing doctors living anywhere in the UK with a reliable internet connection.