Sussex Integration with Systm One
Sussex NHS Community Foundation Trust – A pioneering leader in healthcare who recognised the growing importance of solutions in enhancing patient care
Taking a bold, forward thinking move they have integrated the trusts professional-facing app library into their SystmOne portal.
“We know our patients are eager to use apps to enhance their health and wellbeing—whether they’re awaiting treatment, following a care pathway, or managing their recovery post-discharge. Since the NHS App Library was decommissioned in 2021, we’ve lacked a safe, reliable way to recommend effective self-management tools. The ORCHA formulary integration with SystmOne changes that entirely, providing a new level of professional accountability and audit that is critical for modern patient care,” says Antonia Brown, Chief Nursing Information Officer, SCFT.
The primary goal of this integration was to empower healthcare professionals at Sussex NHS Community Foundation Trust with a groundbreaking ability, to recommend trusted, clinically-validated health apps directly to patients via the SystmOne portal.
This innovative capability was envisioned to revolutionize the treatment process and improve patient outcomes, by providing seamless access to powerful digital tools that can dramatically improve how patients manage their health. The trust aims to elevate patient outcomes and boost engagement in self-care.
Integrating ORCHA’s formulary into the system wasn’t just about adding a new tool—it was a game-changing step toward reimagining how healthcare professionals and patients interact in the digital age. This strategic leap forward is set to transform daily workflows, embedding digital health solutions into patient care pathways with ease and efficiency.
The results? Better patient engagement, greater adherence to treatment plans, and significantly improved health outcomes. Through this bold initiative, Sussex NHS Community Foundation Trust is positioning itself as a trailblazer in digital health innovation within the NHS, setting a powerful standard for other healthcare providers to follow.
The integration kicked off with a series of collaborative meetings between the Trust’s Integration Lead and our Technical Architect at ORCHA. These sessions were laser-focused on identifying potential hurdles and ensuring the solution would meet every user need without compromising on data security or regulatory compliance.
The design phase was all about precision. A detailed blueprint was crafted to seamlessly embed ORCHA’s formulary into the SystmOne portal. The goal: to allow healthcare professionals instant access to search and recommend trusted health apps—all without ever leaving the portal. Every data flow diagram and integration point was meticulously mapped to guarantee smooth, secure data exchanges, backed by rock-solid user authentication.
Using agile methodologies, we entered the testing phase in full collaboration. The Trust took the lead, running both automated and user acceptance tests with clinicians. Meanwhile, we conducted rigorous security testing to ensure everything aligned with GDPR and other key regulations. This dynamic approach made for an integration that wasn’t just secure—it was robust, intuitive, and perfectly tailored for healthcare professionals.
Healthcare professionals can now empower their patients like never before by recommending personalized health apps directly during consultations, inspiring patients to take charge of their own health and well-being.
Thanks to the seamless integration, professionals no longer need to navigate away from the SystmOne portal, saving valuable time.
A streamlined, efficient process that frees up more time for patient care.
The feedback from healthcare professionals has been overwhelmingly positive. They appreciate the ease of access to trusted digital health solutions, which are now just a click away. “Having single sign-on via the patient’s electronic record (SystmOne) to directly recommend apps will be a game-changer for our clinicians. It eliminates the need to switch platforms, saving time and effort. Plus, all recommendations are stored in one place, allowing us to avoid duplication and making follow-ups much simpler,” says Mel Briers, Digital Nurse Specialist at SCFT.