EMIS achieves ISO 20000 for IT services

UK GP systems supplier EMIS has been awarded the International Standard ISO 20000 for best practice in IT service management.

Achieving ISO 20000 is a requirement for the hosting of systems within Connecting for Health’s GP Systems of Choice initiative, which allows practices to chose between different accredited suppliers.

The international standard covers the provision, enablement and support of EMIS hosted systems to multi-disciplinary healthcare organisations.

The ISO 20000 standard assesses the ability to deliver quality levels of service and planning – to prevent and resolve problems – and the implementation of an IT Service Management System (ITSMS).

The ITSMS sets out a systematic approach to overseeing how IT services are delivered to customers, and encompasses people, processes and IT systems.

EMIS says that its software – which hold medical records for 39m UK patients nationwide – met best practice guidelines for IT service providers. The guidelines ensure a proactive approach in delivering high levels of customer service and meeting defined business requirements and priorities in a manageable way.

Ann Worthington, director of quality assurance at EMIS, said: “Governments are increasingly putting providers under the spotlight to ensure that contractors are fit and able to deliver contracts and high service levels."

Worthington added: “EMIS Systems hold the medical records for more than half of the UK’s population and we have continued to build up a relationship of trust and confidence with the primary care community over 20 years. Working with the NHS to deliver larger contracts has enabled us to demonstrate our ability to deliver the highest level of IT service management."