BCS, The British-based Chartered Institute for IT, is teaming up with the Chicago-based Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) to introduce HIMSS Analytics’ Electronic Medical Records Adoption Model (EMRAM), which rates hospitals on their EMR adoption, to the UK.

 “We’re delighted to be working with HIMSS Analytics Europe on this project. We believe information and technology are crucial to the challenge of transforming our healthcare service. The HIMSS Analytics EMRAM model will enable hospitals to measure their progress in the implementation of health IT and benchmark themselves against the rest of the National Health Service (NHS) and internationally,” Matthew Swindells, Chair of BCS Health, said in a statement.

The EMRAM model is well ensconced in the American healthcare community, and elsewhere, collecting data from hospitals and other healthcare delivery organizations, across 25 countries worldwide. EMRAM is an eight stage model (Stages 0 to 7) which classifies an institution’s level of IT adoption. Currently, 68 Stage 7 hospitals have been identified globally

 Swindells says the EMRAM implementation is particularly important as the NHS moves from the top down direction of NHS Connecting for Health to local decision making.  “As the Chartered Institute for IT, we believe that through the expertise of our members and partnerships such as this one, we can help support and enable the NHS to deal with the challenges and changes that it is experiencing as it embraces information technology,” he says.

BCS will work with HIMSS Analytics Europe and a number of leading organizations to test the EMRAM model for suitability in the UK and assist with any modifications that are required. A number of hospitals, covering the acute and mental health sectors are being recruited to assist.