Northern Ireland is on the verge of completing a "global first" for patients' medical records.
The new Encompass programme will replace outdated paper records with real-time up-to-date digital information accessible through the 'My Care' App.
A South Eastern Health Trust chief told Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) chamber on Monday (April 14) that its residents were leading the way in the patient care system.
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Trust director of planning, performance and informatics, Helen Moore said: "The South Eastern Trust area has the most people signed up to the My Care App. So, the Encompass programme, which is the new digital records for every citizen in Northern Ireland was introduced first in the South Eastern Trust in November 2023.
"By the 8 May, the entire NI population will be in Encompass with Southern and Western Trusts going live on that date. That is a global first. Northern Ireland is on the map in terms of striving to do the best on health and social care for their population."
In 2023, the Department of Health (DoH) said £113.8m had been spent on the programme with a further £163.9m planned spend over the next five years.
The Encompass system has been built by a company called Epic, currently providing electronic records for over 300m people across the world.
When the Southern and Western Trusts go live they will complete the whole Northern Ireland roll out with other Trusts already on board from late 2024.
The key milestone will make Northern Ireland the first region in the UK and the first country in the world to have all Trusts using one unified digital system.
Ms Moore added: "This transforms how we will work in partnership with our patient population. It is right from birth to death. So, we are absolutely delighted that we have My Care. Keep plugging it for us."
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