Commissioning eRedbook
eRedbook has benefits for both Maternity and Health Visiting and can be commissioned by trusts locally or regionally. It is most cost effective when commissioned on a population basis across services such as has been seen in London. Having said that, most of the benefits of the system will still be available to a trust deploying alone and trusts should not be deterred if regional agreement cannot be achieved.
Benefits to organisations
Organisations using eRedbook gain benefits from using eRedbook that are in addition to the benefits seen by the health visiting and midwifery services using the respective eRedbook modules. Benefits may include the following:
- Meet NHS Long-Term plan targets - The NHS Long Term Plan and Implementation Framework targets state that by 2021 all parents should have the choice of a paper or digital redbook
- Direct communication channel with parents - cost effective way to distribute information quickly to a large number of parents
- Offer parents digital choice - eRedbook offers parents a digital app to manage their child health record in line with the NHS aim of utilising digital technology wherever possible
- Cost reduction by removing paper processes - once paperless transition is complete trusts will be able to reduce handling, storage, distribution and replacement costs associated with paper red books
eRedbook Midwifery
eRedbook can be used by midwifery services antenatally and postnatally with new parents to help increase parenting confidence and reduce time spent on providing basic parenting advice and guidance around the healthy child programme.
- Reduce errors and identify errors in clinical systems earlier as parents act as a failsafe
- Signpost to a single source of clinically approved guidance including UNICEF compliant feeding information
- Meet NHS Long Term Plan and Implementation Framework targets
- Reduce data entry duplication and day-to-day handling costs associated with the paper red book once the paperless transition is complete.
eRedbook Health Visiting
eRedbook is used by health visiting services to work collaboratively with parents to help improve their children's health. Through a combination of nationally provided content and locally created and administered content, health visiting services can provide parents with improved access to approved information and guidance in a way that is cost effective to the service.
- eRedbook increases awareness of the immunisation schedule by showing parents what their children have had and what they are due to have.
- eRedbook supports increased uptake of vaccination & reduction of DNAs by improving parental awareness and connecting with the hard-to-reach / mobile population.
- Errors caused by inaccurate completion of the paper red book are eliminated when the record is connected to a data source and data flows from the clinical systems. Parents act as a failsafe on data entered into the clinical system
- Trusts see reduced data entry duplication and day-to-day handling costs associated with the paper red book once the paperless transition is complete.
Local data connectivity
eRedbook is connected to the NHS NEMS (National Event Management Service) as standard in England, meaning parents can receive screening data and, where available, immunisation data direct from the national NHS data source. Trusts and/or regions may additionally choose to connect their local data sources to eRedbook providing parents with:
- Immunisation data where it is not flowing through the NEMS
- Health visiting data such as heights, weights, and health reviews
