The purpose of this document is to provide an initial insight into Expanse with answers to some of the questions Consultants may wish to know ahead of the Go-Live date on 1st April 2026.
Training for Consultants will be rolled out later in February 2026, when there will then be an opportunity to ask further questions.
These will be added and shared on this list.
Meditech Expanse FAQs
Why is the Hospital implementing Expanse?
Meditech Magic was implemented at the Hospital over 20 years ago, and not in all areas, with some remaining paper-based files to this day. Magic has now over-reached its limitations in terms of functionality, resulting in us having to deal with extremely labour-intensive processes and inefficiencies. This also impacts patient care, safety and information security.
Meditech Expanse is a modern information system that includes an Electronic Medical Record - EMR (also known as an EPR or EHR). It is future-proof and can integrate with other systems easily. Expanse is a globally recognised and proven system used by many Healthcare providers, both private and NHS.
In addition, the NHS requires all service providers to use an electronic patient record.
What are the benefits of an Electronic Medical Record (EMR)?
Migrating to an EMR system will provide the following benefits:
Increased efficiency: streamlined workflows allowing more time for patient care;
Improved quality of patient care with up-to-date and accurate information;
Improved safety of patient care: minimising errors of hand-written notes,
automated alerts for drug interactions, allergies and contraindications;
Better care coordination;
EMR can be accessed across multiple locations, including remotely;
Patient empowerment and engagement: patients can access their own health
information;
Reduction of costs: paper, printing and storage reduction will also help our carbon footprint reduction pledge.
When will Expanse ‘Go Live’?
The Hospital will go live with Expanse on 1st April 2026, when most paper-based processes across the Hospital will go digital.
On 1st June there will be a second phase of the go-live where further paper-based processes will become digital and move to Expanse. These include:
Outpatients: Consultant requests for Imaging, Physiotherapy, Pathology and Pharmacy prescriptions, as well as consulting room procedure ordering.
Inpatients: Ordering of medications on the wards and in theatres.
Will I be required to use Expanse?
All Consultants will be required to use Expanse in some shape or form as part of their practising privileges agreement.
How Consultants will need to interact with Expanse will vary according to their processes at the Hospital. Full details will be provided in the training.
How and when will Consultants be trained to use Expanse?
A series of short training videos will be shared. Consultants will only need to watch the training videos appropriate for their work processes at the Hospital.
Access to the Expanse test system will also be provided in order to become familiar with the system before the go-live date.
Consultants will then be invited to attend small group in-person sessions at the Hospital when we can work with you to answer any questions and ensure you feel confident using Expanse and can fully benefit from the system.
How will Medical PAs be trained to use Expanse?
Medical PA training will be provided via a dedicated training document, together with access to the Expanse test system.
Which Patient Records will I be able to see on the EMR?
Consultants will be able to see all patient records on the EMR - their own patients as well as all other Consultants’ patients.
Medical PAs will only be able to see their own Consultants’ patient records.
What will patients be able to see in the Patient Portal?
All Patients will be auto-enrolled into the Hospital’s Patient Portal, where they will have access to their:
Health Record including: care continuity documents; discharge instructions; results; active at-home medications; pre-visit questionnaires to complete, such as pre-op assessment health questionnaires; and medical and surgical history.
Appointments: to view upcoming appointments and appointment letters.
Billing: to view outstanding payments.
What about patients who do not have a digital device / are not tech-savvy?
In these circumstances, we will have alternative processes and support in place.
What happens if there’s a cyber-attack, IT outage or power cut?
Expanse is hosted by Meditech UK on the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). A cloud-based platform includes inherent security and disaster recovery features. This will be bolstered by having a copy of the Meditech database available on site. Data will be regularly backed-up for safe recovery if ever needed.
There are various systems in place for business continuity with backup internet lines and hardware infrastructure in the event of any IT communication outage. If the entire Hospital is down for any reason, Expanse can be still accessed on any device with access to the internet. As is currently the case, there will always be departmental downtime processes in place.
Users should always remain vigilant and be aware of emails and requests they receive, being conscious not to click on links which open the Hospital up to IT viruses and cyber-attacks.
Will the Consultant Portal remain?
The Consultant Portal will cease to exist from 1st April, when Expanse will become the platform to view schedules and results.
Will there be Digital Consent?
While the Hospital will be moving to Digital Consent using the Concentric platform, this will not be part of the initial go-live and will be implemented later in the year.
Will the Anaesthetic Record remain on paper?
The anaesthetic record will remain on paper for now. Expanse does not have its own integrated anaesthesia module. The Hospital’s plan is to purchase and implement a system that integrates with Expanse, but the timeline for this has not been defined.
How will Consultants access Expanse?
Expanse is a web-based service that can be accessed from outside the Hospital at any time on any of your devices.
When the Consultant Portal ceases to exist, Expanse will become the platform to remotely view schedules and results as well as where you will be able to place electronic orders for imaging, blood tests and pharmacy prescriptions.
