Emis spies new NHS opportunities as profits grow

MEDICAL software group Emis said half year sales and profits surged as new opportunities open up in the NHS.

The group, which computerises patients’ records, said pre-tax profits climbed 31 per cent to £10.2m in the first six months of the year versus £7.8m a year earlier. Sales grew 24 per cent to £35.5m.

The Leeds-based group, which floated on the London Stock Exchange last year, said the NHS has continued to make progress towards a “connect all” IT strategy.

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The company, which now supplies 53.4 per cent of the UK’s GP surgeries with software, believes it is well placed to help deliver cost savings and efficiencies in health organisations.

It believes its fortunes will be boosted by the creation of a more plural NHS IT system, putting more responsibility for decision-making and commissioning into the hands of GPs. In January it won a five-year £1.8m contract to provide an electronic patient record across Cheshire in acute trust and community settings.

Chief executive Sean Riddell said: “The NHS focus on the exchange and usage of information throughout all elements of primary and secondary care plays very much to EMIS Group’s strengths and our strategy of delivering cross-organisational healthcare systems through EMIS Web, Healthcare Gateway and Rx Systems.

“The group is well positioned to continue to support the NHS to achieve cost and time savings and improved patient outcomes.

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“The outlook for the year as a whole remains positive and we are confident of the group’s long term growth prospects.”

The group said it continues a “controlled roll-out” of its Emis Web system, which has now been deployed in more than 220 GP practices.

This allows medical staff – from chiropodists to brain surgeons – access to patients’ cradle-to-grave medical histories at the click of a button, allowing them to make faster and better-informed decisions.

The group said it continues to trade in line with its expectations, and is optimistic for the full year.

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