Integration delivers faster treatment, fewer administrative steps, and improved patient experiences
Healthcare Business Solutions UK (HBSUK), a leading provider of innovative healthcare solutions, today announced the successful integration of its digital outpatient platform, Virtual Lucy, with InterSystems IRIS for Health™. This step supports interoperability within the NHS, helping to deliver faster care delivery, reduced administrative workload, and enhanced patient outcomes.
Virtual Lucy allows patients to supply detailed health information through clinically validated questionnaires. With this information, specialists can then complete assessments, carry out video consultations and develop management plans without needing an initial in-person visit. This reduces unnecessary hospital appointments, eases pressure on clinical resources, and accelerates the time taken for patients to receive treatment or further tests or diagnostics.
Before this integration, Virtual Lucy had room for growth in its support of Health Level 7 (HL7) messaging standards and its connectivity with NHS Patient Administration Systems (PAS) and Electronic Health Records (EHRs). This presented an exciting opportunity to enhance its scalability and streamline administrative tasks, building on the positive feedback it had already received.
HBSUK partnered with InterSystems to integrate InterSystems IRIS for Health, into the Virtual Lucy platform. IRIS for Health is purpose-built to clean, prepare, and exchange health data at scale, whilst also ensuring compliance with data standards such as HL7®. The integration enables Virtual Lucy to seamlessly connect with NHS systems, while also automating processes including patient onboarding, outcome updates, and timely data exchange to improve efficiency within healthcare settings.
A pilot project at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) demonstrated the tangible benefits of the partnership. Over 1200 urology patients received secure access to Virtual Lucy via text message, allowing them to provide information about their condition that was automatically integrated into NHS systems.
The integration has delivered measurable results, with 35% of patients having a clock stop outcome, and 28% of patients being discharged without the need for further care from the trust. Administrative tasks have also significantly reduced, freeing up NHS staff to concentrate on urgent cases.
Patient outcomes and clinical documents are now updated automatically within 24 hours of review, ensuring timely and efficient record-keeping. Patients benefit from fewer hospital visits, shorter wait times, and greater overall satisfaction.
Emily Dickson, General Manager of North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC), said, “Virtual Lucy’s integration has greatly improved our ability to onboard patients quickly and efficiently. This streamlined process means patients with routine referrals receive the care they need faster, and our teams can focus on providing quality care for cancer and urgent cases.”
The integration also establishes a scalable foundation, simplifying the deployment of Virtual Lucy across additional NHS departments and trusts. Alex Nancekievill, Chief Technology Officer at HBSUK stated, “We are proud of this development to our Virtual Lucy platform. Patients and NHS teams both benefit from our ability to connect directly with NHS systems and automate processes that were previously manual and time-consuming. Most importantly, we’re pleased to have helped patients who have been waiting a long time for assessment to get the diagnosis and any treatment they need.”
By addressing interoperability challenges, HBSUK and InterSystems have helped to streamline patient pathways, reduce administrative burdens, and accelerate access to care within the NHS.
For more information, please visit InterSystems.com.
