Background

Mericle Information Systems was founded in 2000 by professionals from mixed disciplines to research and develop practical healthcare information technology solutions. There was a realisation that viable and robust results would only come about from an ongoing and thorough mutual learning process between technologists and healthcare industry experts where an understanding of the information processes and priorities at the point of care could be re-appraised at the most fundamental levels.

In particular, the following problems were identified ones whose solutions were either desirable or essential in achieving the broader objectives:

• Addressing the business ‘complexity curve’ for healthcare service activities and providing sufficient support to make the data entry process productive and worthwhile for system users

• Presenting and maintaining a comprehensive view of the local EPR/EHR at the point of care to optimise the coherance and quality of all data entry and output

• Supporting a tiered approach to clinical data capture so that important administrative processes (for example, admissions and discharges) were not obstructed by concurrent data capture activities such as specific clinical audits or the recording of detailed clinical data sets

• The independent evolution of the operational (front end) and standardisation (back end) aspects of the solutions we develop in order to maximise system usability while meeting a wide range of interoperability demands

Mericle's product evolution and conceptual development has been continuous since 1995, well before the establishment of Mericle Information Systems Limited as a commercial company. The understanding gained from the research and development activities under the ‘Mericle’ umbrella has allowed us to develop products to a high standard of consistency, free from the constraints of timescales and contractual restrictions.

As the UK Government's National IT programme develops, Mericle is well placed to deliver high value, strategic and thorough solutions into key areas of operational complexity where staff time and expertise is at a premium.

© Mericle Information System (Holdings) Limited 2003, 2004