Scottish hospitals take up NZ software

Software developed in New Zealand is working alongside doctors and nurses in Scottish hospitals.

A deal with Britain's largest health board, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board, will see Auckland company Orion Health's software products - healthcare records portal Concerto and records integration system Rhapsody - used in 35 hospitals and about 800 associated medical sites.

At present, two new hospitals are running the system, which will be rolled out across all the health board sites.

The software allows the health board to run a virtually paperless medical record system, part of a six-year, £750 million ($1.63 billion) programme to modernise the Victorian-era hospitals.

Although the size of the deal could not be revealed, marketing manager Amanda Ivanson confirmed it was the biggest deal to date for Orion in Britain and the largest regional electronic health records project for the country.

Orion - New Zealand's largest locally owned software exporter - derives about 90 per cent of its revenue from overseas deals.

The company aims to have an annual turnover of $1 billion by 2016.

Ivanson said sales had slowed in the past six months as a result of the recession and uncertainty about the allocation of health spending in the United States.

"In Asia Pacific and Europe we're starting to see a bit of an upturn and we're hoping to get a few other deals signed in the next wee while. Things are definitely looking up in those markets. I think the US is still waiting for decisions on the stimulus funding and how that will be allocated."

Ivanson said the company was hoping to seal several further deals in Britain in the coming year.