Avoca Systems Ltd - NHS Data Migration Specialists

Ensuring a successful deployment of a new system requires experience and collaboration across a number of areas. Health Informatics Leads from Avoca are able to work with NHS and LSP team members to ensure that the data requirements of all streams is considered and delivered. This work involves planning, managing and issue resolutions throughout the complete lifecycle. The Lead experience allows them to know the key tasks and dependencies on the critical path and to recommend the appropriate risk mitigation actions.

If you are planning to migrate to another system or perhaps want to populate a data warehouse, extracting data from your existing system will be a key component of your project. Avoca's experienced consultants are able to assist at all stages in this activity including:

Planning
Designing & Programming Extracts
Designing & Implementing Test Scripts
Audit & Reconciliation
Performance Tuning (For Timely Cut-Over Extracts During migration)

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Avoca's track record in data migration is second to none. As business partner to both Fujitsu and BT, Avoca have been involved in all of the acute migrations that have taken place in both London & Southern Clusters as well as many of the RiO migrations. With our strong health informatics background and extensive 'hands on' experience, Avoca have devised a tool set and approach to data migration that makes us the recognised market leader in this field. Avoca's approach is both comprehensive and flexible allowing us to tailor a consultancy and tools service to meet your project needs.

If you are changing a key system, whether this is inside the national programme or otherwise, data migration will be a significant issue and is almost certain to end up on the critical path. When it goes well, it is a non-event, but it can so easily cause delays, budget over-run, and introduce clinical risk, that the experienced programme manager knows the importance of an experienced and professional approach to this data migration.

Whatever your level of experience in this field, and no matter what stage your project is at, Avoca's staff will be able to assist you in ensuring the best possible migration.

Our approach to data migration is built on a number of key constraints:

Predictability,
Data Security,
Data Integrity,
Data Quality,
Repeatability,
Timeliness,
And comprehensive, end to end and fully documented, audit and reconciliation process

Our consultants can help you work within these constraints in your project, in a variety of ways Ranging from: Providing a full, end to end migration service, with full project management reporting into your programme manager, Through to: A few days consultancy to review your plans and approach, and advise on potential issues and flaws.

The elements of our service include:

Data extraction
Pre-Migration Healthcheck (Data Readiness to migrate review)
Migration Strategy
Migration Project planning
Project Management
Advise on numbering strategy
Advise and tools for the removal of duplicates
Pre-upload Healthcheck
Cut-over strategy
Field level mapping
Code level mapping
Data cleaning
Data transformation
Preparation for trial loads
Data migration test planning
Data migration testing and validation
Data upload
IFF expertise
Bespoke programming

Deployment of any new system in Healthcare has an impact on current business processes. Our product specialists can help minimize this impact by helping re-design the business processes and working with users to help them adapt to the new system. Our specialists have experience of:

Community systems (spine compliant or not), e.g. Lorenzo, RiO, CHIA, Cerner, CliniCom, Totalcare, Star,IPM, Meditech
Documentation and analysis of current Work flows
Gap analysis of current work flows in comparison to the new target system
Designing test scripts from work flows and managing data entry of these scripts
Raising and tracking issues with systems suppliers
Client Interaction

The history of post implementation problems in the NHS, shows, among other things, the importance of comprehensive testing of functionality, data migration scripts, and manual data load scripts.

Creation, execution and evaluation of a comprehensive test programme, requires a good understanding of the NHS, its data and operational requirements, an attention to detail, good analytical skills, and a methodical approach. Avoca's training programme ensures that all of our consultants are fully equipped with this full range of skills which make them ideal candidates to assist your Trust in the testing process.

Areas where we can help you be more effective:

Developing your testing strategy
Create test scripts
Hands on â€“ functionality testing
Investigate anomalies
Document anomalies
Provide issue management
Work with Suppliers to identify fixes
Manage issue lists

Reporting in the NHS is a key operational issue. When deploying new core systems in the NHS, there is always a high risk of disrupting your reporting capability, when one of the key objectives should be to maintain and even enhance your reporting capabilities, even so, this area can sometimes be over looked by systems suppliers.

Our health informatics specialists can help you to ensure that this does not happen and are ready to help in a number of different ways including:

Develop a reporting strategy
Validating CDS extracts
Validating extracts from 3rd party systems (for example IM200)
Design & Build Data Warehouses
Data extraction
Bespoke programming support
Develop end to end test plans for reporting
Investigate anomalies
Document anomalies
Provide issue management
Work with Suppliers to identify fixes
Manage issue lists
Distributing and maintaining progress and tracking documents
Client interaction with warehouse suppliers, system suppliers, work stream managers
Liaising with product specialist on validation criteria and work flow testing

In most healthcare organisations, the health informatics landscape includes some integrated functions, and some islands of technology, with only a privileged few organisations able to commit the resources required to address the opportunity this presents, on an ongoing basis. Fewer still are able to cope with the increased level of integration resources required to support a core system (e.g.PAS or HIS) migration.

Avoca systems together with our resource partners Proform Connect are well placed to assist you in this area. The highly integrated 'best of breed' EPR in Trafford, is built around Avoca's Electronic Master Patient Index (EMPI), which is kept 'clean' of duplicates using the same technology that created our Data Synthesis De-Duping tool, and integrated into the wider landscape through messaging services designed and developed by Avoca. Our consultants are experienced in using a wide range of integration tools and techniques, including all of the major 'interface engines' and bespoke development. We can even assist by providing 24 x 7 support for interfaces we have developed or validated.

Data Entry is vital for comprehensive systems testing, and is often a significant component of systems migration activity. Avoca's Data Entry teams are aware of the impacts of not following test and data load scripts correctly and the importance of the testing cycle. Our Data Entry teams all understand NHS data and the importance of high quality, high integrity data, and have experience of:

Following test scripts to the letter
Reporting and documenting issues
Re-testing issues

In the deployment of a new system, no matter how much testing and validation you do, the data load always carries risk in the project. Our Data Load specialists know the importance of doing Trial Loads and what information is needed from the load to rectify mistakes and carry out future planning. Our specialist offer:

Record per second analysis of data load, vital for future Go-Live planning
Informative and easy to understand data load error reports
Analyses of errors to assign responsibility to systems supplier, migration team or build team
Secure information transfer

Avoca's consultants are trained and experienced in both primary and secondary care health informatics. Our experienced specialists have knowledge and experience of:

Data collection and submission to system supplier through Data Collection Worksheets (DCW)
Trouble shooting and issue raising
RiO Product specialists - Advising users on System functionality and use.
Liaising with NHS personnel, LPFIT and system suppliers

During the deployment of new systems, the period of cut-over to live use and early live, can be very resource intensive. Our skilled and experienced consultants are well suited to assisting at this stage of the project even if they have not previously been involved in your project. Our strong NHS and health informatics knowledge combined with the experience of other deployments, strong analytical skills and a disciplined approach to all aspects of client engagement makes our consultants the ideal candidates for a wide range of roles including:

Cut-Over planning
Floor Walking
Product Support
Device Testing, including printers
Manual Data Entry
Quality assurance
Post data migration validation

Avoca takes its responsibility for patient data very seriously, and we have invested a significant level of resource in understanding and implementing the requirements of IGSOC. Not only were Avoca one of the first commercial organisations to be allowed to connect to the NHS Net, but more recently, we became one of the first with N3 connectivity to achieve full IGSOC compliance. Our experience in this area, combined with a high level of technical expertise, means that we have a number of consultants who are able to assist you by:

Advising on network topology
Advise on, and configuration of Firewalls
Advice on Security (IGSOC) issues
Server configuration & set-up