£80 million IT programme will boost medical care for the military


London, UK – August 01, 2007 – A new IT system that allows military medical records to be accessed across the UK, overseas and on the battlefield has taken a major step forward, the MOD and LogicaCMG have announced. The Defence Medical Information Capability Programme is being rolled out to all UK Army medical facilities.

After piloting at two small sites, Colchester Medical Reception Station was the first large military medical centre to implement the system, known as ‘DMICP’ (Defence Medical Information Capability Programme). The system is now being progressively rolled out to all UK Army medical facilities, before being extended to the RAF, Royal Navy, Defence Dental Services and permanent overseas bases by August 2008.

After 2008, a version of the system will be available in field hospitals, on board ships and on the battlefield via laptop and other portable equipment under development. This will mean instant access to casualties' medical records to aid diagnosis and improve and speed up treatment. The system will also allow casualties to be issued with a chip loaded with their health records as a back-up until they reach a military medical or NHS facility.

“The new system being launched today is all about improving the care and treatment of military personnel,” said Derek Twigg, the Under Secretary of State for Defence. “Doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other health professionals will now benefit from access to one central database, providing the most up-to-date information on their patients- it will not matter if they are in Birmingham or Basra. This is a truly 21st Century way of working and a huge step change in medical care.”

“The Defence Medical Services are delighted with the achievements made by the DMICP programme so far,” said Lt Gen Robert Baxter, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Health). “The ability to access patient records anywhere, anytime is an invaluable asset and the assurance of a single record for each patient will give medical staff greater confidence that when treating patients they are looking at a definitive record. The system will allow staff to work more efficiently, spend more of their time caring for patients and utilise medical resources more effectively. We will quickly see the powerful impact that DMICP will have on both DMS staff and patients, and we are looking forward with great enthusiasm to the deployment phase of the programme.”

The new system means instant access to casualties’ medical records to aid diagnosis and improve and speed up treatment.

At present, military medical records are held on non-networked computers or on paper. Service personnel may even have more than one record as they move between different locations during their career.

From 2010, the system will be connected to NHS information systems, simplifying and improving the processes by which Service personnel gain access to treatment in NHS hospitals. It will also mean that the NHS medical records of new recruits can be imported directly into the Defence Medical Services, and records can be exported back to civilian GPs on retirement.

DMICP will enable the MOD to generate detailed, accurate information on the health of the Armed Forces. By identifying patterns of illnesses and the outcomes of medical treatment, it will aid the process of continually identifying ways to provide quicker and more effective treatment. It is a key component of the Defence Health Change Programme, which is improving Forces' healthcare in a variety of ways.

“The complexity of this programme, both in terms of business transformation and technology, cannot be underestimated,” said Ed Jones, Managing Director of LogicaCMG’s Space and Defence Division. “The joint risk reduction exercise completed during the bid phase has contributed to the successful delivery of this programme. The close partnership between the Defence Medical Services team and LogicaCMG brings together a powerful combination of skills from within the public and private sectors, which has been essential to the programme's delivery on time and to budget.”

“The Cognos 8 Business Intelligence platform will deliver management information that can be trusted - as well as ensuring faster, more accurate reporting within the Defence Medical Services,” said Graham Walter, vice president of Cognos, UK, Middle East and South Africa. “In turn, this will facilitate better informed decisions that will enable the delivery of improved medical care for our Armed Forces, today and in the future.”

The MOD awarded the £80 million contract for the IT component of DMICP to LogicaCMG in 2006 after a competitive tender. The system will incorporate the EMIS clinical information tool used by 55 per cent of NHS GPs, and the reporting tool COGNOS. DMICP was trialled earlier this year at Chicksands and Waterbeach Medical Centres.

About LogicaCMG
LogicaCMG is a major international force in IT and business services. It employs around 40,000 people across 41 countries. LogicaCMG’s focus is on enabling its customers to build and maintain leadership positions using LogicaCMG’s deep industry knowledge and its track record for successful delivery. The company provides business consulting, systems integration and IT and business process outsourcing across diverse markets including telecoms and media, financial services, energy and utilities, industry, distribution and transport and the public sector. Headquartered in Europe, LogicaCMG is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and Euronext (Amsterdam) (LSE:LOG; Euronext:LOG) and traded on the Xternal List of the Nordic Exchange in Stockholm. More information is available at www.logicacmg.com.

About Cognos, an IBM Company
Cognos, an IBM company, is the world leader in business intelligence and performance management solutions.

It provides world-class enterprise planning and BI software and services to help companies plan, understand and manage financial and operational performance.
Cognos was acquired by IBM in January 2008.

For more information, visit http://www.ibm.com/software/data/ and http://www.cognos.com/uk/

For further information about Cognos, please contact:
Katy Lyons or Farimah Saadat at LEWIS, the PR agency

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7802 2626
Fax: +44 (0)20 7802 2627
www.lewispr.com

For sales enquiries call:
Tel: +44 (0) 1344 486 668
www.cognos.com/uk