Clinical effectiveness and implementation evaluation of the Early Psychosis Informatics into Care [EPICare] digital psychosis register and clinical decision support system.

EPICare is a national project developing a digital dashboard and patient registry to help Early Intervention in Psychosis teams track care, treatment and recovery outcomes in real time.

Summary of the project and objectives

EPICare is a national digital platform for Early Intervention in Psychosis services in England. It uses routine NHS data, patient-reported outcomes and a clinical dashboard to give care teams real-time insights into treatment, recovery and progress for people experiencing first-episode psychosis.

Its main objectives are to improve clinical decision-making, support timely and equitable delivery of evidence-based interventions, identify disparities in care and outcomes, and build a national dataset to understand which treatments work best for different patients in real-world EIP services.

Why the project is important

The project is important because it addresses a major gap in psychosis care: there has not been a national healthcare dataset for psychosis in the same way there are established datasets for areas such as stroke, cancer and cystic fibrosis. EPICare aims to use routinely collected and patient-reported data to understand what care people receive, what outcomes they experience, and where there are inequalities or gaps in treatment.

How we plan to achieve this

We plan to do it by combining routine NHS clinical data with patient-reported information and turning this into a usable digital platform for Early Intervention in Psychosis teams. The platform will provide clinical teams real-time information through a dashboard, helping us identify when evidence-based interventions may be needed and supporting people to receive the right care at the right time. Patients can track recovery, quality of life, satisfaction with care, goals and symptoms through a digital platform, so their own experience can help shape care planning.

Funding source

EPICare is funded and delivered through the NIHR Translational Research Collaboration: Mental Health Mission.

Who is supporting the project

In Nottingham, EPICare is being supported through Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, with Dr Zia Katshu leading the Nottingham site and cognition outcomes. The project is also supported by frontline clinicians, researchers, PPIE groups and people with lived experience, alongside families and carers.