Version 3 Overview and Architecture

Adastra v3 is a case management, data distribution and service integration engine developed for use by the new generation of multi-disciplinary and wide-area operational hub services now managing out-of-hours and urgent care. Designed to be highly versatile to deal with the vast range of community-level activity now being tackled by such services, Adastra provides a highly capable and sophisticated IT platform upon which to develop integrated and cost-effective services.

With dedicated and highly user-definable modules for case entry, distribution and control of activity, outcome recording, prescribing, stock control, and automatic onward reporting, v3 is a powerful yet highly malleable application. It is highly intuitive and easy to learn and operate.

Adastra v3 has been designed to complement in hours systems to which it is tributary. There are essential differences between operational hub and GP surgery level systems. The urgent care episode tends to be a snapshot event requiring a different set of actions and responses than would be appropriate to long term care issues managed by core clinical record systems.

24/365 operational hub services also operate in an increasingly wide area and multi-disciplinary environment which in turn necessitates an even more sophisticated operational IT capability. Adastra therefore has a much deeper and more complex operational purpose, and a relatively lesser (but still mission critical) clinical one. That is why it is fundamentally different in purpose and function from conventional GP systems.

But Adastra also needs to be consistent with the way in which information is assembled and presented elsewhere in the NHS. We must recognise that sessionally engaged clinicians may be using Adastra only once or twice a month. They will be looking for an IT solution that is consistent with the systems they are accustomed to running in their mainstream role. We must support them in working intuitively and without constant handholding.

Clinical data is stored consistently with the standards required for the national spine, core clinical record systems, and third party systems used by hospitals, ambulance services etc. There is great emphasis within Adastra on achieving and sustaining a truly versatile operational engine for hub level services, whilst at the same time remaining in step with systems evolution under way across the wider NHS.