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Smarter EHR for the General Medicine Department with Cellma

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In today’s fast-paced healthcare landscape, the General Medicine department is under unprecedented pressure. With rising patient volumes, complex comorbidities, and a growing need for coordinated care across specialties, the demand for a robust and efficient Electronic Health Record (EHR) system is more crucial than ever. In 2023–24, NHS England reported over 41 million outpatient attendances, with over 9.6 million first-time appointments and 2.9 million remote consultations, a large proportion under General Medicine departments.

Whether managing frailty in elderly patients or diagnosing unexplained systemic symptoms, General Medicine is the backbone of acute and internal care. Enter Cellma, a fully integrated, NHS-aligned EHR platform designed to meet the clinical and administrative complexities of the General Medicine department. 
 
In addition to high patient volumes and acute admissions, General Medicine departments across the UK are managing an increasing burden of chronic diseases. According to data from over 12 million patients in NHS primary care, approximately 21% of adults are living with obesity, while 17% are diagnosed with depression. Hypertension affects around 15–18% of patients, asthma around 15%, and anxiety disorders over 13%. Musculoskeletal conditions like osteoarthritis impact 11–12%, while diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease are present in around 5% of cases each. Coronary heart disease affects another 5%, and COPD is recorded in approximately 2.7% of adult patients. With such a wide range of overlapping conditions, the clinical complexity faced by General Medicine departments is immense and Cellma is built to support every step of that journey. 
 

NHS Integration and Clinical Compliance

Cellma is designed to align with all NHS integration standards and clinical guidelines, ensuring seamless functionality within public health systems. Cellma supports: 
 

  • NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS) for outpatient and urgent care bookings 
  • Summary Care Record (SCR) access 
  • Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) 
  • GP Connect for real-time data exchange with general practice 
  • HL7, DICOM, and FHIR standards for lab, imaging, and third-party interoperability 
  • NHS England’s Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) framework 
  • Compliance with NHS England’s 14-hour review target for emergency admissions 

This ensures that Cellma not only improves clinical care delivery but also adheres to national performance targets and interoperability mandates, critical for the General Medicine department. 

Clinical Conditions Managed in General Medicine and How Cellma Assists 

Clinical Condition 

How Cellma Assists the General Medicine Department 

Heart Failure (HFrEF, HFpEF, HFmrEF) 

– Integration with BNP, ECG, and echocardiography for diagnosis – Structured documentation for NYHA class and daily fluid balance – ePrescribing modules for ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, and diuretics – Automated alerts for renal function monitoring – Heart failure nurse referrals and follow-up scheduling 

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) 

– Real-time integration with pulse oximetry and ABG values – Spirometry result logging and GOLD classification templates – Oxygen therapy protocols and long-term home oxygen alerts – Exacerbation tracking and respiratory MDT referrals – Smoking cessation counselling and pulmonary rehab scheduling 

Ischaemic Heart Disease & Hypertension 

– ECG integration with immediate access to reports – QRISK2 calculators and statin eligibility prompts – Automated tracking of BP readings and antihypertensive therapies – ePrescribing tools with drug interaction alerts – Cross-specialty referral to cardiology when indicated 

Diabetes Mellitus (Type 1 & 2) 

– HbA1c trends and insulin titration dashboards – Alerts for annual foot exams and retinopathy referrals – Renal function monitoring (eGFR, ACR) integrated with care plans – Diabetes-specific care pathways including dietician and podiatry referrals – TTOs and discharge planning including diabetes nurse input 

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) 

– eGFR tracking with automated staging alerts – Fluid restriction and electrolyte replacement protocols – Medication safety alerts (e.g., nephrotoxic drugs) – Renal dietician and nephrology referral pathways – Coordination with dialysis planning and transplant units 

Pneumonia & Sepsis 

– CURB-65 scoring tool embedded in the clerking template – Sepsis 6 bundle checklist with timestamped action logs – Escalation alerts based on NEWS2 and vitals – Documentation of antimicrobial stewardship and response monitoring – Critical care referral and sepsis MDT documentation support 

Falls, Delirium & Frailty Syndromes 

– Frailty Index and Rockwood scoring tools – 4AT screening for delirium with behavioural tracking – Falls risk assessments and PT/OT referrals – Integrated MDT forms for rehab and care home planning – Advance care planning (DNAR, TEP) and community liaison 

Multisystem Syndromes (e.g. Vasculitis, PUO, Lupus) 

– Complex case tracking with symptom timelines and diagnostic flows – Auto-flagging of abnormal labs (CRP, ANA, ESR, cultures) – Integration of biopsy results and second opinions via document management – MDT discussion logs with input from rheumatology, neurology, ID – Custom templates for ongoing immunosuppressive therapy and monitoring 

Tackling the Real Challenges of General Medicine with Cellma 

1. High Patient Flow Management 
General Medicine is often the first point of care for emergency admissions. Cellma supports: 

  • Streamlined Patient Registration & Triage at the AMU or MAU 
  • Structured Clerking Templates for rapid and complete documentation 
  • Queue & Bed Management Dashboards for real-time tracking 
  • Integration with early warning scores and escalation pathways 

2. Time-Pressured Documentation

Doctors frequently lose time creating discharge summaries and chasing investigations. Cellma offers:

  • Auto-populated eDischarge Summaries with coded diagnoses, meds, investigations, and follow-up 
  • Investigation Tracking Panels that flag pending and urgent results 
  • Speech-to-text documentation tools for hands-free entries 
  • Built-in clinical calculators (CHA₂DS₂-VASc, CURB-65, Wells Score)

3. Multidisciplinary Coordination

Delayed transfers due to social care gaps can block hospital flow. Cellma connects the entire care ecosystem by:

  • Including Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, and Physios in the MDT interface 
  • Enabling shared care plans with Community Services and Virtual Ward Teams 
  • Allowing GP handovers with attached documents, TTOs, and alerts

With Cellma, the General Medicine department can avoid unnecessary readmissions by ensuring patients are discharged with appropriate community-based support. 

Comprehensive Modules Supporting General Medicine

Cellma delivers an end-to-end ecosystem that supports the entire care continuum:

  • EHR & Clinical Notes: Custom templates for clerking, daily reviews, MDT meetings, and care plans
  • Patient Administration System (PAS): Manages referrals, ward transfers, and discharge scheduling
  • Laboratory Integration: Auto-imports bloods, urine, and microbiology results
  • Imaging Integration: DICOM-compatible for instant access to X-rays, CTs, MRIs, and ultrasound reports
  • Pharmacy Module: Prescribing tools with allergy checks, drug interaction alerts, and TTO generation
  • Theatre Module: For patients requiring surgical input—pre-op assessments and post-op care documentation
  • Business Intelligence (BI): Dashboards for performance, readmission audits, bed utilisation, and outcome metrics
  • Document Management: Scanned handovers, legal documents, and consent forms stored with patient records
  • Mobile Access & Virtual Wards: For remote monitoring and post-discharge care via secure access

Each of these modules is designed with a clinical-first mindset, supporting safe, efficient, and person-centred care in the General Medicine department.

Security and Compliance
Security is at the core of Cellma’s architecture:

  • Role-based access controls ensure only authorised users can view or edit sensitive records
  • Data Encryption for all patient data at rest and in transit
  • Audit Logs tracking every user action for accountability and forensic traceability
  • Fully GDPR-compliant and ISO-certified
  • Hosted on secure NHS-compliant cloud servers with disaster recovery protocols
  • Clinicians and IT workers can rest assured that the data produced in a General Medicine department is secure and ready to use when it really counts.

The modern-day General Medicine department needs more than the simple act of electronic recording; it needs a full digital ecosystem that supports the complexity and speed of clinical care. Every single part of the care cycle needs to be clinically safe, operationally effective and aligned to national standards, whether it’s managing the acute admission of a patient, follow up phone calls for chronic disease reviews and everything between.

Whether you are a junior doctor working on call, a consultant who has to manage multiple complex patients or a hospital administrator juggling capacity and performance targets, Cellma enables your department to deliver safe, timely and coordinated care.

FAQs

Can Cellma assist with managing a high volume of acute admissions in General Medicine?

Cellma can absolutely help manage a high throughput environment like General Medicine! Cellma provides structured triage and clerking templates, bed management dashboards in real-time, and automated notifications when early warning scores are met. This will ultimately create and maximize situational awareness about patient safety and elemental efficiency from the time of admission to discharge, even during the busiest times of acute take.

How does Cellma support multidisciplinary care and discharge planning in General Medicine?

Cellma has strong dedicated modules that outline documentation for MDT and task allocation, ensuring that with complex patients, necessary referrals to physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, and dieticians can take place with straightforward ways to co-ordinate input from everyone, working together in an informed manner. Discharge planning takes place early, and built in tools mean you can for example, easily access TTOs, referrals for social care, eDischarge Summaries, and links to Community and virtual wards.

Does Cellma meet the NHS digital systems and standards that are in use and support delivery of care within General Medicine?

Yes. Cellma is interoperable and can share its data with other NHS systems, such as e-RS (e-Referral Service), Summary Care Record (SCR), EPS, GP Connect. Cellma also meets HL7, FHIR, and DICOM standards. This means that both Primary and Secondary Care are connected and instigated in conjunction to the whole Community Care pathway, which is critical in establishing continuity of care and admission headache reduction to all stakeholders across the different layers of General Medicine workflow.