Making clinical guidance easier to use at the point of care Medway NHS Foundation Trust integrated local guidelines with BMJ Best Practice into its electronic patient record (EPR) after research with 18 frontline clinicians found that staff wanted faster access to evidence and local protocols during patient care, with mobile access, staff training and digital champions supporting implementation. This created a centrally governed resource that brought local protocols and national evidence together and could be updated consistently across clinical teams. Clinicians reported faster access to information, greater confidence in decision making and more consistent practice across teams. Richard Pemberton, knowledge and library service strategic manager at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, said that rapid access to local guidance was particularly valuable during the meningitis outbreak in Kent.
Average monthly page impressions reached 277% of pre-integration levels following BMJ Best Practice integration into the Trust’s EPR
277% of pre-integration level
Average monthly page impressions in the seven months following integration compared with the preceding three months.
100 (baseline)
Before integration (Sep-Nov)
Following integration (Dec-Jun)
Medway NHS Foundation Trust internal usage data, September 2025–June 2026
“Libraries are here to take the heavy lifting out of accessing information. BMJ Best Practice is an excellent tool for doing that.” Richard Pemberton, Knowledge and library service strategic manager, Medway NHS Foundation Trust, UK
The initiative, Right Guidance, Right People, Right Time, was shortlisted for Digital Clinical Safety Initiative of the Year at the 2026 HSJ Patient Safety Awards. The nomination recognised Medway’s development of a single source of clinical guidance that staff could access within the EPR. 63
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