Dunedin Hospital staff will record patient information the old-fashioned way today, while a new patient information management system is implemented.
Staff planned to stop using the OraCare system last night, allowing data to be transferred to a new $3.4 million patient information system.
Information system project manager Sandra Brough said patients visiting the hospital today should not notice anything different, with the exception of staff using pens and paper rather than keyboards to record information.
The change was being made today as it was the start of the financial year.
The hospital had scaled back its activities for the day, mainly in the out-patient area, and it was hoped there would not be a large volume of emergency admissions.
Ms Brough said patient information would be recorded manually for 24 hours, and the system was expected to be online again by midnight tonight or 1am tomorrow.
It was expected six or seven hours would be needed to enter the data which was taken manually into the system, and when staff started their shifts tomorrow morning it should be "business as usual", she said.
About 20 staff are expected to work extended hours to ensure the changeover goes smoothly.
The progress will be watched by district health board representatives from Tairawhiti (Gisborne) and Lakes District (Rotorua), where similar systems are being installed.
Southland and Waikato board representatives, who have already been through the changeover process, are helping.
The changeover was expected to take place last November, but it was delayed twice to allow for extensive testing to ensure new data would be accurate.
iSOFT project manager Simon Green said if the system failed to start as expected, the OraCare system could be reinstated.
