Revolutionising NHS Scotland’s Digital Healthcare: A Unified, National Approach

An Introduction to OneAdvanced’s Vision for Scotland

For the first time, a single organisation is supporting NHS Scotland across primary care, secondary care and out-of-hours services through a unified digital ecosystem.

OneAdvanced, a leading UK-based health and care software provider with over 40 years’ experience supporting the NHS, has reached a pivotal moment in Scotland following the acquisition of the Vision electronic patient record (EPR) system.

This milestone represents more than portfolio expansion. It marks a fundamental shift in how digital healthcare can be delivered at national scale — aligning directly with Scotland’s ambitions for integrated, preventative and person-centred care.

Scotland’s Unique Opportunity to Lead

Scotland’s nationally coordinated health system, combined with the use of a single Community Health Index (CHI), creates a rare environment in which truly connected care can be delivered at pace and scale. Unlike more fragmented health economies, NHS Scotland is structurally positioned to move beyond interoperability towards a genuinely unified care model.

This aligns closely with national policy priorities focused on prevention, population health management, improved access and reducing pressure on frontline services through smarter use of digital technology.

In this context, Scotland is not simply adopting digital tools — it is shaping a blueprint for how national healthcare systems can operate in a more joined-up, data-driven and sustainable way.

Completing the Digital Jigsaw: The Strategic Importance of Vision

With the acquisition of Vision, OneAdvanced has completed a critical piece of Scotland’s digital health infrastructure.

Vision brings core GP clinical records into the same ecosystem as urgent care, out-of-hours and secondary care systems — enabling the possibility for information to move safely and appropriately across services, rather than remaining locked in disconnected silos.

This step transforms integration from a technical aspiration into an operational reality, supporting continuity of care across the patient journey and strengthening clinical decision-making at every touchpoint.

From Integrated Systems to a Single Picture of Care

OneAdvanced’s health portfolio in Scotland now spans GP Document Workflow and AI (Docman), urgent and unscheduled care (Adastra), secondary care and clinical decision support (Odyssey), online consultation and triage (Patchs), and the Vision EPR.

Together, these capabilities will enable a clinically safe, unified view of patient information across care settings. For clinicians, this will reduce duplication, manual administration and risk. For patients, it means fewer repeated conversations, smoother transitions between services and a more coherent experience of care.

As Ric Thompson, Senior Vice President of Health at OneAdvanced, notes, Scotland now has the opportunity to be ahead of the curve in its ability to connect platforms at scale — turning joined-up data into joined-up care.

Enabling Nationally Connected Care

With platforms already supporting NHS 111 call handling, out-of-hours services, hospitals and GP practices, Scotland has a tangible opportunity to move beyond local optimisation and towards a nationally connected care model.

This will directly support policy ambitions around neighbourhood care, anticipatory care planning and improved flow across the system, ensuring patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

Importantly, this approach also enables national consistency while still allowing local services the flexibility to innovate and respond to community needs.

Reducing Pressure on the Workforce

At a time of sustained workforce pressure across NHS Scotland, digital transformation must demonstrably reduce burden rather than add to it.

By mapping patient pathways end-to-end and automating routine processes, OneAdvanced’s solutions can help remove avoidable administration, reduce repetition and support safer, faster clinical workflows. This allows clinical and operational teams to focus more time on patient care, a critical priority across the system.

Unlocking Research, Population Health and Economic Value

Scotland’s use of a single CHI number makes it uniquely attractive for medical research and population-level insight.

Through secure, anonymised access to national datasets, OneAdvanced’s technology has the ability to support ethically approved research, accelerate clinical trials and enable faster identification of suitable patient cohorts.

This not only advances population health outcomes but also strengthens Scotland’s position as a destination for life sciences investment, reinforcing the link between digital health infrastructure, research excellence and economic growth.

Looking Ahead: Building the Future of Connected Care

Together, these capabilities position NHS Scotland to move from connected systems to truly connected care, underpinned by clinically safe, sovereign technology designed for national scale.

By working in partnership, OneAdvanced and NHS Scotland can accelerate digital innovation, improve outcomes for patients and clinicians, and establish a future-ready health and care system aligned to Scotland’s long-term strategic ambitions.

Find Out More

Learn how OneAdvanced is supporting NHS Scotland to move from integrated systems to truly connected care through its Scotland Digital Transformation programme.
Scotland Digital Transformation page

This article is sponsored by OneAdvanced.