May 2025
Healthcare Data Matters
In our fourth edition of Healthcare Data Matters, we have a bumper thought leadership section offering insights on a range of healthcare related topics; we announce winning the ‘Best Healthcare Data Repository Solution’ in the MEDTECH Breakthrough Awards; we share the latest updates on our HealthStore® Clinical Data Repository and RAPid™ Data Protection solutions, including a new RAPid Customer Upgrade initiative; and you’ll find details on our upcoming events; and more.
Thought Leadership
In this section, we highlight our latest thinking on a range of subjects: from discussing the role of Clinical Data Repositories (CDR) in the HIMSS EMR Adoption Model (EMRAM); to sharing our insights and observations following the recent HIMSS Global Health Conference; through to an exploration of the relationship between the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) and CDRs; and much more.
The Role of Clinical Data Repositories in the HIMSS EMR Adoption Model (EMRAM)
Our own Brendan O’Leary, Solutions Engineer – HealthStore®, takes a closer look at the HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) framework and evaluates the role of the Clinical Data Repository (CDR) in achieving digital maturity. Read here.
HIMSS 2025: eight key themes and takeaways
BridgeHead’s Ken Burton, National Leader for Enterprise Imaging and Data, distils his key takeaways from the recent HIMSS Global Health Conference in Las Vegas – spanning AI adoption, interoperability, cybersecurity, and more. Read here.
Federation needs foundations – is the CDR friend or foe to the FDP?
The NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) is a much talked about subject in the UK. But what is the relationship between the FDP and Clinical Data Repositories (CDRs)? In his latest piece, BridgeHead’s Adam Coombes seeks to determine whether they are complementary or competitive. Read here.
Solving the clinical data puzzle: why NHS organisations need a CDR alongside the EPR
A foundation for the future of Clinical Data Management
Overcoming the chaos: how to bring order to your clinical data
Latest News
Check out our latest news and announcements, including our joining of the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) association in the US, becoming a founding member of the Electronic Patient Record (EPR) Network in the UK, and, ‘news just in’, we’ve won an award!
BridgeHead wins ‘Best Healthcare Data Repository’ award for HealthStore®
Hot off the press, we’re delighted to announce that BridgeHead’s HealthStore® has been crowned ‘Best Healthcare Data Repository Solution’ in the 2025 MedTech Breakthrough Awards. Read the press release here.
BridgeHead joins Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM)
BridgeHead is excited to announce its membership of the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) reinforcing our commitment to enhancing imaging workflows, fostering interoperability, and improving patient outcomes. Read the press release here.
BridgeHead joins the UK EPR Network
BridgeHead is proud to join the newly formed UK Electronic Patient Record (EPR) Network as a Founding Partner. This initiative aims to accelerate digital transformation across the NHS through the adoption of innovative solutions and best practices to optimise the EPR ecosystem. Read the press release here.
Product Information
This section provides the latest product updates regarding BridgeHead’s HealthStore® Clinical Data Repository and RAPid™ Data Protection solutions.
HealthStore® Clinical Data Repository
What does BridgeHead’s HealthStore® actually do?
One of the challenges we have with a solution like our HealthStore® Clinical Data Repository is that it solves different problems for different people within a healthcare organization. This can make it difficult to quickly and easily articulate its value – it is largely dependent on the role of the person you might be talking to, the type of facility they work for, and the issues that are proverbially ‘keeping them awake at night!’ So, we thought we would try and make HealthStore a little easier to understand.
If it’s true that ‘a picture paints a thousand words’, then a video is more like a novel. And that’s why we’ve put together this 6-minute video that delves into the nature of HealthStore – what it is, what it does, and how it can help solve real-world challenges in Clinical Data Management for healthcare providers.
2025 HealthStore® release schedule (for your calendars)
HealthStore releases are managed through BridgeHead’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) processes. As a result, we are able to schedule the releases a year in advance (albeit they are subject to change). The HealthStore release schedule for 2025 into 2026 is as follows:
- HealthStore release HS25R2 – end of July 2025
- HealthStore release HS25R3 – end of November 2025
- HealthStore release HS26R1 – end of March 2026.
RAPid™ Data Protection
RAPid™ Data Protection 25A Release
Following the recent release of BridgeHead’s RAPid™ Data Protection solution version 25A, we asked RAPid Product Owner, Glenn Martin, to provide a summary of the latest features and enhancements.
Multi-stream SQL Performance
RAPid 25A introduces high-speed SQL backup and restore using Microsoft’s Virtual Device Interface (VDI), scaling up to 32 parallel streams. Customers can expect performance gains of 30-50GB per minute (infrastructure dependent), enabling much quicker backups of multi-terabyte databases – well within backup windows. In parallel, the same applies to system restores, offering faster recovery of your critical data.
FileStore™ Performance
Our latest FileStore™ archiving enhancements include a more resilient Free Space Monitor (FSM) connection and improved control over archiving scans to target a specific date range. This helps customers maximize/optimize the amount of data they can archive. And this performance is further boosted when using NDR with JBOD storage.
Admin Console
RAPid 25A takes another step toward centralized management with the full integration of Alert Manager into the web-based Admin Console. Now you can monitor and manage alerts – alongside objects, jobs, and queues – all in one streamlined interface.
Security & Dependencies
Finally, as we continuously update RAPid to address software dependencies and known vulnerabilities, we strongly recommend upgrading to the latest version of the software to ensure you’re taking advantage of the latest features and safeguard your environment.
2025 RAPid™ Data Protection release schedule (for your calendars)
RAPid releases are managed through BridgeHead’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) processes and are closely aligned to the releases of our HealthStore Clinical Data Repository. As a result, we are able to schedule the releases a year in advance (albeit they are subject to change). The RAPid release schedule for 2025 into 2026 is as follows:
- RAPid release 25A SP1 – end of July 2025
- RAPid release 25A SP2 – end of November 2025
- RAPid release 26A – end of March 2026.
RAPid™ Data Protection – Customer Upgrade Program
As part of the RAPid™ Data Protection Support Charter, customers are expected to keep their software to within two releases of the current version. For a short time, our Technical Support teams are offering to carry out free upgrades to eligible customers to help them move to the new RAPid 25A release.
Benefits Of Upgrading To RAPid 25A
The RAPid™ Customer Upgrade Program has been designed to proactively address several key issues that will enable BridgeHead’s Technical Support Specialists to offer the best support for customers. By upgrading to RAPid 25A, we can:
- Transition customers away from outdated and unsupported software versions
- Improve system reliability, performance, and compatibility with modern operating systems and infrastructure
- Ensure access to RAPid’s latest features and benefits (see RAPid™ Data Protection 25A Release section above); and, importantly, to implement the most up-to-date security enhancements to safeguard customer environments.
Professional Services
A day in the life of the HealthStore® Professional Services team
At BridgeHead Software, our dedicated HealthStore Professional Services team is the driving force behind seamless clinical data management solutions. Comprising experienced project managers, technical consultants, data migration specialists and change management experts, we work closely with healthcare organizations to ensure the successful implementation of HealthStore and the retirement of legacy applications.
What we do for our HealthStore customers
From discovery to deployment, our team handles every aspect of your project:
Discovery & Planning |
We assess your data landscape, define scope, and create tailored project plans. |
ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) |
We migrate and integrate data, ensuring minimal disruption to clinical workflows. |
Change Management |
We guide stakeholders through transitions, addressing resistance and fostering adoption. |
Backup |
We design and implement backup and recovery procedures. |
Training |
We deliver ‘train-the-trainer’ training on all products in the BridgeHead Software portfolio. |
Post-implementation Support |
We optimise systems and provide ongoing assistance to ensure long-term success. |
No two days are the same!
Our team might start the morning reviewing a client’s data extraction progress, then pivot to a stakeholder workshop to align on project goals. Afternoons could involve troubleshooting a technical challenge or preparing a pre-go-live readiness assessment. Through it all, collaboration is key – whether with internal teams, third-party vendors, or your organization’s project leads.
Why it matters
Healthcare data is more than just information – it’s the backbone of patient care. By modernising data management, we help you break down data silos, unlock efficiencies and reduce costs, meet your compliance obligations and, most importantly, help you leverage your data to improve patient care and clinical outcomes.
What about Professional Services for RAPid™ Data Protection?
We have a separate Professional Services team to deploy BridgeHead’s RAPid™ Data Protection solutions. In the next newsletter, we will take a closer look at the role they play and what a typical day looks like them.
Upcoming Events
As the health tech event season continues, we take a look at some of the upcoming conferences, seminars and exhibitions on BridgeHead’s calendar. If you are attending any of the events below, please come and say ‘hello’ to the BridgeHead team.
SIIM 25 Annual Meeting + InformaticsTECH Expo
Join us at the SIIM 25 Annual Meeting + InformaticsTECH expo to explore the latest advancements in medical imaging and be part of the innovation shaping the future of imaging informatics! We’ll be exhibiting at the conference and will be delivering a joint presentation with our partner, LaurelBridge. Learn more here.
May 21-23 2025, Portland | Oregon | USA
25-27 May 2025, Dallas | Texas | USA
MUSE Inspire Conference 2025
Join us at the 2025 MUSE Inspire Conference in Dallas, the annual event bringing together hospitals and vendors from across the MEDITECH ecosystem. As always, BridgeHead will be exhibiting and our own Bobby Edwards, Principal Solutions Consultant, will be presenting at the show. Learn more here.
NHS Radiology & Imaging Conference
We are thrilled to be at the NHS Radiology & Imaging Conference in London. Join BridgeHead at this event where we will be addressing the challenges of digital transformation, data governance, and cybersecurity is also a critical issue, as more Trusts shift towards AI-enabled diagnostic workflows. Learn more here.
2 July 2025, London | UK
17-18 July 2025, Warwick | Warwickshire
Digital Health Summer Schools
As sponsors of the Digital Health CIO Network, BridgeHead will be attending Digital Health Summer Schools – a closed event for NHS CCIOs, CIOs and CNIOs from across the UK. The program is action-packed with keynotes from NHS leadership, education sessions, and interactive workshops. Learn more here.
Customer Corner
In this edition of Customer Corner, we look back at how Harrison Memorial Hospital, based in Kentucky, engaged with BridgeHead to consolidate data from and then decommission six inherited ambulatory EMRs. And over in the UK, we glance back at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust’s Enterprise Imaging journey where they made the strategic decision to implement BridgeHead’s independent, next-generation vendor neutral archive (VNA).
Harrison Memorial Hospital
After acquiring six regional primary care practices, Harrison Memorial Hospital (HMH) had a problem! It had already made the strategic decision to standardise on MEDITECH as its primary EHR. But each newly acquired facility came with its own ambulatory EMR! Learn how HMH, working with BridgeHead, embarked on a journey to consolidate and retire its inherited EHR systems and data while giving clinicians a complete, 360-degree view of patient information – all accessible through its newly upgraded MEDITECH EHR. Read the full story here.
North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust
As part of its digital transformation strategy, North Middlesex University Hospital (NMUH) NHS Trust deployed BridgeHead’s HealthStore® – laying the foundations for its long-term vision for Enterprise Imaging and patient data management. With HealthStore’s integrated next-generation vendor neutral archive (VNA), NMUH can now consolidate, store, protect, access and share medical images and more. Read the full story here.
Helpful Resources
In this section, we have compiled some resources we hope you will find interesting. But, feel free to explore our library of assets ranging from whitepapers and datasheets to customer case studies and videos.
Is your Clinical Data Repository resilient to cyberattack?
The healthcare sector is a top target for cybercriminals looking to exploit security weaknesses. In this video, BridgeHead experts explore why a resilient Clinical Data Repository (CDR) is crucial for safeguarding patient data and how a well-protected CDR can strengthen your cyberattack response and minimize the impact of ransomware and malware. Watch now.
[Duration: 15:22]
Best practices guide on ‘managing the cost, complexity, and risk of legacy application retirement and replacement’
Legacy systems are problematic – they are expensive to run, support and maintain; a significant security risk; and the data they contain is not readily available as part of the patient record. This guide examines the key drivers behind health IT application retirement, the impact of poor data quality on patient care, and the best strategies for integrating legacy data into modern systems. Download here.
How to FHIR-enable your legacy data
With 70% of healthcare data locked in outdated legacy systems that don’t support modern standards like FHIR, how can providers ensure seamless access to critical information? Learn more and dive into this challenge with our BridgeHead experts where they explore solutions to unlock and integrate legacy data for the demands of modern healthcare. Watch now.
[Duration: 12:25]