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How EMIS is using DevOps to deliver new products faster than ever
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Writing software for the healthcare market is complex. In addition to the usual must-do checks, such as ‘does it work’ and ‘does it run well’, we also ensure that every piece of software developed is clinically safe, delivered to the highest security standards and meets NHS requirements.
EMIS [now Optum] uses DevOps practices to deliver new software at a high quality and more efficiently than ever before.
DevOps is the practice of bringing together operations and development engineers in a single team throughout the entire lifecycle of a service. The term DevOps is taken from the merging of the two words; Development and Operations. As a DevOps engineer at EMIS, one of my roles is being an agent for change, and to help bring about improvements such as getting our new software released quicker.
The IT industry is constantly evolving to look at how to do things better and DevOps is one way to speed up how we develop software. It’s a process that embeds quality controls throughout the development process rather than at the end, ensuring clinical safety and the highest security standards are the foundations of every new technology development.
We work closely with our colleagues across EMIS, including our team of front-line clinicians, bringing everybody together to review and discuss new software throughout its development. This means when development is completed it can be signed off and released much more quickly.
I saw this strategy in action on a recent project I’ve been working on where the software development was finished at 4pm on Monday, with security sign off issued on the Wednesday and final sign off on the Thursday.
We’re always looking at what we can improve and I look forward to sharing more with you in the future.
Robbie Frodsham, DevOps Engineer
Robbie has worked in Healthcare IT with EMIS for 15 years in a number of different roles and has extensive knowledge of EMIS IT infrastructure.
In his current position, he works with our engineering teams as a DevOps engineer on both new and existing products. He's passionate about DevOps and sharing his operational expertise with others to improve the way EMIS delivers solutions to its customers.