Patient Online – prepare now for next year’s contractual deadline
As you know, promoting the use of online appointment booking and online repeat prescription ordering are contractual requirements for Patient Online. These are routinely offered to patients in London.
From 1 April 2016 practices are expected to fulfil the current contractual requirement to provide online access to GP records for those patients who request it. Online access will be extended from the current access to repeat prescriptions, allergies and adverse reactions to access to all coded data within a patient’s record. The inclusion of free text is not a contractual requirement but may be useful in certain circumstances (explaining test results out of range for example).
EMIS and TPP’s latest releases now provide the functionality to support the contractual requirements. It is expected that INPS and Microtest releases will be available in time to allow practices to meet these obligations. Practices will not be expected to fulfil this contractual requirement if they do not have access to computer systems and software which would enable them to offer the online services.
A statement from the Patient on Line team confirms:
“GPSoC has assured the Detailed Coded Record elements from the Framework Requirements in EMIS Release 5.5 to 5.8 (available now) and TPP Release MR 116 (planned release to be available from 9 Dec 2015) for clinical safety, information governance and functionality. These elements have been confirmed by NHS England to meet the GMS contractual requirements for 2015/16.
HSCIC and NHS England are continuing to work with INPS and Microtest to secure timely delivery of system functionality for access to detailed coded records.”
You will need time and help to understand the practicalities and the implications of this. Currently NHS England’s (NHSE) Patient Online programme is providing support to practices to understand and deliver these commitments. Support for London is provided by Implementation Lead, Richard Ince, and Digital Clinical Champion, east London GP, Dr Phil Koczan.
It is a good idea to contact your system provider now to find out more information on how to deliver online access to patient records in a safe and consistent way.
NHS England are currently hosting additional webinar sessions to provide advice on how you can benefit from providing online services to patients. The webinars are interactive and provide an opportunity to ask questions, learn from other practices and find out how to access support locally. Visit the NHS England website for further information.
There is also a contractual requirement for practices to issue a statement of intent in relation to these new services. This should be done as soon as possible.
If you have any queries, or would like to discuss Patient Online in more detail, please contact Richard Ince at richard.ince@nhs.net.
Further information is also available by clicking on the following links:
Last updated : 17 Feb 2016Help needed to plan for current and future demands of general practice (22 Jul 2020)
We have important work planned for the next three months that we need your help with. If you work in London general practice in an area represented by Londonwide LMCs,2020 GP Patient Survey results (21 Jul 2020)
Over 95% of patients who responded to the latest NHS England survey said they had confidence and trust in the last healthcare professional they saw. Over 80% of patients rated...Un-resourced work from secondary care (21 Jul 2020)
Practices are currently facing a significant challenge as capacity is reduced by the need to adhere to infection control measures and pent up demand from patients staying away from practices...Online and social media - strategy, risk management, understanding and managing feedback (08 Jul 2020)
The latest offer in Londonwide LMCs' free development support for practice managers, or to a nominated other member of the team who would benefit....Official studies: BAME people at increased risk from Covid-19 (24 Jun 2020)
The Government has recently released two Public Health England (PHE) reports looking into the impact of coronavirus on people from BAME backgrounds. The reports were written by Professor Kevin Fenton...Resumption of routine CQC inspections and the emergency support framework (24 Jun 2020)
The CQC will resume routine inspections of GP practices in the autumn, with no start date specified yet. Since the middle of May the CQC has been remotely monitoring practices...TFL face covering exemption (24 Jun 2020)
Since 15 June it has been mandatory for passengers over the age of 11 to wear face coverings on public transport in London, as well as in private hire vehicles. This...Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
GP Support
Contact our GP Support team if you need help or advice.
The team provide professional and pastoral support to GPs and practice teams on a broad range of issues.
follow us on...
