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 2016Discriminatory language and behaviour in the workplace (19 Nov 2019)
At the end of October an ITV news interview provoked a lot of debate, after a surgeon of South Asian heritage revealed a patient had asked for a white...Pre-election period 2019 (19 Nov 2019)
What is “Purdah”? ‘Purdah’ or ‘the pre-election period’ refers to the weeks preceding a general election when specific restrictions apply principally around the activity of those working in central and...Hospitals discharging patients after missed appointments (19 Nov 2019)
Recent media reports have revealed large numbers of patients being discharged form hospital after a missed appointment, contrary to the NHS Standard Contract. We all know that general practice...CNSGP – What is in, what is out and who do I approach for help? (19 Nov 2019)
The Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice (CNSGP) was introduced on 1 April 2019 and provides comprehensive indemnity for clinical negligence liabilities arising in NHS general practice in relation...Conference of England LMCs - 22 November 2019 (15 Nov 2019)
The Conference of England LMCs is on Friday 22 November. A full list of motions to be debated can be read here. Three motions are being proposed by LMCs...Registering for Central Alerting System (CAS) alerts (31 Oct 2019)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Central Alerting System (CAS) is the national system for issuing patient safety alerts, important public health messages and other safety critical...Brexit update - October 2019 (23 Oct 2019)
On 8 October Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, released a statement on his department’s preparations for a ‘no-deal’ exit from the European Union....Physician – look after yourself (23 Oct 2019)
Following World Mental Health day earlier this month, Dr Richard Stacey from our GP support team looks at how clinicians can take better care of their own mental health. 10...Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form (DMHEF) (23 Oct 2019)
It will now be a contractual requirement for GPs to complete a Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form (DMHEF), for patients who have a mental health condition. GPs in England...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...
