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 2016Feedback on Capita Primary Care Support England services (16 Aug 2016)
Following concerns expressed about the current Capita/Primary Care Support England (PCSE) records and supplies services, the BMA recently sought feedback on practices’ experience of Capita’s service. Dan Hodgson in the...Speakers Corner - New scheme to register offenders (16 Aug 2016)
This month Leighe Rogers explains how various agencies are coming together to support offenders to register with GPs. Leighe works in the justice system on behalf of NHS England London. The...Sustainability and Transformation Plans - August 2016 Update (11 Aug 2016)
Dr Michelle Drage responds to LMC exclusion from STP process On 10 August Michelle Drage was quoted in Pulse’s article on GPs being excluded from STP discussions in some...Our Travel Health Update was a great success (22 Jul 2016)
With summer holidays looming on the horizon it was unsurprising that our Travel Health Update held on the 30 June 2016 proved very popular. It covered many important updates on...Dr Michelle Drage meets HRH Prince Charles (21 Jul 2016)
Our CEO Dr Michelle Drage represented London GP’s at the College of Medicine’s ‘Food the forgotten Medicine’ recently. After the event she was part of...July Newsletter 2016 now available (21 Jul 2016)
Cervical screening direct referral responsibilities (20 Jul 2016)
NHS England have issued an update to clarify what a practice should do when they receive a cervical smear result. There is now a system in place to directly refer...Government data security consultation (19 Jul 2016)
The Government has been conducting a data security review, run by Dame Fiona Caldicott, the National Data Guardian for Health and Care. A report has now been produced with...#GPStateofEmergency update - July 2016 (19 Jul 2016)
In April 2016 GPs in London and across the country declared a #GPStateofEmergency. To help practices manage their increasing workload during this state of emergency we have producedLondonwide LMCs’ jobs board (19 Jul 2016)
As part of our service to our GPs and their practice teams, we provide a free to use jobs section where practices can advertise vacancies or GPs who are...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...
