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 2016October 2015 newsletter now available (15 Oct 2015)
Londonwide LMCs NewsletterTamiflu in nursing and care homes (14 Oct 2015)
In January the GPC sought legal advice on Public Health England’s (PHE) instructions to prescribe Tamiflu for the prophylaxis of influenza in nursing and care homes where there have been...Improving well-being and health for dementia patients workshop (14 Oct 2015)
WHELD Research Programme (Improving Wellbeing and Health in Dementia) have organised an Royal College of General Practitioners accredited workshop for GPs in London. It will discuss anti-psychotic medication and no-pharmacological...Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set - participation voluntary (14 Oct 2015)
Advice has been sought from the BMA General Practitioners Committee’s IT Subcommittee on the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (CCG OIS) for 2013/14 and 2014/15. Practices have been asked to sign...Year-end deadline for agreement of GP Systems of Choice and GP IT services (14 Oct 2015)
NHS England has published an agreement for signature by practices and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) setting out the provision of GP Systems of Choice (GPSoC) and GP IT services. The...Death in service benefits for locum GPs - are you covered? (14 Oct 2015)
You may already be aware that there are persistent current inequities regarding the entitlement to ‘death in service’ benefit for freelance/ locum GPs compared to their principal or salaried GP...Healthwatch ask General Practice Committee for transparency on additional charges (14 Oct 2015)
The General Practitioners Committee (GPC) recently met with Healthwatch England to discuss charges that GPs can make for work not covered by their contract. Whilst the patient group understands the...New London Ambulance Service proposals to introduce non-emergency transport (14 Oct 2015)
London Ambulance Service (LAS) have consulted with us about a new service which they are implementing to help them manage the need for emergency ambulances more efficiently. A letter outlining...Meningococcal B for infants – FAQs update (14 Oct 2015)
NHS Employers have updated their vaccs and imms FAQs in relation to meningococcal B for infants to explain the eligible age cohort (2 – 13 months), as well as a catch-up...Nursing and Midwifery Council revalidation (14 Oct 2015)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) have introduced revalidation for all nurses and midwives in the UK: the most significant change to regulation in a generation. Revalidation means that everyone...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...
