GP2GP
Here at Regent House Surgery we utilise an electronic system for transferring patient records to and from other GP surgeries called GP2GP.
GP2GP enables patients' electronic health records to be transferred directly and securely between GP practices. It improves patient care as GPs will usually have full and detailed medical records available to them for a new patient's first consultation.
Why it’s needed
GP2GP is the project that enables patients' electronic health records (EHRs) to be transferred directly from one practice to another.
GP2GP starts when a practice accepts a patient onto their list of patients for primary health care and ends when the EHR is transferred from the previous practice into the new GP clinical system.
GP2GP electronic transfers will be more accurate and secure - and much faster than the current paper-based approach, which can take weeks to complete.
Background to GP2GP
There are some 9,000 GP practices in England. They each currently deal with an average 500 patient record transfers each year. Inner city and university practices deal with far more.
The process involves:
- Printing out the details of the patient health record held on the GP clinical system and then putting that print-out into the patient's 'Lloyd George' envelope, together with any historical paper records, laboratory forms, hospital referral letters and the letters that result from that referral.
- These documents are then transferred to the new practice via the local medical records transfer process.
- Upon receipt of the Lloyd George, the new practice reviews the information received, summarises the record and enters any appropriate information into their GP clinical system.
The time it takes to receive a patient record from the time it is requested can be anything from a few weeks to a few months. As a result, the new practice often does not have the benefit of the old record when the patient attends for the first consultation. Once received, it can be very time-consuming for the new practice to key in the summary of the record into its own clinical system.
GP2GP, on the other hand, enables an almost instantaneous transfer of a patient's EHR. As a result, GPs and their teams will be able to provide patients with a safer and more efficient service. Read more about the benefits of GP2GP.
INFORMATION GOVERNANCE
Information is a vital asset, both in terms of the clinical management of individual patients and the efficient management of services and resources. It plays a key part in clinical governance, service planning and performance management.
The practice believes that accurate, timely and relevant information is essential to deliver the highest quality health care. As such it is the responsibility of all clinicians and managers to ensure and promote the quality of information and to actively use information in decision making processes.
Information Governance Patient Leaflet
If you would like to see our full Information Governance Policy or any other practice policies please see practice Information.
YOU HAVE A CHOICE
CARE.DATA - is a new modern data system for the NHS in England. Known as care.data, its purpose will be to provide timely, accurate information to citizens, clinicians, and commissioners about the treatments and care provided by the NHS. Data will be extracted from our GP system for the care.data service this includes personal confidential data such as referrals, all NHS prescriptions and other clinical data. The extraction will be on a monthly basis using the General practice Extraction Service (GPES). We can control the extraction of data - if you have any objections to your data being extracted please contact the surgery immediately. For further information and a set of FAQ which are available and should help answer your queries on www.england.nhs.uk/caredata
NAMED ACCOUNTABLE GP
The practice is required by the Government under the terms of the latest GP contract to allocate all patients a named accountable GP by 30th June 2015.
For convenience if you have a medical card your accountable GP will be the named doctor you are registered with.
The practice does keep a record of your registered (accountable) GP. If you wish to be told the name of your accountable GP, please ask the receptionists when you are next in the surgery.
Where a patient expresses a preference as to which GP they have been assigned, the practice will make reasonable efforts to accommodate this request.
Having a named GP does not prevent you seeing any other doctor in the practice. Your named GP will not be available at all times and if your needs are urgent, you may need to discuss them with an alternative doctor.