Authorised care professionals in England will be able to access key parts of their patients GP Records.
Despite the vast size and strength of the NHS which we have witnessed over the course of the pandemic, there are always improvements to be made. Services and care providers are often disconnected, resulting in unnecessary delays to the provision of care for those who need it.
This is why in a new first for the industry, everyLIFE Technologies, developers of the PASS care management platform, has announced that a wider range of care providers will be able to access key information from GP records following a decision by NHSX, the branch of the NHS tasked with developing and promoting best practice for NHS technology, data, and digital, which has since been integrated into NHS England proper.
Access to GP records was previously only available to Registered Practitioner Nurses, but now, the ability to view key areas of the GP patient record will be extended beyond Registered Clinicians to a number of additional roles, providing their organisation meets the correct data security requirements.
Using a system called GP Connect, authorised care professionals in England will be able to access a read-only view of their patient’s GP practice clinical data, helping to support direct patient care and driving improvements in both care and outcomes.
Those now eligible to be granted access to selected key information from the GP patient record include Registered managers, Care Managers, Deputy Home Managers, Deputy Care Managers, Senior Carers, Team Leaders, Pharmacists, Pharmacy technicians and social workers.
“Since integrating GP Connect with PASS in 2020, our users have benefitted from an enhanced understanding of those they care for which has contributed to improved care outcomes,” says Taffy Gatawa, Chief Information and Compliance Officer at everyLIFE Technologies.
“Now, by offering access to a greater number of authorised individuals, providers will benefit from improved efficiency while reducing the workload of their Registered Managers.”
The care providers using the PASS management system will be able to view and share important information such as allergies and existing health issues. As medical information can be shared between IT systems, GP Connect will help to reduce workloads and make it easier to deliver connected care across a wide range of settings.
“This is an important milestone in our efforts to champion interoperability between the health and social care sectors, which promises to unlock even greater benefits to care quality and outcomes for services users in the months to come,” Taffy added.
To ensure the safety of patient data protection, in order to access GP Connect via PASS, users are required to complete the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT), providing assurance that proper security is practised and personal information is handled correctly.
“Very simply, I could describe PASS GP Connect in just one word: Amazing! We were delighted to have been the country’s very first care provider to access a GP record for a client in this way, and we now use it on a regular basis. It saves so much time and undoubtedly helps us to provide better care,” says Andrea Baxter, Registered Manager at Baxters Homecare.