Transferring your electronic health record

Here at Penwortham St. Mary’s 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. As a university practice we deal with far more, up to 4000 transfers per year!

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.

GP2GP

WE ARE NOW GP2GP ENABLED

WHAT IS 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 detailed medical records available to them for a new patient's first consultation.

What are the benefits of using GP2GP?

GP2GP delivers a range of benefits, including:

Improved quality and continuity of care

• Full patient Electronic Health Record (EHR) available for the patient's first appointment, which results in a more focused and informed consultation.
• Past medical history available and information about medication, allergies, adverse reaction.
• Immunisations and vaccinations.

Improved safety

• Fewer transcribing errors and omissions, the need to key in information from paper records will be greatly reduced.
• Allergies and adverse drug reactions are flagged for review for new patients, resulting in safer prescribing.

Clinical time savings

• The EHR contains information such as lab results and letters from specialists, which helps in the clinical decision making process. This also means there are fewer request for unnecessary duplicate lab tests.

Administrative time savings

• The need to key information from paper records is greatly reduced. This results in quicker summarisation of new patient records.
• Attachments are received electronically, which results in time saved not having to re-scan items into patient's EHR.

Your rights

• We are committed to giving you the best possible service and are pleased you are registered with this practice.
• We will make every effort to make sure you know about the services we offer which directly affect your health.
• We will treat you politely and with respect at all times. The practice will respect any privacy, dignity and religious and cultural beliefs of all our patients.
• You have the right to see your health records on request, in accordance with current legislation.
• We will never give information we hold about you to a third party without your consent.
• All our staff respect and understand your right to confidentiality within the law.
• We meet the standards of the NHS complaints procedure. If you are not happy with the service you receive from any of our staff, please contact the Complaints Manager, Fiona Greenbank. We will try to sort out your concern within the practice. If you are still not happy, you can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), at NHS Central Lancashire on 0800 032 24 24.
• We welcome your suggestions to improve our service. You can give us your views and suggestions by writing to Lorna Laflin, Practice Manager, at the surgery or email her on [email protected]

Your responsibilities

• Please be polite to the staff at all times (remember they are working under the doctors’ orders). We will not tolerate abuse. If you behave badly, we may remove you from the practice list.
• Please attend appointments on time or tell us in plenty of time if you want to cancel.
• Please remember that an appointment is for one person only. If another member of the family needs to be seen, or if you need to discuss their care, please make another appointment.
• You should only ask for a home visit if the patient is housebound or too ill to visit the surgery. The doctor will decide if a visit is needed and may offer you advice over the phone.
• Please only ask for an out-of-hours call (evenings, nights and weekends) if it is really necessary and cannot wait until the surgery re-opens. The out-of-hours service is recharged to the practice.
• Please do not expect a prescription with every consultation. Doctors will only prescribe antibiotics or other medicines if they will help your medical condition.

 Why we need your information:

Your doctor and other health professionals caring for you keep records about your health, treatment and care. In some circumstances other NHS services, such as  111 may access these records, to ensure that you receive safe and effective care. You should always be asked for your consent before your information is accessed.

 How we use your records to help you:

Your records are used to guide healthcare professionals in the care you need and administer the care you receive.

We routinely record calls to the service to support on going training, development of the service, and to ensure safety and quality.

 How we keep your records confidential:

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential. We may need to share some of your information with our NHS colleagues so we can all work together for your benefit, but we will only pass on information about you if there is a genuine need to do so.

In some circumstances we may be required by law to report certain information to the appropriate authorities’. In this instance we would either be operating under a court order, ask Dr Buckley, our Caldicott Guardian, to ensure this is the correct action, or seek advice from our medico-legal advisors if necessary, before information is shared.

For further information please see the GDPR section

How do I give feedback or make a complaint about the Practice?

Our complaints manager is Fiona Greenbank. Fiona will listen to your complaint, and fully investigate the matter for you. 

Fiona can be contacted directly by telephone, without you needing to go through reception, on 01772 214791. She can also be contacted via email at [email protected]

If we cannot resolve your verbal complaint within 24 hours of you making it, Fiona will write to you, to acknowledge your complaint, and keep in contact with you, until the matter has been resolved to your satisfaction. All complaints received in writing will automatically receive a written acknowledgement.

Please do not be concerned about reporting a complaint. This is how we learn, and know when we need to make changes. 

Telling us about your issue can hopefully stop someone else having the same problem in the future.

Below is a complaints form you can use if you prefer, but you don't have to. Rest assured, your complaint will be taken seriously, regardless of how you choose to tell us about it.  

Below there are some links to leaflets, telling you more about how to complain to us, as well as how the wider NHS deals with complaints.

Complaints and Compliment form

Patient Leaflet - Complaints

NHS Complaints Guidance

NHS Complaints Guidance Leaflet

Patient Information Leaflet

General Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice - Provision of Direct Care