The NHS England Transformation Directorate has launched a survey to understand experiences of clinical systems and digital tools in general practice.
The survey aims to “guide national thinking” and highlight priority areas for “supplier improvement, shape future investment in general practice digital systems and support ICBs to plan local improvement initiatives,” NHS England noted.
The organisation added, that “we hear the concerns from GPs and practice teams about their frustrations, for instance technology requiring multiple system logins for everyday tasks.”
It aims to help understand what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to change, with questions around the practice’s current clinical system, and use of other software such as triage tools and clinical decision support. Respondents are asked to what extent they agree or disagree with a series of statements around the role of digital systems in supporting high-quality care, efficiency, availability, functionality, integration, and more.
Questions also cover whether the clinical system is personalised to support workflows, the ease with which it is possible to exchange information or view patient records from other care settings, and the number of hours spent per week completing admin outside of normal business hours. It similarly looks at whether feedback is considered and if fixes are made in a timely manner, whether support is available when needed, and how likely respondents are to leave their practice within the next two years.
Dermot Ryan, director of digital transformation at NHS England, commented: “The clinical systems experience survey for general practice is a way for GPs and general practice staff to improve their experience of their systems. Designed to reflect the priorities of both the wider health policy landscape and realities from frontline services, data collected will lead directly to actionable and positive change in general practice digital systems usability.”
Wider trend: The future of general practice core systems
For a recent HTN Now panel discussion, we spoke to experts from across the healthcare sector on the future of general practice core systems. This included exploring potential opportunities and areas of future growth, considering challenges such as integration and interoperability, and outlining what “good” looks like in this space. Our panellists were Bex Cottey, business manager for Conisbrough GPs, Emma Stratful, chief operating officer at OX.DH, Dr Sheikh Mateen Ellahi, GP and practice partner at ELM Tree Surgery and South Stockton Primary Care Network and Dr Shanker Vijayadeva, GP lead, digital transformation for the London region at NHS England.
OX.DH, a provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions, has achieved compliance onto the NHS England Tech Innovation Framework, part of NHS reforms to increase competition and innovation in the primary care market. NHS England has now approved OX.DH’s primary care solution, OX.gp, as part of a new generation of electronic patient record systems for GPs.
Over 1,000 GP surgeries are set to receive a share of £102 million as part of the government’s Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund, the first national capital fund for primary care estates since 2020, and part of a series of measures announced to increase support for primary care. According to the announcement, the funding will support primary care to either enhance the use of existing infrastructure or to create additional capacity. It notes, “from creating new consultation and treatment rooms to making better use of existing space,” it states, “these quick fixes will help patients across the country be seen faster.”
