County Durham and Darlington NHS FT has eliminated paper hospital referrals from GPs and gone 100% electronic– thanks to a joint initiative with NHS Digital. The news comes as NHS England announces that from October 1 this year, trusts will only be paid for outpatient appointments that are booked electronically. […]
Primary Care News
One Health Lewisham adopts virtual health assistant to reduce burden on GPs
One Health Lewisham, a federation of all 38 GP surgeries in Lewisham, has signed a two year deal with Sensely and its partner Advanced to deploy the virtual health assistant app, Ask NHS. The solution will enable general practices to better manage patient demand, reducing the burden on and saving […]
New podcast features GPs pioneering genomics projects
The third Primary Care Talks podcast has been released where host Dr Hasan Chowhan, discusses bringing first-of-a-kind genomic testing projects into primary care with Cambridge GP, Dr Alina Roser. Both GPs are currently running projects exploring how pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing can benefit patients and improve the accuracy of prescribing, to ensure […]
Patients get the green light for smarter choices after latest GP pilot
A pilot system is now making it easier for GPs to understand the waiting times at hospitals for their patients. The e-traffic light system could help reduce hospital waiting times while offering patients a clearer choice of treatment and is set to be rolled out across the country after a […]
TPP sign agreement with First Chengmei Medical in Beijing
TPP have signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Hainan-based company, First Chengmei Medical Industry Group. First Chengmei Medical Industry Group are a company based in the Chinese province of Hainan, they specialise in medical care, elderly care and financial investment. The firm offers a range of medical, management and construction […]
NHS Digital launches ‘just referrals’ campaign set to save £50m
NHS Digital has launched the ‘Just e-Referrals’ campaign to help support trusts as they prepare to hit the target of digital referrals and reduce eight million outpatient appointments that patients didn’t attend (2016/17). All first outpatients’ referrals will have to be made electronically from later this year in a move […]
£10million invested in practices to support eReferral roll-out
A new GP contract, agreed by NHS England, the Government and the British Medical Association’s General Practitioners Committee, will take effect from 01 April 2018 and will see an investment of £256.3 million going into the contract for 2018/19, a 3.4% increase overall. This includes £60 million to be paid to […]
Virgin Care sites pick Lexacom digital dictation
Virgin Care is working in partnership with Lexacom to improve systems and processes at Lyme Regis Medical Centre and at the admin-based Florence Nightingale Child Development Centre in Essex. The sites have now installed Lexacom digital dictation and speech recognition, which means clinicians and admin staff can now create and […]
New podcast series launched to share innovations in primary care
The Eastern Academic Health Science Network is launching a series of podcasts that explore innovative ways of managing primary care under pressure. Each episode aims to uncover the secrets of successful primary care teams working in the NHS today. The Primary Care Talks host, Dr Hasan Chowhan, interviews fellow GPs to find […]
Roll-out of new digital platform to detect early signs of cancer
The North of England will roll out a new digital platform that helps GPs detect the early signs of cancer. The Gateway-C platform is already being used in 73% of GP surgeries in Greater Manchester and eastern Manchester and Health Education England (HEE) is now funding a rollout programme to […]
