NHS Wales starts on electronic discharge

The NHS Wales Informatics Service has announced the development of electronic discharge functionality for Welsh GP practices.

The service said it is working in partnership with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board to develop the software and be the early adopter for e-discharge functionality within the Welsh Clinical Portal.

GPs practices with access to the Welsh Clinical Communications Gateway in the early adopter area should be able to receive electronic discharge information from next year, the service added.

The e-discharge functionality is expected to provide GPs with legible, accurate and timely discharge information to improve patient care.

The informatics service said that before a patient is discharged clinicians will be able to create an electronic discharge communication, containing current and stopped medications and other clinical information relating to their hospital treatment.

Patients are to be given a printed copy of the information and an electronic copy will be available to GP practices if they have access to the Welsh Clinical Communications Gateway.

Some GPs in Wales are already making electronic referrals through the Clinical Communications Gateway which is based on the Scottish Clinical Information Gateway in Scotland.

Hospitals in England were set a target to deliver all discharge summaries to GPs within 24 hours by April 2010 but the target has been missed by the majority of hospitals.