Wales issues strategy for GP IT

NHS Wales has published a new five year strategy for GP clinical systems, setting out plans to standardise GP infrastructure services, improve interoperability and migrate GPs to web-based technologies.

The strategy follows the publication earlier this week of a tender for a new framework to supply GP practices in Wales with IT systems. The NHS Wales Informatics Service is seeking three suppliers to deliver systems to GPs from 2012.

The Service said the latest strategy has been produced in consultation with a range of stakeholders, including both the BMA and the Royal College of GPs.

It aims to retain GPs’ contractual right to system choice while ensuring alignment with the overall strategic IT direction of NHS Wales.

The strategy itself outlines plans to overhaul GP infrastructure services, which are currently provided to the 482 practices in Wales via GP system suppliers.

It says the current system poses a number of significant challenges and risks to GP practices and the wider NHS. These include lack of proactive desktop support, use of licensed and authorised software, and untested local configuration changes.

In place of this, it proposes setting up a GP system infrastructure aligned with the requirements of the national infrastructure security and applications strategies.

The strategy adds: “This is perhaps the most ambitious statement as it will involve large scale change in the delivery, management and support if infrastructure services across the GP estate.”

The strategy wants to implement standardised management, monitoring and reporting tools and processes to improve the overall service availability to GP practice end-users.

It sets out plans for GPs to use the same encryption standards as those used by the rest of NHS Wales to secure patient identifiable data on desktops, laptops and other devices.

It also identifies an “overwhelming clinical need” for improved interoperability between GP systems and others.

It sets out plans for NHS Wales to develop and implement systems to support clinical and business requirements including referrals, test requesting, discharge summaries and transfer of GP records.

It says NHS Wales interoperability standards should also be adopted to standardise the way in which third party systems and products communicate and interoperate with GP systems and that the new standards should be enshrined in national contracts.

The strategy adds that the new GP systems framework agreement should encourage the provision of GP systems which minimise development timescales and lessen the costs and time required to develop, implement and maintain services. 

It calls for the implemention of a standard desktop across all GP practices. And it advocates close collaboration with Northern Ireland, Scotland and England in negotiating with suppliers on systems development.

The strategy report concludes by saying the pressure to demonstrate efficiencies and achieve costs savings will be “significant” in the years to come and that it is expected that delivery of the strategy is met within available resources.