Choose and Book release 4 relaunched

The latest version of Choose and Book to enable free choice at referral has been relaunched after Connecting for Health (CfH) had to delay launch of the update earlier this month.

CfH pulled the deployment of release 4.0 of Choose and Book more than three weeks ago after it emerged that more than 300 patients had received the wrong appointment information in the post.

CfH said release 4.0 of Choose and Book, originally due to go live on 12/13 April, would instead be introduced over the weekend of 3/4 May.

A statement issued by the IT agency said the problem which had led to the delay in issuing release 4.0 had been resolved. The agency added: “As a failsafe anautomated process has been put in place to quickly identify any further recurrence. There is no evidence to suggest that patient safety has been affected at anytime as a result of recent issues.”

Release 4.0 is designed to deliver the government’s policy of free choice at referral, introduced on 1 April, and will enable GPs to refer patients to their chosen provider anywhere in England. Services listed on Choose and Book include all NHS hospitals and private providers that meet NHS national tariff rates.

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