GPs should be paid for hosted systems

GP practices using a hosted system that has yet to receive NHS Connecting for Health approval should still be awarded the IT incentive payment for using a hosted system, CfH has said.

The IT agency has told primary care trusts to use their discretion and pay component four of the IM&T directed enhanced service (DES) to practices using a hosted system. Almost one in four practices in England (23%) are now on a hosted system.

Last month, INPS’s Vision system became the first IT system to achieve GP Systems of Choice accreditation for its hosted services, but no other systems have yet to meet CfH’s standards.

However the agency said the failure of suppliers to meet CfH’s standards by the DES deadline of 31 March 2009 was “in no way the fault” of GP practices. It said the component four payment, worth 22p per patient, was intended to compensate practices for the effort involved in migrating to a hosted system.

The CfH has asked PCTs to exercise their disctrion to make DES component four paymentsto practices that, on 31 March 2009, are operating system that has or is due to achieve hosting to CfH standards.

In a statement on its website, approved by the Departyment of Health and the BMA’s General Practitioner Committee, CfH added: “PCTs have a discretionary power to make part payments to contractors where they are satisfied that the contractor has made all reasonable efforts to achieve the relevant standard and any matters that have prevented the standard being reached are beyond the contractors control.”

Related article: First GPSoC level 4 system