GP practices using Torex Health solutions are to receive a software upgrade which will enable them to receive encrypted pathology results from their local NHS laboratory.
Torex announced this week that it has negotiated a bulk discount with the NHS Information Authority to fund the upgrades, so the 2,000 or so individual practices using the company’s products will not have to pay.
The new software module will decrypt pathology test results sent by a local laboratory and integrate them directly into the patient’s electronic record. Torex’s agreement with the NHSIA will cover purchase, installation, configuration and testing in each practice. Practice staff will also be trained.
Availability of the upgrade and the new pathology messaging service will depend on whether the laboratories used by a GP practice are ready to send encrypted messages. A “slot plan” has been drawn up by the NHSIA which prioritises the national implementation of the new GP messaging service according to which laboratories are ready to start sending encrypted results first.
The new Torex module is available to users of Premiere Synergy, Premiere NT, System 6000 and System 5 solutions. Legacy system users are not eligible for the pathology links module. However they will be offered an upgrade path to enable them to take advantage of the new software.