CfH consults on future of GP systems

Connecting for Health has begun a consultation on what stakeholders want from GP systems and work on an enhanced roadmap for GP Systems of Choice.

CfH told EHI Primary Care initial consultation has started with key stakeholders from GPs, patients, the Department of Health, strategic health authorities and primary care trusts.

The DH’s IT agency is looking to the future of GP systems and its GPSoC framework after announcing that 88% of GP practices have joined the scheme and 99.2% of those practices, a total of 7,237 practices, have signed a PCT-practice agreement.

CfH said the high take up provided it with a mandate to work with stakeholders to extend the roadmap for general practice IT.

GPSoC allows practices to choose to continue to use the GP system that they already have in their practice or migrate to a different system that better needs their needs. CfH said most GP practices have chosen to retain their existing system and receive upgrades of new functionality such as GP2GP and Summary Care Record applications as they become available.

PCTs can use the GPSoC framework by signing a call-off agreement and last week CfH said 424 call off agreements had been signed so far.

There are eight systems currently available under GPSoC – SystmOne, supplied by CSC, EMIS LV and PCS, Vision 3 from INPS, iSoft’s Premiere and Synergy systems and Evolution and Practice Manager II from Microtest. Systems which have yet to achieve GPSoC compliance are EMIS Web, Vision 360 from INPS, Lorenzo from iSoft and Crosscare from Healthy Software.

The latest supplier roadmap published on CfH’s website shows EMIS Web plans to be available under GPSoC from January 2010, a slip in the schedule from the original date of November 2009, and INPS plans for Vision 360 to be included in the GPSoC framework from July 2010.

CfH said 11% of practices in England use systems provided by a local service provider.