Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust has integrated the national GP Connect with its existing technology systems, allowing authorised health and social care workers to access the trust’s patients’ GP records.
The new software integration has seen Rotherham become one of the first NHS trusts in the UK to successfully integrate with GP Connect, positioning itself at the forefront of patient data sharing. Last year saw Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust go live with the integration of its Dedalus EPR and GP Connect.
The move was spearheaded by the Rotherham pharmacy technician team and Meditech UK, to overcome the persistent challenge of maintaining accurate patient medication records manually. GP Connect is now integrated with the trust’s electronic patient record system, which gives a streamlined experience to healthcare professionals. It is simple to incorporate the latest patient data from GP records, with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response.
James Rawlinson, director of health informatics at Rotherham, said: “GP Connect plays a crucial role in clinical processes such as medicines reconciliation, enabling our clinical teams in near real-time to pull in accurate medication list.”
The integration offers many benefits for the organisation, including the ability to have an always up-to-date medication list, which in turn reduces the risk of GP records being misinterpreted and so allows for quicker treatment and shorter queues.
Through GP Connect healthcare professionals can view and update a patient’s care record and associated documents, as well as manage a patient’s appointments. NHS England is currently working on allowing patients to access GP Connect as well, so that they can view their own care record, appointments and prescriptions.
Mike Hooton, interoperability & integration executive at Meditech, said: “We are thrilled to witness the successful integration of GP Connect at Rotherham Hospital. This achievement reflects not only the cutting-edge capabilities of Meditech’s technology but also the dedication and expertise of the healthcare professionals at Rotherham. We are excited to watch the positive impact of GP Connect on patient care in the region.”