RCGP calls for Scottish government to improve GP IT systems

More than half of GPs in Scotland say that their software is not fit for purpose, according to a survey by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Scotland.

RCGP has urged the next Scottish government to prioritise delivering updated IT software and hardware for GPs, in order to reduce inefficiencies, improve patient care, and strengthen communication across the health system.

The call comes after the RCGP Scotland annual member survey, carried out between 28 July and 20 August 2025, found significant concerns about current technology.

Of the 285 GPs across Scotland who responded to the survey, 45% said that their PC or laptop hardware was not fit for purpose, and 53% felt the same about their software.

Dr Chris Williams, Scotland vice chair of RCGP, said: “GPs across Scotland are working tirelessly to meet rising patient need, but too often they are doing so with one hand tied behind their backs due to poor and unreliable IT systems.

“The results of our GP membership survey are unequivocal: even the most basic tools such as functioning hardware and software are not consistently available in GP practices.

“When more than half of GPs tell us their IT systems are not fit for purpose, and when safe, seamless communication between primary and secondary care cannot be relied upon, patient care is put at risk and clinicians are forced to work under entirely avoidable pressures.

“No GP should be waiting twenty minutes every morning for slow computers or outdated systems to start up. That is valuable time that should be spent on essential clinical work. This is why we are urging the next Scottish Government to make modern, fully interoperable IT infrastructure for general practice an urgent priority.

“Investing in proper digital tools will reduce inefficiencies, ease frustration for GPs, and crucially, ensure patients receive faster, safer and more joined-up care.”

The survey also found that 55% of respondents did not believe their IT systems were capable of exchanging information effectively with secondary care or community pharmacists, which the RCGP says can be a major patient safety risk, with lost or incomplete information potentially compromising care.

In its manifesto for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, ‘General practice: The solution to the NHS crisis‘, published in September 2025, the RCGP calls on all political parties to commit to providing GP practices with modern, fit-for-purpose IT systems and premises capable of supporting contemporary patient care.

In December 2024, the supplier of  Scotland’s main electronic patient record (EPR) system, In Practice Systems (INPS), voluntarily placed itself under administration while Scotland was in the process of migrating all of its GP clinical systems from EMIS to INPS Vision.

Software supplier OneAdvanced completed the purchase of certain assets of  INPS relating to the Vision EPR in August 2025, putting an end to six months of uncertainty for GPs using the system.