You may have heard that Care Vision digital care planning software is now signed up to GP Connect, allowing system users to access residents’ and patients’ GP records more easily. This is great news for care home managers and staff, who no longer need to keep separate medical records for all their residents and can, instead access everything they need in one, easy-to-find place.
This makes hospital and clinic transfers much easier, as the technology allows rapid, secure sending of patient data that will prevent hold-ups caused by medical teams having to wait for manual records to be sent before treatment can begin. If you haven’t heard about how GP Connect and Care Vision can help your staff and residents, read on to find out more.
What is GP Connect?
GP Connect is a digital service that enables authorised medical staff, doctors, social workers, care home staff and GPs to share and access key clinical data about patients between IT systems. Information is taken from patients’ GP records and can include vital details about their medical history, GP reports, test results, medications logs and much more.
Patients are identified by the system via their NHS number. The data was made available to share in this carefully controlled way via a National Data Sharing Agreement (NDSA) set up in 2023 for all authorised GP Connect users. The NDSA sets out all data sharing obligations and requirements to end user compliance and data protection from end user organisations, such as care homes, clinics and GP practices.
How does the relationship work between Care Vision and GP Connect?
Care Vision has been authorised by the NHS to add GP Connect functionality to its digital care planning software. This, in turn allows the care homes and other healthcare settings and organisations that sign up to our services to access GP Connect via the main Care Vision main dashboard. Signed-up users can view resident or patient care records, access relevant accompanying documentation and check on any external appointments a resident or patient may have.
In future, the NHS is planning to extend access to GP Connect records to residents and patients too, in order to enable them to view their own care records, appointments and prescriptions. People will also be able to request permission to look at their records digitally via GP Connect if this has not already been granted. This move is intended to increase the control that people have over their own medical care. No patient or resident data is, or will be, actually stored on GP Connect, or on Care Vision’s own servers. The system merely enables connectivity between Care Vision and GP records that are securely held elsewhere.
What can care home staff see and do on GP Connect
Care home staff can use approved systems such as Care Vision to access the GP records of their residents in order to inform internal healthcare decisions, make hospital transfers easier and check on vital medical details such as GP diagnoses, medication logs, test results and hospital reports. They can access and read residents’ GP reports in their entirety, or request details in a more structured way to focus on individual areas of concern.
Likewise, users can view documents that have been attached to someone’s GP record, such as consultation summaries from other care settings. In addition, authorised GP Connect users can send or share relevant documents and view GP appointments on behalf of a resident or patient. Work is also currently underway to also allow records to be updated via the GP Connect system.
Why do I need GP Connect on my digital carte planning software?
Some of the many benefits associated with adding GP Connect to a care home’s digital care planning software system include reduced admin time for staff needing to manage a resident’s transfer to hospital or a clinic of treatment. This is due to the fact that much of the data handling is automated. This can also reduce the risk of staff making mistakes or omissions at what could be a stressful or hurried time for all concerned. Rapid data sharing can help doctors and clinicians make better informed decisions around patients’ care and regain valuable thinking and acting time in emergency situations. Better information availability also speeds up patients’ overall journeys through the system and saves money, thanks to a more efficient way of working.