Practice Information Portal
Post date: 30/06/2017 | Time to read article: 2 minsThe information within this article was correct at the time of publishing. Last updated 02/04/2019
An information portal can simplify the storing, sharing and management of local information held by your practice and is an important device for reducing risk. We’ve teamed up with the National Association of Sessional GPs (NASGP) to help you find a simple and effective solution.
Why have an information portal?
An information portal which is specific to a GP practice or group of practices plays an important role in preventing critical incidents. It can help locums and new GPs quickly become familiar with local information, formularies and protocols, which not only helps ensure patient safety, but also quality of service.
When the CQC inspects practices in England they look carefully at whether the systems, processes and practices to keep people safe are identified, put in place and communicated to staff. They regard information portals, which also function as online induction packs, as good way to communicate policies and procedures to staff to ensure they are effectively implemented.
The NASGP Standard Practice Information Portal
The National Association of Sessional GPs (NASGP) first launched a Standardised Practice Induction Pack (Spip) as a paper resource in 2001. It provided a structure for gathering and disseminating important information and has been used by nearly 3000 practices.
Since then, general practice has also grown increasingly complex and the way practices manage and utilise information has evolved. Now the NASGP has launched a new online version of Spip that allows practices, GPs and nurses to keep up to speed with ever-changing local health information.
The new Spip – the Standard Practice Information Portal - is a secure website where practices can centrally store, update and then display all of their local, practice-specific information to staff and GPs at the point of need. Once set up it’s easier to view, manage and change information.
Some of the potential benefits include:
improving the quality of admissions and referrals, as well as efficiency and patient satisfaction – as all the information needed is instantly available
ensuring patient safety – as you can publish consistent processes for repeat prescriptions, test results and safety netting advice for clinicians to give to patients
meeting CQC standards – as it demonstrates you provide essential information to every clinician who cares for patients in your practice
Since August 2016, Practice Manager membership of the NASGP is free, ans Spip comes free with that membership.
To learn more about what the new Spip can do for practices and how it works you can read an interview with Dr Richard Fieldhouse, Chairman of NASGP in the March 2016 issue of Practice Matters.
