Person Centred Software launches revolutionary bi-directional integration with GP Connect & NRL

Published in Care Home Professional

A leading provider of digital care management systems is today the first to have launched a national revolutionary integration with NHS Digital’s GP Connect and National Record Locator (NRL) services in an exciting move that will deliver true two-way interoperability between social care and healthcare settings. 

Person Centred Software is working directly with NHS Digital to bring GP information to care homes by integrating their digital care management system with GP Connect Access Record: HTML. In doing so, registered nurses at care homes will now have secure and direct access to information held by GPs enabling faster and better medical decisions to be made. This will benefit those providing and receiving care and deliver a smoother journey between health and care services.  

Combined with being the first care home software provider to electronically transfer the hospital pack directly to hospitals, and advanced care plans to the ambulance services, offering the ability to directly access GP Connect means that Person Centred Software will deliver true two-way interoperability between care homes and the NHS. 

The integration launch comes just days after the UK Government published its health and social care reform White Paper, which revealed plans for health and social care to become more integrated. 

Person Centred Software has long been campaigning to integrate health and social care services to improve the quality of care and enable a better journey for people when they move between services.  

The company believes that the more joined-up the different elements of care are, the more likely everyone is to achieve the best outcomes and that the importance of real-time data has been highlighted during the coronavirus pandemic.  

Andrew Coles, Head of Product Management at Person Centred Software, explains: “The coronavirus pandemic has shown that information is necessary to help inform clinical decision making, and making the best decisions saves lives. One of the outcomes of this world-changing event is that it has woken people to the need to share information quickly, securely and efficiently with those who need it. 

“The NHS Digital team engaged Person Centred Software at this time to enable GP information to be shared with authorised, registered clinicians in care providers. We were ready, willing and able to respond, and grabbed the chance to work on this project as a priority to help care providers.” 

Several care providers have praised the integration for streamlining processes and boosting efficiency since its launch just last week. 

Speaking of their experience so far, Shehzad Jivraj, Head of Operations at Clearstone Care, said: “We feel extremely privileged to be amongst the first to use the integration and the feedback we’ve received from nursing staff so far has been brilliant. By logging into the system, staff can now see all relevant medical records related to residents and without having to chase individual GP surgeries.  

With all the important information kept in one place and easily accessible, the integration is only going to drive improvements across the industry. It’s extremely impressive that NHS Digital’s GP Connect team and Person Centred Software have been able to get to this stage and the more homes that can use the technology, the better.”   

Similarly impressed by the integration, Anita Astle MBE, Managing Director from Wren Hall said: “The timesaving benefits to our staff are going to be huge, and the system will also improve our knowledge base of the individuals we care for. We’re thrilled to be one of the first care homes in the country to use the integration and we look forward to it becoming part of our everyday lives.” 

Discussing the integration with GP Connect, co-founder and director of Person Centred Software, Jonathan Papworth, added: “We have always strived to make life better for everyone involved in social care which has been achieved through our digital care software. This landmark innovation is a step change towards integration of social care and health care which will improve the information flow as people transition between care settings. This milestone reiterates the need for all social care providers to adopt digital care systems urgently.” 

For more information about GP Connect visit https://digital.nhs.uk/services/gp-connect  

To find out how your nurses can securely access residents GP records contact us today