GPs voice key concerns over IT

Tags: GP GPs PCT PCTs

16 Oct 2007

GPs believe national IT projects are getting priority over their day-to-day IT needs and say problems with servers and desktops are of key concern, according to the results of a PCT-wide survey.

Dr Neil Paul a GP in Sandbach, Cheshire, sent a survey to more than 50 practices in Cheshire this summer to find out about the state of IT in the PCT.

He told EHI primary Care: “At that time Cheshire was setting up a central IT service covering two merged PCTs and another PCT which each had their own IT department to cover all of us. We were told things would improve with the central service but four months later it hasn’t, we haven’t heard anything from them and I’m sure Cheshire is not alone.”

Dr Paul, a former chair of the primary care IM&T committee for Central Cheshire Primary Care Trust, said his survey revealed that while GPs were not opposed to national IT projects, their main focus was on the day-to-day running of their systems.

He added: “The biggest thing that people seemed concerned about was their servers and desktops, with a general feeling that everything was running slow and crashing all the time and concerns over why we can’t get the basics right.”

Dr Paul said communication was also identified as a major issue with many practices concerned about how they compared on IT with neighbouring colleagues and no clarity about the PCT’s strategy.

He added: “There seems to be a need for more openness and transparency and clarity about, for example upgrades. Practices had no idea how well off they were compared to colleagues and when or if they might get new machines.”

On helpdesk and support, practices reported concerns that although some software was updated, some was not, and that while some machines might be checked, again, others were not.

Dr Paul added: “Several practices commented that things had been signed as completed when they felt they weren’t. That some things rarely got dealt with or that 10 crashes would each get dealt with separately but no one was saying there was an underlying problem. There were some good comments about being able to ring or email the helpdesk and that major things like system downs tend to be dealt with promptly and efficiently.”

Dr Paul, who is a member of his PCT's professional executive committee, said he was concerned that PCT IT plans might be developed that reflected national priorities but lacked local responsiveness and consultation with those on the ground.

Fiona Barr

Reader's Comments

There also needs to be collective input.

17 Oct 07 10:10

GPs have their worries about IT provision in their practices but so do others in the health communities. My particular perspective is that of the local pathology laboratory. How many GPs are aware that their practice system could be hiding interpretive comments sent by the patology laboratories with results ? Sometimes these contain reference ranges appropriate to the sample (eg related to the menstrual state of the patient) and others may contain treatment advice or suggested followup investigations. These comments are rendered useless if the GP has to suspect they might be there for a particular result and then actively go looking, they need to be presented alongside the results on all systems.

Similarly, how many GPs are aware that there are systems which match incomming result messages using only part of the patient demographics? This may normally be sufficient however we have examples where the hand written request form had an incorrect NHS number on it, this was present on the outgoing result message which was then matched with the wrong patient despite names and date of birth not agreeing.

I would suggest that any choice of system needs input from information providers as well as the end users.