Online guide

The goal of the Estates Technology Transformation Fund (ETTF) project aimed to increase use of online services across primary care by increasing patient registration for the services and ensuring alignment of the service levels offered.

Services covered include registering patients for online services, online appointments, online repeat prescription ordering, access to detailed medical record and promotion of e-communication module.

Delivering GP online services

This guide was developed as a single reference point to assist in delivering and supporting the Estates Technology Transformation Fund Implementation Facilitators with online services.

While the national aim for 2016 was for 10% of patients registered as per contract, London was considered capable of increasing the requested services by:

  • Each GP practice was to make 80% of their routine GP appointments available online for patients to book. This figure was agreed based on the findings and recommendations of Healthy London Partnership’s practice case studies in London for the South West London Patient Online pilot project.
  • Each GP practice was to have a minimum of 20% of practice patients registered for GP Online Services with a live online account. The 20% target was selected as a result of the Patient Online south-west London pilot project and justifies the additional funding being provided via the Estates and Technology Transformation project.
  • Each GP practice was to offer detailed coded record (DCR) – The programme delivery teams were to check that practices were aware of their responsibilities to ensure that they enabled online access to records in a safe way and reference the relevant guidance materials. GP Practice contractual requirements were to ensure they had the DCR enabled at practice level by March 2015.
  • Each GP practice was to promote e-communication solution to support all non-urgent queries for patients.  This is a part of the wider GP Forward View programme and is a beneficial conversation to have with the practice during facilitation visits.
  • Each GP practice was to ensure 50% utilisation level across appointment activity. The south-west London case studies explained that to realise the benefits of implementing online services in general practices, 50% of all online routine GP appointments booked and cancelled should be done so online.

Read the case studies: Hilly Fields Medical CentreSouth Lewisham Group PracticeVale Medical Centre PracticeLewisham CCG

Content has been obtained by the National Patient Online team, previously ran ETTF pilot programme in south-west London and also includes information to deliver additional GP digital services such as summary care record, GP2GP, Electronic Prescription Services and e-referrals.