Software launched to dramatically reduce time GPs spend on third-party reporting
Pilot shows iGPR software drastically reduces time spent on insurance reporting in GP practices and provides complete patient confidentiality
GPs are set to be offered new software that creates third-party reports and automatically redacts non-permitted information from patient records before they are sent, electronically, to third parties.
Provided at no cost to GP practices across the UK and Northern Ireland, Intelligent GP Reporting -iGPR, developed by Niche Health and Inchware, will help to reduce the large amount of time GPs and administrative staff spend fulfilling third-party information requests while supporting compliance with the Data Protection Act.
Research has shown that an average of 73 minutes is spent on each insurance request, and in many cases much longer. iGPR has already demonstrated that time spent can be reduced to as little as 10 minutes per report, enabling doctors to use their time much more effectively.
Guy Bridgewater, managing director of Niche Health, said: “Doctors are under growing pressure to reduce the amount of time they spend on administrative tasks to enable them to see more patients. Meanwhile, they face complex challenges to protect patient confidentiality. With iGPR’s successful redaction tool, patients can be reassured that their GP is providing only authorised data to third parties in a secure and legally-compliant manner.”
The redaction function automatically removes non-permitted medical information from the GP reports provided to third parties. This includes, for example, details of contraception, irrelevant negative test results, and genetic testing information, enabling the GP to maintain complete control of information leaving the practice. GPs can redact further information manually if required. It also allows payments to be processed electronically and speeds up the process of the report reaching the third party by sending it securely rather than through the post.
The new software is quick to install and integrates with all major clinical systems via the pocket or Patient Anywhere platform, which also provides GPs with remote electronic access to patient records.
As the entire end-to-end process is speeded up, iGPR will have positive benefits for not only GPs, who often find it difficult to meet deadlines to turnaround such reports, but also patients, who will receive their insurance protection more quickly.