GP IT future framework focus

Mike Odling-Smee, Technical Director at Aire Logic, details the future framework of GP IT, part of the NHS’ Long term plan to prioritise Digital Transformation

Towards the end of the last decade, the central agencies for Health and Social care identified that whilst there are many areas of digital maturity across the country, there are also areas and services that are sadly in a suboptimal digital state. This lead to the January 2019 publication of the NHS Long term plan, including the critical priorities for Digital Transformation.

For a sector that was nearly 100% digitised back in the mid-2000, English GP IT was once leading the way. However, as identified in the next steps NHS Five Year Forward View NHS England recognised that there was less spend “on general practice than on hospital outpatients. For the past decade funding for hospitals has been growing twice as fast as for family doctor services”.

Yet it is in within the Primary Care sector that has seen some of the biggest changes in care models with federated GP practices, Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships, Integrated services and more.

Commercially in the last decade how people travel, communicate and even make transactions has been revolutionised. With technology predictions over the next decade including AI-as-a-Service, Extended Reality and the ever-growing list of Autonomous-things, for technology firms, the possibilities are endless as they are exciting. It is a little wonder how, with just a small shortfall of investment, it can lead to being left behind in such an expeditious sector.

“Building on solid foundations”

2020 sees the first framework from the new Digital Care Services model, from NHS Digital, on how to maximise the benefit of the rapid rate of evolution of technology and insights from data into the care models to transform patient care helping improve quality, safety and efficiency.

Building on the foundations of the GP System of Choice, GP IT Futures Framework sets out four goals;

• To provide clinically safe and useful digital and data services for patients and general practice;
• To provide real-time and secure access to data for patients and NHS users;
• To allow interoperability between systems, underpinned by common standards;
• To allow a better comparison of activity and outcomes.

www.england.nhs.uk

Aire Logic; Enabling Innovation

Founding Partners Joe Waller and Michael Odling-Smee were involved in several local and national IT Projects within the NHS, before joining in 2007 to create Aire Logic (formerly XML Solutions). Founded on the belief that technology coupled with innovative clinical practice, can transform health services and ensuring that organisations have expert advice and the right digital tools to support them in delivering the best possible patient care.

Improving patient care, engagement and processes with eForms, Mike Odling-Smee

Joseph Waller Founder and Architect

Over the past 20 years, we have seen significant changes not only in technology but also in how the health and care sector provide their services. Too many healthcare IT projects fail because organisations have had to use pre-existing technologies that do not properly address their individual organisation or citizens’ demographics.

Enabling innovation between the complex organisational and delivery structures is at the heart of Aire Logic, our guiding principle asks is it good for healthcare. Our IT solutions embolden healthcare with digital support tools that are created, released and managed locally so that key information can be quickly and precisely extracted to aid the health and care journey.

GP IT Futures Framework is the next step on the digital journey in primary care. The previous GP System of Choice focused on the core functions of the system, now GP IT Futures widens responsive nature to what the services and the citizens need. We understand the challenges procuring Agile services without the ability to completely define a product or service in advance.

As Joe mentioned the changes in the Primary Care model have changed immensely. Technology is providing a big shift in the empowerment of citizens with their health and long-term conditions. Even something that seems as relatively simple as digitising the Functional Gut Disorder form Leeds Community Health Dietetics Service has seen a massive change to the patient and the clinician, 50% few appointments and approximately 20 minutes saved per appointment.

GP IT Futures Framework gives GPs, Community teams, and services independent assurance that our skills have been validated, our capabilities assessed and that we meet the national standard of compliance and what they will be procuring will be fit for purpose with the ability to adapt and develop the resulting solution to new capabilities and requirements in line with industry developments.

With a team of highly experienced developers, Aire Logic is not only able to offer advice and digital solutions but has extensive expertise in both integration and interoperability technologies and has been directly engaged in the creation of both UK and International healthcare standards for over a decade. Aire Logic has been involved in the development and dissemination of many of the healthcare sectors’ key interoperability mechanisms and APIs including but not limited to IHE XDS, Spine 2 / National services, HL7v2, v3, CDA and FHIR, Care Connect and GP Connect. In the next publication, we have invited the team from Aire Logic to discuss the very real options available to healthcare sectors to transform and break down the digital silos for improved patient-centred care.

1. Good for Healthcare: Is this project beneficial to the delivery of healthcare? Is it the ‘right’ course of action?
2. Good for Our Staff: How will taking on this project impact our staff? Can we still maintain a positive working environment?
3. Good for Our Company: Will it support further R&D, staff development and the expansion of our company?

By asking these questions, in this order, we ensure we take on meaningful work, which stimulates our employees and supports our business. The impact of the work we do, and the bigger picture, has always been and will always be our priority.

Please note: This is a commercial profile