Health Informatics Group

The Health Informatics Group advises the RCGP and other professional bodies on issues of information management and technology in general practice.

Our role

• provide informed and authoritative advice and support to the RCGP, the College Council and Council Executive Committee (CEC) within its domain of expertise.
• help the RCGP develop a clear strategic vision in the field of information management in health care and its application to support clinical practice, decision-making and research.
• assist the RCGP with implementing appropriate changes to its policies

Projects

The RCGP Health Informatics Group conducts extensive work and projects, on a local and national level.

NHS connecting for health

Advising on Summary Care Record for GP practices

Electronic records systems

Focusing on areas such as coding, clinical concepts, confidentiality, prescribing and networking between system

Continuing professional development

Creating a series on e-learning modules

Education

Develop medical informatics curriculum standards and online e-learning modules

UK Perspective

Patient access to health records

The RCGP and Record Access Collaborative have published guidance and information leaflets to help ensure effective patient access to health records.

Record Access - guidance for GPs

Record Access - information for patients

Guidance for health professionals on how to offer patients access to electronic health records

Enabling Patients to Access Electronic Health Records 

Shared Record Professional Guidance (SRPG)

The Shared Record Professional Guidance (SRPG) project is intended to develop a set of professionally-led guidelines that considers the governance, medico-legal and patient safety consequences of Shared Electronic Patient Record (SEPR) systems in primary care.

We have been fortunate to benefit from the enthusiastic involvement of professional and patient stakeholder groups in order to achieve a wide agreement on principles. The significant interest, contribution and involvement across the spectrum has been quite exceptional, and demonstrates the clear priority given to having a unified, multi-professional approach to record keeping and quality care.

Computerisation of health records offers the prospect of rapid sharing of data and information in ways that are not possible with paper records. The potential benefits of this, in terms of patient safety, and efficiency and flexibility of healthcare provision have been widely promoted. There is, however, disagreement about just what should be shared, and by what mechanism.

The publication of these SRPG principles, underpinned by sound research, is likely to guide and accelerate the processes of information sharing that are crucial for improving care.

We hope the report, which was commissioned by NHS Connecting for Health (NHS CFH), will prove immediately useful to a wide range of professional groups, and that the principles established are worthy of wider consideration throughout the NHS.

Dr Alan Hassey FRCGP

RCGP Health Informatics Group and SRPG project leader

The project report is presented in three documents:

SRPG final report (25 pages)

SRPG final reference report (140 pages)

NHS Connecting for Health press statement on the SRPG report

Health Informatics Group members

Dr Ralph Sullivan (Chair), Dr Arjun Dhillon (Vice chair), Dr Joanne Bailey, Dr Mike Bainbridge, Dr Marcus Baw, Dr Nick Booth, Dr Colin Brown, Dr Leo Fogarty, Dr Hussain Gandhi, Dr Jas Gill, Dr Alan Hassey, Dr Phil Koczan, Dr Bob Milne, Dr Paul Miller, Dr Libby Morris, Dr Manpreet Pujara, Dr Peter Short, Dr Caroline Tait, Dr Ian Thompson, and Dr John Williams

NHS Connecting for Health

http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/