Improving working relationships through communication

NHS Highland's Interface Group has been working to strengthen e communication between primary and secondary care. The Interface Group has provided the forum for the discussion of several long-standing issues. The solutions to these will act to facilitate accuracy and speed in communication between different parts of the system.

Examples include improvements in Formstream change-of-treatment requests, which are used to notify primary care colleagues of medication changes made in secondary care.

 Changes to this process suggested by the Interface Group have improved clarity and safety by ensuring the prescribing status of the requestor is always explicitly stated and clarifying baseline monitoring status. SCI Gateway referral templates have also been reviewed by the Interface Group and changes made to improve quality of referrals whilst considering impact on governance.

A further challenge was the difficulty faced by secondary care clinicians when trying to identify the correct primary care contact. Outdated directories and inconsistent communication routes limited effective clinical dialogue across the interface. In response, the Interface Group is developing a single 'communication pathways view'. This will set out how each service prefers to be contacted and clarify the generic inboxes available across NHS Highlands.

The prevalence of communication issues that exist across the Interface has led to eHealth being added as a standing agenda item to Interface Group meetings.

For more information on this case study, please contact scotland.interface@rcgp.org.uk