What is GP2GP?
GP2GP enables patients’ electronic health records to be transferred directly, securely, and quickly between GP practices. It improves patient care as GPs will have full and detailed medical records available to them for a new patient’s first consultation.
- GP2GP functionality is compliant with EMIS Web, INPS Vision, Microtest Evolution, and TPP SystmOne
- Over 5.1 million records have been transferred
- 96% of practices in England are live with GP2GP (July 2015)
The process
When a patient joins a practice as a full General Medical Services registration, GP2GP is triggered by a successful Personal Demographics Service match.
When the new and old practices are both in England and live with GP2GP, the patient’s electronic health record is transferred to the new practice where it is then integrated, to create a rich electronic health record. This is usually achieved in a few minutes.
Any active medication, allergies, or drug reactions are highlighted for practice personnel to check and process. This is an important clinical safety requirement.
Why do GPs use GP2GP?
The General Medical Services GP Contract 2014 places a contractual requirement to use GP2GP whenever possible for the transfer of patient records between practices.
- Patients expect GPs to receive their medical records at the earliest opportunity, and receipt and integration of the GP2GP electronic health record fully fulfils this expectation
- GP2GP supports the Health Secretary’s objective that ‘patients should have compatible digital records so their health information can follow them around the health and social care system’
- GP2GP has been described as “the best innovation for medical records since we started using computers for patient care.”