EMIS makes GP consultations safer, speedier and easier at Scottish practice

May 2006: EMIS makes GP consultations safer, speedier and easier at Scottish practice

EMIS PCS is making life easier for everyone - patients, staff and doctors - at the Danestone Medical Practice in Aberdeen.

The five doctors caring for over 4,000 patients at the practice have used EMIS software since 1994, and upgraded to EMIS's PCS system in July 2005.

Among the many benefits of EMIS for the practice are

• Population manager software, which shows GPs their targets to qualify for quality outcome framework (QOF) points, on which practice income is based
• Integrated laboratory test results, stored directly in the patient's record
• Mentor, which gives patients and doctors easily accessible information on a range of diseases and possible diagnoses
• Consultation mode - from a single screen, users can add a new consultation, prescribe, view recent consultations, letters and a list of previous problems and access the latest treatment guidelines

Most of Scotland's GPs use the Scottish Executive Health Department's GPASS system, which is free of charge. But a growing number of practices are switching to other systems, including EMIS, which recently gained Scottish Enhanced Functionality (SEF) accreditation. Practices can now get funding to switch to EMIS if they submit a successful business case that meets the SEF specifications.

Doctors at the Danestone practice decided to pay for EMIS out of their own pockets, so convinced were they that it made sound business sense.

Senior partner Peter Kiehlmann said, "Safety and confidentiality were key concerns in deciding which computer system to choose. Using EMIS allowed us to consult with all-electronic and no paper records from 1997. This allows us to ensure patient safety by having the whole record easily accessible on the computer screen."

Patients appreciate being able to take away information leaflets about individual conditions and diseases, printed off from the Mentor knowledge base. They can also announce their arrival for an appointment electronically, via a touch-screen kiosk in the surgery entrance. This is through a partnership between EMIS and PAERS (Patient Access to Electronic Medical Records).

Busy surgery staff like the way that EMIS PCS gives them easy, confidential access to appointments and patients' test results, with a choice of keyboard or mouse to navigate the system.

GPs at Danestone have been particularly successful in gaining maximum points under the QOF system, which determines practice income. They gained 100 per cent of possible QOF points for the practice, and Dr Kiehlmann puts it down to EMIS.

"The new general medical services contract would have been a nightmare without EMIS Population Manager," he says. "It showed us our target percentages of patients to qualify for QOF points, and highlighted the patients we needed to call in for reviews. It was invaluable."