Lessons from England about GP computing

Quality in primary care, 2010

There is an assumption expressed in literature that computer use for clinical activity will improve the quality of general practice care, but there is little evidence to support or refute this assumption. This study compares general practitioners (GPs) who use a computer to prescribe, order tests or keep patient records, with GPs who do not, using a set of validated quality indicators. BEACH (Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health) is a continuous national crosssectional survey of general practice activity in Australia. A sub-sample of 1257 BEACH participants between November 2003 and March 2005 were grouped according to their computer use for test ordering, prescribing and/or medical records. Linear and logistic regression analysis was used to compare the two groups on a set of 34 quality indicators. Univariate analyses showed that computerised GPs managed more problems; provided fewer medications; ordered more pathology; performed more Pap smear tests; provided more immunisat...

Studies in health technology and informatics, 2013

In 2000 Shaw and Kidd published an article on the lessons that could be learned from the UK in general practice computerization. Over a decade later many of these lessons remain yet to be learned. Hence Shaw & Bainbridge felt that it was time to revisit these issues and review progress made against each in both the UK and Australia in an effort to help Canada learn the lessons as it follows behind both countries. Nine lessons are identified, reviewed and discussed in the hope that Canada will choose to take note and leapfrog these jurisdictions by learning from history, rather than being doomed to repeat it.

Informatics in Primary …, 2006

2010

Background. In the western medical world, computers form part of the standard equipment in the consulting rooms of most GPs. As the use of a computer requires time and attention from GPs, this may well interfere with the communication process. Yet, the information accessed on the computer may also enhance communication.

Informatics in primary care, 2007

Well-organised medical records are the prerequisite for achieving a high level of performance in primary healthcare settings. Recording balanced structured and coded data as well as free text can improve both quality and organisation of work in the office. It provides a more substantiated support of financial transactions and accountancy, allows better communication with other facilities and institutions, and is a source of valuable scientific research material. This article is the result of an individual experience gained in general practice use of various programs/systems employed within the family medicine frame, and the frame of evaluation of available and commonly-exploited program solutions. The use of various programs allows for systematic adjustments as to the increasingly complex requirements imposed on electronic medical records (EMRs). The experience of a general practitioner, presented in this paper, confirms the assumption that an adequate program to be employed with EM...

Informatics in Primary Care, 2014

Job satisfaction in primary care is associated with getting on with your computer. Many primary care professionals spend longer interacting with their computer than anything else in their day. However, the computer often makes demands rather than be an aid or supporter that has learned its user's preferences. The use of electronic patient record (EPR) systems is underrepresented in the assessment of entrants to primary care, and in definitions of the core competencies of a family physician/general practitioner. We call for this to be put right: for the use of the EPR to support direct patient care and clinical governance to be given greater prominence in training and assessment. In parallel, policy makers should ensure that the EPR system use is orientated to ensuring patients receive evidence-based care, and EPR system suppliers should explore how their systems might better support their clinician users, in particular learning their preferences.

This MRes dissertation will examine the origin and introduction of large-scale computer systems into NHS hospitals. It will focus on the concepts and philosophy behind their design, the rationale behind their development and the influences that led to their change in function. It will also describe their mode of implementation and the effect they had on medical administration and hospital management. Finally, it will show that decisions made to transfer development to Regional Health Authorities, and eventually to abandon development by NHS employed staff, created a significant space between those who used these systems day-to-day and those who specified and approved their design and content. It will argue that this separation has resulted in systems that are often not particularly suited to the hospital environment or the needs of the staff that use them but have become designed to assist management and administration.

The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2003

Tracking the fate of laboratory test results B Eastwood 493