GP2GP Reaches 1 Million Transfers Mark
In March, over a million file transfers were completed since GP2GP (General Practitioner to General Practitioner) was introduced in 2011. Impressively, over 30,000 transfer messages are transferred each month.
This ambitious project was delivered by Patients First Ltd in conjunction with the Practice Management System vendors. GP2GP was a key requirement of the 2010 National Health IT Plan and today is used by 95% of enrolling general practices in New Zealand.
Current Chief Technology Officer of Patients First, Andre Bredenkamp, was the project manager of the initiative at the time that it went live and is delighted the G2GP has proved to be so successful. “This project was tasked with providing general practices with the capability to safely and securely transfer patient records electronically, from one practice to another to ensure a continuum of care when a patient chooses to move between practices,” he explains.
“Built using HL7® CDA® and Version 2 Messaging Standards, the rollout commenced with a 65 site pilot in July 2011 and, at the successful conclusion of this trial, general release by Practice Management System (PMS) vendors began early in 2012. It has gone from strength to strength since then.”
Wellington based GP, Geoff Lowe, believes that GP2GP has been an unheralded success. “It is hard to even think back to the days of receiving a printed hard copy of patient’s notes,” Dr Lowe comments. “Using GP2GP patient notes arrive in a structured format placing information exactly where it belongs in the patient record. In particular, a patient’s medications are populated directly making reconciliation far easier and reducing the risk of transcribing errors. The transfer of recalls directly into the recall template is another example of the safety features. GP2GP has instantly become the gold standard for patient records transfer and delivers huge value and benefit for general practices and the people we care for.”
Not only does GP2GP lessen the administrative burden on practice staff, it also reduces the possibility of potential loss of clinical data when patients move from general practice to another. The National Health IT Plan update in 2013 noted that GP2GP provided a capability that has simultaneously lifted patient satisfaction, clinical safety and healthcare provider efficiency.
Chief Executive of Patients First, Jayden MacRae says: “We work hard to translate health information and quality guidelines into technology that supports the primary health eco-system. GP2GP is one example of the way that technology can make life easier – and safer – for Doctors and their patients.”
