How can I send consultation notes back to a patients NHS GP?

What is the best way to send notes to a patient’s NHS GP?

The most efficient means of returning notes to a patient’s NHS GP is to save your notes directly back into the patient’s record. In theory, this is possible for private GPs using EMIS Clinical Services, via functionality called Consultation Write Back.

Consultation Write Back enables a private GP to save their notes directly to the patient’s NHS clinical record. However, this also requires a sharing agreement between the NHS GP practice and the private practice.

More commonly, services use Docman’s ‘Docman Connect’ product. This enables a surgery to send a summary document via MESH (the same service used to communicate pathology results), directly into the workflow of the NHS GP practice.  

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What are the different ways I can share notes with an NHS GP?

What should I include on my notes to the NHS GP?

Anything that is helpful for the patient’s continuity of care. This includes consultation notes, medication and any test results. You should obtain patient consent for the information to be shared before sending any data back to the NHS GP.

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Why share private GP consultation notes back with an NHS GP?

There are a number of reasons to consider.

Should I return private GP consultation notes back to the patient’s NHS GP?

On the basis of obtained consent, you should return all private GP consultation notes to the patient’s registered NHS GP. This ensures the patient’s NHS record remains up to date, and as a consolidated record of all GP interactions.