A quarter of GPs say IT systems not working well

Almost one in four GPs believe their practice IT system is not working effectively, according to a major BMA survey of GP opinion.

More than 11,000 GPs responded to the UK-wide survey which covers GPs views on their IT systems, Choose and Book and the Summary Care Record plus a range of other topics including morale, workload, privatisation and out-of-hours care.

The section on IT found that 24.9% of GPs said there practice system was not working effectively compared with 75% who said it was working effectively.

A similar percentage was also unhappy with funding for IT upgrades. Four out of five GPs who replied to the survey said their practice had sought funding from their primary care organisation (PCO) for an upgrade to their IT since April 2004. Of those 72% said they had received the necessary funding while 27% said they had not.

On system choice 9.5% said they had been pressured by their PCO to change system and were happy to do so but 13% reported that they had faced pressure but did not wish to change systems. Almost three-quarters of respondents said they had not faced any pressure to switch IT system.

The BMA survey, conducted between June and July this year, also asked GPs about their views on Choose and Book and the SCR. On Choose and Book 35% of those who had used the system reported a negative experience with a further 18.6% reporting a very negative experience. Only a minority reported a positive (17.6%) or very positive (2.5%) experience.

The survey also reveals severe doubts about one of Connecting for Health’s other flagship projects, the SCR. Although 35% said they believed it would improve patient safety 80% were of the view that the SCR would not be value for money and 70% did not believe it would be secure with information adequately protected.

The survey results reveal a split in opinion on the consent model for the Summary Care Record (SCR). A small majority (56%) supported the view that patients should always give explicit consent before an SCR is created but 31% thought it was acceptable for patients to be given time to give explicit consent after which implicit consent is assumed and the SCR created.