In Practice Systems Limited

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In Practice Systems Limited (INPS) is a health informatics company, part of the Cegedim group and based in the United Kingdom.

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Company history

The company was established in 1984 under the name of Ranchalley Ltd. It quickly changed its name to Value Added Medical Products Ltd (VAMP) [1] and then to Reuters Health Information Ltd in 1997. [2] In 1998 INPS was acquired by the Cegedim group. [3] In 2004, the company purchased the UK arm of NDCHealth, makers of Pharmacy Manager software that was widely used across the UK. [4] It later rebranded as Vision.[ citation needed ]

In 1990 VAMP was one of the four most popular GP computer systems in Wales. [5] In 2010, INPS had about 20% of the English market, 30% of the market in Scotland and Northern Ireland and just over 50% of the market in Wales. [3]

Products

England

In 2018, the GP IT Futures framework was announced as a new way to support modularity in healthcare systems in England and so make it easier for new suppliers to enter the market. [6] Before this, INPS had produced one of the computer systems available to GPs in England under the Systems of Choice scheme from 2008, as well as through Local Service Provider, the CSC. Like other GP systems it made extensive use of Read codes. The other approved GP systems are SystmOne, EMIS Health and Microtest Health. [7]

From April 2014 practices were contractually required to promote and offer patients the opportunity to book appointments online, order repeat prescriptions online and gain access to their medical records online. [8]

The system hosts pathway management systems which automate the processes of monitoring patients, for example those taking disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs which are potentially toxic. [9]

Wales

In 2018, along with Microtest Health, it was awarded a four-year contract for GP clinical systems by the NHS Wales Informatics Service. This came after EMIS was excluded because its bid failed to 'meet a number of the necessary evaluation criteria relating to financial, contractual and functional requirements', according to NHS Wales. INPS Vision was already established in Wales, but Microtest was not. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health informatics</span> Computational approaches to health care

Health informatics is the study and implementation of computer structures and algorithms to improve communication, understanding, and management of medical information. It can be viewed as a branch of engineering and applied science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General practice</span> Patient-based medical care provided across age, gender and specialty boundaries

General practice is personal, family, and community-orientated comprehensive primary care that includes diagnosis, continues over time and is anticipatory as well as responsive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family medicine</span> Medical specialty

Family medicine is a medical specialty within primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary care physician, is named a family physician. It is often referred to as general practice and a practitioner as a general practitioner. Historically, their role was once performed by any doctor with qualifications from a medical school and who works in the community. However, since the 1950s, family medicine / general practice has become a specialty in its own right, with specific training requirements tailored to each country. The names of the specialty emphasize its holistic nature and/or its roots in the family. It is based on knowledge of the patient in the context of the family and the community, focusing on disease prevention and health promotion. According to the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), the aim of family medicine is "promoting personal, comprehensive and continuing care for the individual in the context of the family and the community". The issues of values underlying this practice are usually known as primary care ethics.

Informing Healthcare was set up by the Welsh Assembly Government in December 2003, to improve healthcare services for people in Wales by introducing modern ways of sharing and using information. It is one of the key enablers for 'Designed For Life'; the national ten year strategy to deliver better health and social care for Wales.

General medical services (GMS) is the range of healthcare that is provided by general practitioners as part of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. The NHS specifies what GPs, as independent contractors, are expected to do and provides funding for this work through arrangements known as the General Medical Services Contract. Today, the GMS contract is a UK-wide arrangement with minor differences negotiated by each of the four UK health departments. In 2013 60% of practices had a GMS contract as their principal contract. The contract has sub-sections and not all are compulsory. The other forms of contract are the Personal Medical Services or Alternative Provider Medical Services contracts. They are designed to encourage practices to offer services over and above the standard contract. Alternative Provider Medical Services contracts, unlike the other contracts, can be awarded to anyone, not just GPs, don't specify standard essential services, and are time limited. A new contract is issued each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NHS Wales</span> Publicly-funded healthcare system in Wales

NHS Wales is the publicly-funded healthcare system in Wales, and one of the four systems which make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.

Health and Social Care is the publicly funded healthcare system in Northern Ireland. Although having been created separately to the National Health Service (NHS), it is nonetheless considered a part of the overall national health service in the United Kingdom. The Northern Ireland Executive through its Department of Health is responsible for its funding, while the Public Health Agency is the executive agency responsible for the provision of public health and social care services across Northern Ireland. It is free of charge to all citizens of Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is a system for the performance management and payment of general practitioners (GPs) in the National Health Service (NHS) in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It was introduced as part of a new general medical services (GMS) contract in April 2004, replacing various other fee arrangements.

GPASS, General Practice Administration System for Scotland, is a clinical record and practice administration software package that was previously in widespread by Scottish general medical practitioners. It launched in 1984 and became dominant in the market while still being in public ownership, but a loss of confidence in it led to other systems being adopted and it had been largely been replaced by 2012.

The Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) is an observational and interventional research service that operates as part of the UK Department of Health. It is jointly funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research(NIHR) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). CPRD is working closely with the extensive primary care, topic specific and comprehensive NIHR research networks and with NHS Digital.

SystmOne is a centrally hosted clinical computer system developed by Horsforth-based The Phoenix Partnership (TPP). It is used by healthcare professionals in the UK predominantly in primary care. The system is being deployed as one of the accredited systems in the government's programme of modernising IT in the NHS.

A sessional GP is an umbrella term for GPs whose work is organised on a sessional basis, as opposed to GP partners whose contract is generally for 24-hour care. The term was first coined by the National Association of Sessional GPs (NASGP), who at the time were called the National Association of Non-Principals (NANP). After consultation with their membership, it was perceived that the term 'non-principal' was a term that defined these GPs using a negative definition rather than a positive one.

A Summary Care Record (SCR) is an electronic patient record, a summary of National Health Service patient data held on a central database covering England, part of the NHS National Programme for IT. The purpose of the database is to make patient data readily available anywhere that the patient seeks treatment, for example if they are staying away from their home town or if they are unable to give information for themselves. Despite opposition from some quarters, by September 2010, 424 GP practices across at least 36 primary care trusts had uploaded 2.7 million Summary Care Records. On 10 October 2010, the Health Secretary announced that the coalition government would continue with the introduction, but that the records would 'hold only the essential medical information needed in an emergency – that is medication, allergen and [drug] reactions'. By March 2013, more than 24 million SCRs had been created across England.

111 is a free-to-call single non-emergency number medical helpline operating in England, Scotland and Wales. The 111 phone service has replaced the various non-geographic 0845 rate numbers and is part of each country's National Health Service: in England the service is known as NHS 111; in Scotland, NHS 24; and in Wales, NHS111 Wales.

Michael Alexander Leary Pringle CBE is a British physician and academic. He is the emeritus professor of general practice (GP) at the University of Nottingham, a past president of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), best known for his primary care research on clinical audit, significant event audit, revalidation, quality improvement programmes and his contributions to health informatics services and health politics. He is a writer of medicine and fiction, with a number of publications including articles, books, chapters, forewords and guidelines.

Patient record access in the United Kingdom has developed most fully in respect of the GP record, because computerisation in that field is almost universal. British hospitals were slower to move into electronic records. From 1 April 2015 all GP practices in England have to provide online services to patients, including access to summary electronic medical records.

EMIS Health, formerly known as Egton Medical Information Systems, supplies electronic patient record systems and software used in primary care, acute care and community pharmacy in the United Kingdom. The company is based in Leeds. It claims that more than half of GP practices across the UK use EMIS Health software and holds number one or two market positions in its main markets. In June 2022 the company was acquired by Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited, an affiliate of UnitedHealth's Optum business for a 49% premium on EMIS's closing share price.

Patient Online is an NHS England programme to encourage GPs deliver the British government’s promise to give patients in England access to their GP records and to let them book appointments and order prescriptions online.

Cegedim SA is a health technology company based in Boulogne-Billancourt, founded in 1969. It employs more than 4,200 people in more than 10 countries. Revenue in 2017 was €457 million.

In 2005 the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom began deployment of electronic health record systems in NHS Trusts. The goal was to have all patients with a centralized electronic health record by 2010. Lorenzo patient record systems were adopted in a number of NHS trusts. While many hospitals acquired electronic patient records systems in this process, there was no national healthcare information exchange. Ultimately, the program was dismantled after a cost to the UK taxpayer was over $24 billion, and is considered one of the most expensive healthcare IT failures.

References

  1. Curry, Lynne (24 April 1994). "Science: Lean and hungry after a visit to the doctor: GPs spell squeezed profits for software firms". Independent on Sunday . Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  2. "In Practice Systems Limited". Companies House . Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  3. 1 2 "EHI PC Interview: INPS". Ehealth Insider. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  4. "InPS acquires retail pharmacy IT solution". Digital Health Insider. 11 November 2004. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  5. Goves, J R; Davies, T; Reilly, T (13 July 1991). "Computerisation of primary care in Wales". BMJ . 303 (6794): 93–94. doi: 10.1136/bmj.303.6794.93 . PMC   1670678 . PMID   1860010.
  6. "NHS Digital tests waters for new £450m GP IT framework". Digital Health. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  7. Mari, Angelica (21 October 2019). "NHS Digital announces suppliers for GP IT Futures framework". Computer Weekly . Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  8. "Will your IT system support the requirements of the new contract?". 14 April 2014. Pulse. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  9. "Commissioning supplement: Sorting the good ideas". Health Service Journal. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  10. Bostock, Nick (30 January 2018). "Half of GP practices in Wales face IT system switch". GP Online. Retrieved 1 October 2018.