GP Connect - 111 Direct Booking
This topic covers all the steps to set up an EMIS Web Clinical Hub to enable 111 Providers to book directly into the hub appointment books
What is GP Connect?
GP Connect is a NHS Digital project that aims to make information held in GP practice IT systems available right across health and social care, by standardising system integration and simplifying the operating model, using API (Application Program Interface) technology. GP Connect is a service that will allow GP practices and authorised clinical staff to share and view GP practice clinical information and data between IT systems, quickly and efficiently.
The GP Connect programme is supporting the development of products which will enable different systems to communicate so that clinicians in different care settings can:
- manage GP appointments with Appointment Management
- view a patient’s GP practice record with Access Record: HTML
- import or download data on a patient’s medicines and allergies with Access Record: Structured
This will save time for clinicians, and provide better, more convenient care for patients. It will also help meet targets under NHS England’s Improving Access To General Practice programme.
The programme supports Extended Access Providers, will support the creation of Primary Care Networks and the Local Health Care Record Exemplar approaches highlighted in the NHS 10-year plan.
For 111 Direct Booking GP Practices will only be required to enable Appointments within the GP Connect Configuration in EMIS.
Implementation Steps
The diagram below illustrates the implementation steps to enable GP Connect between clinical systems.
The GP Connect Implementation Guide will give you more information.
Please note that you will not be able to enable GP Connect in EMIS until the DSA has been activated on the Spine (stage 9 above). If you try you will receive the following error:
When Stage 9 is reached GP Practices will be able to enable GP Connect and then set up Appointments slots (sessions) that 111 can book directly into. User Guides on how to do this can be found on the sidebar of the top of this page but support from the CCG IT Lead will also be available to assist and advise.
Booking a GP Appointment from Adastra
The video below demonstrates how 111 would book a GP Appointment back at the Patients GP Practice (video has no sound).
This is how a 111 Direct booking will look like in an appointment book:
