Scotland’s GPASS is no more

All Scottish GP practices have migrated to either EMIS or INPS clinical systems and the country’s General Practice Administration System has been formally shut down.

Scottish health boards decided in 2008 to discontinue support for GPASS after a series of problems and critical reports, and to purchase a commercial product.

Both EMIS and INPS were selected to be on the framework agreement for a replacement system and each board held a mini-competition to decide which to deploy.

Ayrshire and Arran, Borders, Glasgow and Clyde, Forth Valley, Western Isles, Dumfries and Galloway and Shetland health boards chose EMIS.

Highland, Lanarkshire, Grampian, Orkney, Lothian and Tayside chose INPS. Fife chose to purchase both systems, with 43 practices taking EMIS and 18 INPS.

NHS Scotland national information systems group director Andy Robertson said the migration process was completed by the end of February this year and the GPASS service closed down at the end of March.

Between October and December 2011, an average of 12 practices were transitioning per week, with a peak of around 15 a week.

“The change-over was not without issue and a lot of hard work but nothing that threw the original objectives, scope or timeline,” Robertson said.

Director of e-Health in Lanarkshire Robin Wright told eHealth Insider 20% of GPs from the area were involved in the decision to go with INPS’ Vision system.

The health board drew up a timetable for the transition period and GPs chose when they wanted to move.

“There were no clinical events at all, it went as well as anyone could have expected, in fact I would say it went better than any project I have been involved in,” Wright said.

Money that was previously centrally held for GPASS was transferred to individual boards in 2010 and covers the cost of the new systems, he explained.

Funding for the systems is recurrent and there is no suggestion that will change.

While contracts are held locally, the relationship with suppliers is managed collaboratively via the GP IT systems and contract management group

This group is GP-led and manages requests for product development and liaises with suppliers.

Read more about primary care IT in Scotland in the latest Insight.