Fingers point the way forward for patient ID

A group of practices that won an IT innovations award have begun to install a fingerprint identification system that allows patients access to their own records.

The Staffa Health Centre, Tibshelf, Derbyshire, became the first of the award-winning practices to install the Patient Electronic Records Systems (PAERS) last week. The system uses touch screen kiosk technology to allow patients to log their arrival at the surgery when they attend for an appointment and to view their patient record. It was developed by a GP and two medical students in London and has been installed in four London practices for more than a year.

The Staffa Health Centre and three other practices in North Eastern Derbyshire PCT won an award sponsored by BT and Trent SHA to see how the latest technology could be harnessed to empower patients and benefit practice staff.

Wendy Sunney, practice manager at Staffa Health Centre and the project manager for the North Eastern Derbyshire bid, added: “We have had it installed for less than a week but we have had a fantastic response from patients. We had an open day and more than 400 people came and wanted to register their fingerprints."

Sunney said the kiosks were also used a health portal, allowing patients access to websites selected by the practice and more than 3,000 patient information leaflets. The Derbyshire practices are also setting up new interactive practice websites and running an information service in waiting rooms as part of the award.

Sunney said each of the practices would be using the technology in a slightly different way. "Some of the practices will just be using it as a health portal but we also hope that in the future patients will be able to link to the spine and see their records through the system.

“Eventually we would like the screens to be more interactive by asking for information about smoking and so on."

The PAERS system has three components. One system, PAERS Arrivals, allows patient to register their arrival at the surgery and can operate in any practice. The other system, PAERS Records, allows registered patients to view their records but only works with EMIS software at the moment. The system can also be used as a health portal by any patient.

Two other clusters of practices from Lincolnshire South West PCT and Nottingham central PCT who took part in the awards are also planning to install the PAERS system.

Dr Lachlan Clark, one of the founders of PAERS, told EHI Primary Care: “We’ve just started the process of talking to the National Programme for IT and the LSPs to see if they feel it’s appropriate for more people to have access to their records in this way."

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