GPSoC and SCR key IT issues, says GP negotiator

Implementation of the GP Systems of Choice initiative and the rollout of the Summary Care Record (SCR) are two of the key IT issues facing GPs according to the new GP negotiator on IT issues.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, a GP in Stanmore, Middlesex, was elected as a new negotiator for the British Medical Association’s General Practitioner Committee last month and has now taken over responsibility for IT issues from Dr Richard Vautrey who becomes deputy chairman of the GPC.

Dr Nagpaul, who was previously chairman of the GPC’s commissioning and service development sub-committee, said the GPC would be issuing guidance on the newly agreed GP Systems of Choice initiative which aims to guarantee GPs a choice of IT system.

He told EHI Primary Care: “There are issues around the GPSoC agenda and whether PCTs are going to be implementing real choice for GPs or whether there’s going to be pressure to move to preferred clinical solutions.”

On the SCR Dr Nagpaul said the GPC was keen to make sure that the pilots, currently taking place in three primary care trusts, would not be rolled out before the results of the evaluation was known.

He said: “The issue is about whether the SCR is advanced further beyond the pilots or whether we wait for the evaluation before moving on.”

Dr Nagpaul has been a member of the GPC since 1996 and chairman of the Commissioning and Service Development sub-committee for three years. He has been elected as negotiator for a period of three years.

He added: “I feel very privileged having the opportunity to contribute to the protection and strengthening of general practice at this vital juncture.”