Holyrood is to look for an alternative to the IT system used by local doctors after setting up a national framework contract for GP services, according to its new e-health strategy.
The move will be similar to England’s GP Systems of Choice (GPSoC) agreement with boards given flexibility about how to meet the needs of medical staff.
The Scottish government will also look for an IT system to replace GPASS – which could involve one or more systems.
The e-health strategy for Scotland was launched by Scottish health secretary Nicola Sturgeon at the NHS Scotland Event held to celebrate 60 years of the NHS in Scotland.
She said the strategy would allow Scotland to build the platform for an electronic patient record to support patients and improve their care experience.
Mrs Sturgeon said: “It’s a strategy that avoids the trap of putting all of our eggs in the basket of a single complex centrally-prescribed IT system and instead one which takes a pragmatic approach and builds on what is already working well but also makes targeted investment to fill the gaps and join up that approach.”
Copyright © PA Business 2008
