Sharing for CCGs
Systems for “sharing” come in many forms and provide differing degrees of satisfaction. Simple “folder based” systems are often focussed upon just storing and fetching files. GPTeamNet does that, of course, but we focus on how information is filtered and shared between people and practices in a collaborative community. Like all of GPTeamNet, this is functionality that has been designed in partnership with practices and CCG.
The heart of GPTeamNet’s approach to sharing is to make the right information available to the right members of your team, with minimal effort and uncluttered with other irrelevant items. Your team needs one place to go for information; whether it’s produced in the practice, provided by your CCG, collected from elsewhere or shared from another practice. They just don’t have the time to look in two or three places and try to work out if they have the most up to date version. For example, a practice nurse can - in one click - list all the protocols directly relevant to them. This single list might contain local protocols, some shared from other practices and (if appropriate) some that are managed and maintained from the CCG.
Sharing in a CCG or cluster
Sharing within a practice has obvious benefits but there are even more gains to be had when practices work together.
GPTeamNet provides each practice in a group with a single access point to information they need, including information shared from other practices or from the CCG. The GPTeamNet approach is to make sure that the group gets the benefits of sharing and collaboration but to make sure that each practice stays in control - even for shared information.
Save on duplicated effort
Practices manage a lot of information from elsewhere (PCT’s, CCGs, local hospitals, government etc.). This is information which is often identical for every practice. Without an ability to share, every practice has to evaluate and process the same document for their team. GPTeamNet allows one central update to be used by all the practices in the group, from documents to contact details.
Decide on your own groups
Most CCGs will have at least one “sharing group”, containing all the practices. GPTeamNet also allows you to set up other groups, so that you can choose to share and collaborate with the whole group or a smaller set. For example, you could share some referral items with practices close enough to make use of it.
Clear indications of what is shared
Although GPTeamNet merges the externally shared items with local practice information, it provides clear indications of what is shared and who shared it. These are visible to everyone that uses the system, not just administrators or IT staff.
Control the information from the practice level
Getting the information to practices is not the whole story. Every practice is different in at least some ways, so GPTeamNet has extra features to make sure that each practice can “tune” the shared information with minimal effort. You can “hide” shared items from your own practice if they are not relevant, or “pin” them to highlight them to your own team.
Publish CCG information with exactly the right amount of “push”
Our experience is that a successful sharing project needs to find just the right balance between no information and flooding the practices with too much. GPTeamNet allows a CCG to choose exactly the right level of visibility. You can publish to a specific “CCG page” in each practice. For agreed, CCG wide protocols, the CCG can publish and maintain protocols directly in the practice protocol list.