GPs in NHS Dumfries and Galloway will be first in Scotland to have access to information that will enable them to see how the service offered to their patients can be improved, and identify local health issues or patterns which need to be addressed.
This wealth of valuable information is just one of the benefits from the roll out of the Scottish Primary Care Information Resource (SPIRE). SPIRE is a service that is being used to help GPs, NHSScotland and the Scottish Government plan for Scotland’s health and care needs.
It allows information from practice records to be transferred anonymously, via a secure system, for combined analysis. This information, which is held in a way to ensure anonymity, is used to produce statistical information and analysis that helps NHSScotland, Health Boards or GPs to make the right decisions for patients.
Dr Catherine Calderwood, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, said: “We are improving how we use information from Practice Systems/Records, and this will help plan and improve health and care services.
“SPIRE is a fantastic example of how we can benefit from analysing data from NHS systems. It will enable anonymised health data from GPs to be used to both support GPs themselves and to analyse the nation’s health and help us to more effectively target resources.”
SPIRE is being rolled out across Scotland over the course of 2017 and 2018 to every GP practice. Dumfries & Galloway Health Board is the first to go live.
One of the benefits of SPIRE is making available information on what the health issues locally are available and resources being tailored to that local picture.
Local GP, Dr Neil Kelly said “We are delighted with the opportunity to use the information more effectively to support the way we plan and deliver services”
Rigid rules and security checks have been put in place to ensure information is held securely. The information is not for sale and can only to be used to improve how Scotland applies its health resources. A specific group with GPs and patient representatives approve any requests for information. If anyone does not wish their information to be used for this purpose they simply need to ask their GP for an opt-out form or download one from www.spire.scot.
Patient representative, Tina Chapman added: “It breaks down the barriers we’ve had in sharing information. It will not only benefit individuals, but the wider population”
