Use GP Connect in your organisation

GP systems users are the organisations that hold registered patient records and are the source of the shared data. GP systems can be configured to receive appointment bookings or consultation summaries from different care settings. 

GP Connect supports greater flexibility in how primary care networks (PCNs) operate by enabling records to be viewed and updated, and for appointment booking between practices regardless of GP IT systems in use. 

GP Connect has a team of local implementation managers to support GP Connect projects and offer practical advice in the use of GP Connect in your organisation. You can email [email protected] to find out who your local contact is. 

There are organisations that want to view patient records, make bookings on behalf of a patient or send a consultation summary following a patient interaction. The systems used in these settings are referred to as Consumers or, in the case of Update Record, as message senders. Dependent on the use case, multiple organisations can use a combination of GP Connect capabilities to allow interoperable working within a locality, usually including GP practices that hold the patient record. 

Examples of organisations that may wish to use GP connect capabilities include:

• acute and emergency care service providers 
• allied health care professionals (community) 
• ambulance trusts/services 
• care homes 
• dentistry 
• GP hubs/PCNs/integrated care systems (ICSs) 
• hospices
• medical examiners for the statutory purpose of investigating deaths
• mental health trusts  
• NHS 111 service providers 
• optometrists 
• pharmacies 
• secondary care (hospitals) – elective care 
• social care 

If the organisation you represent is not on the above list, but you have a GP Connect use case, please contact us at [email protected]. 

Multiple consumer/sender systems have developed and deployed GP Connect capabilities that are ready to use.  If you are and end user organisation using a system that has already developed GP Connect please contact your supplier for more guidance. See our GP Connect supplier progress page for a list of which suppliers have developed GP Connect capabilities. 

GP Connect has a team of product relationship and implementation managers to support GP Connect products. You can email [email protected] for further information. 

Information to help clinicians with patient conversations about how data is shared through GP Connect. 

GP Connect is a service that allows information and the GP patient record to be viewed and shared between IT systems. 

This means authorised clinical staff from different healthcare settings can share and view clinical information held by a GP Practice. This makes it easier and faster for patients to get healthcare services and gives them insight into how their data is being shared. 

The sharing of records is only for the purpose of direct care, where the patient is being treated or consulted in a setting away from their regular GP. 

Patients can be assured that system suppliers and GP Connect users are required to adhere to a series of compliance processes. 

Patients may also use the GP Connect transparency website to find out which organisations are using GP Connect and the reasons why they have access to the data. This may also help practices or other services supporting a patient with a subject access request. 

GP Connect respects patient consent choices and will not share data if the patient has asked their GP not to. System providers have different ways of recording this. 

Sharing for direct care can easily be conflated with sharing for secondary uses. GP Connect products are intended to be solely used for direct care purposes. Personal data is not shared for any other purpose. Patients should be aware that opting out of sharing for direct care may delay subsequent treatment in other settings. Users should be able to clearly explain the potential impact opting out of sharing for direct care purposes and should check system supplier guidance on how to accurately record a patient’s sharing preferences. Supplier’s guidance should include all patients, including children.

The use of GP Connect for indirect care or purposes beyond individual care is prohibited except in relation to the sharing of information for the medical examiners use case.