Switching patient facing services off
Patient facing services (PFS) are Apps, like the NHS App, which allow patients to digitally access NHS services. Patient facing services are sometimes switched off which can impact how patients can access services.
Why patient facing services are switched off
Patient facing services are used by patients to access NHS services. This includes booking appointments, ordering prescriptions, viewing medical records, and communicating with a GP surgery. They are accessed through Apps such as the NHS App, Airmid, or Patient Access, which are connected to information held within GP clinical systems.
Patient facing services, like the NHS App, work as a mirror to your patients online account which is held on your local computer system. Any permissions surgeries set to your patient’s local system account will also reflect in their NHS App account, or on other patient facing services.
Your clinical system supplier will switch off patient facing services when:
- GP surgeries merge together
- GP surgeries change clinical system for example EMIS to TPP
- GP surgeries close down an ODS Code
For advice on switching off your patient’s online service, please contact your system supplier. Your system supplier will advise on their procedure in issuing an online account to your patients.
What happens when patient facing services are switched off
Patients will no longer be able to use online services once patient facing services are switched off. This will prevent them from ordering repeat prescriptions or booking appointments through the NHS App or other apps.
When patients log in to access GP services through the NHS App, they will be presented with an error code starting with 3C. They will then be prompted to contact the NHS App service desk.
Once the error is reporting by the patient to the NHS App Service Desk, the NHS App team will close their case and issue a message with what to do next.
This is an example message from the service desk to patients.
What to do when patient facing services are switched off
GP surgeries should contact the NHS App service desk via [email protected] and inform them that they are switching off patient facing services. This will allow the team to create a message to support your patients.
GP surgeries are advised to add a link to the NHS App service desk to their website. This will allow patients to direct technical queries to the best place and avoids putting unnecessary burden on the GP surgery team.
For patient’s technical queries contact the NHS App and account team.
What happens when patient facing services are switched back on
Patients may need to register and verify their identity again to use patient facing services.
Patients who have verified their identify using Photo ID will automatically reconnect when the patient facing services are turned back on.
There are two ways to verify your identity for the NHS App.
1. NHS App - NHS Login using Photo ID.
2. NHS App – PIN document NHS Login without using Photo ID.
If GP surgeries have merged, then the old ODS code the user has previously connected to will be obsolete.
Patients who have verified their identity using a PIN document will need to be issued with a new PIN document by the GP surgery team to verify their identity.
A PIN document is a letter, text message or email generated when an online account is created on your system. It includes 3 pieces of information:
1. Your ODS Code.
2. The Users Account ID a unique identifier for each patient.
3. A linkage key (on EMIS & VISION GP clinical systems) or a Passphrase (on TPP GP clinical systems). These are a combination of letters, numbers and symbols that are 6 to 15 characters long.
Last edited: 3 May 2023 8:51 am