What we did
We have stopped printing out referral letters and investigation requests. They are all saved on the computer, and then sent electronically to the hospital. We have also started using electronic signatures. The letters can be sent by tasks on SystmOne to another GP to be authorised if necessary.
This was all implemented by our secretary, who has set up SystmOne to save and send everything electronically.
The electronic signatures are very easy to set up, and they appear automatically on our referral letters and requests for USS, X rays etc. We have not given up on peer review of referral letters- they are simply sent in a task, authorised or amended, and sent back to the secretaries.
The result
The benefits are huge- no bits of paper floating around, to get lost and be searched for, or passed from GP to GP, waiting to be signed. In theory we should be saving trees too.
From Dr Fiona Cornish, Cambridge
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