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Supporting Scotland's Primary Care GP software users: welcome to the Scottish National Users Group (SNUG).
Episodes
Saturday Jan 23, 2021
Saturday Jan 23, 2021
In this episode, we discuss the options for recording Covid-19 vaccination data in Scotland. Options for GPs are to use templates or guidelines provided by your GP IT system (EMIS or Vision), or to use the TURAS Vaccine Management Tool.
Janet Binnie is an eHealth facilitator in NHS Forth Valley, and a member of the Change Advisory Board. Dr Ian Thompson @ianmthompson is a GP in East Lothian and is Primary Care Clinical Lead in Digital Health and Care at Scottish Government and they have both been involved recently in describing the information requirements for collection of vaccination data for Covid-19 in Scotland. We discuss the practical issues involved for those recording vaccination data in Primary Care, as the immunisation programme gathers momentum.
A video introduction to the TURAS VMT
Hints and tips for navigating TURAS Learn COVID-19 vaccination programme site
A guide to the TURAS Vaccination Management Tool including link to user guide
Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
Tuesday Dec 22, 2020
After a year which has left a lot of us searching vainly for a time travelling De Lorean, it’s time for some Christmas cheer, with a cocktail of reflection, positivity, and ideas for how we can look after each other, also develop to our full potential and look forward to a better future. We are joined for this episode by Dr Chris Weatherburn, the acting chair of Scottish Clinical Information Management in Practice, and he explains the work of SCIMP, reflects on a strange year, and discusses how to avoid both boredom and burnout, why you should “Fire bullets, then a cannonball” and also learn about the growth mindset.
Just don’t think of a pink elephant…
You can tweet Chris @chrisweatherbu1, or tweet SNUG @SNUsersGroup
Michael McIntyre visits fortune teller before lockdown video
Saturday Nov 21, 2020
Saturday Nov 21, 2020
This episode features a review of SNUG's first virtual conference, which covered a wide range of current GP IT topics, in three plenaries and twenty workshops held via Microsoft Teams on November 10th. We feature some of the highlights, including some snippets from a talk by Dr Chris Weatherburn on data quality, a workshop by the national team on the Office 365, Teams and NHS Mail roll out, and some in-depth discussion of where we are currently with the GP IT Re-Provisioning programme for Scotland.
Feedback and comments are welcome, to our Facebook page or Twitter, or by email to alex.defranco@phs.scot
National Services Scotland GP IT Re-provisioning video
Data quality in Primary Care Scotland - video by Chris Weatherburn
Wednesday Oct 28, 2020
Wednesday Oct 28, 2020
This month, we are talking to ourselves! Dr Neil Kelly @NeilGKelly reflects on his impressively long stint as chairman of SNUG, and the influence SNUG can have, and has had on strategy and providing support for GP IT users. He considers, as we head into an uncertain winter, how technology can best help us deliver health care and the need for us all to look after ourselves and each other. We have an update on the latest developments in the slow running GP IT Re-Provisioning project (at 14:58), a taster of what's in store at the forthcoming SNUG virtual conference (24:34), and we get a little insight into Neil's secret interests in fermented grape juice and sea-resistant light fittings as well as his favourite SNUG anecdote.
Friday Sep 25, 2020
Friday Sep 25, 2020
A main aim of the 2018 GMS Contract was to make GP workload more sustainable and this has resulted in the addition of many Health Board employed staff to work in general practice teams - pharmacists, ANPs, physiotherapists, phlebotomists and mental health nurses. National standards have been set for the IT hardware and systems available within general practices in Scotland.
Dr Andrew Cowie @DrAndrewCowie is deputy chair of the BMA's Scottish GP Committee and a GP partner in Dundee. He helped negotiate the current GMS contract for General Practice in Scotland and this episode features a conversation between Dr Cowie and Dr Andrew McElhinney of the Scottish National Users' Group (SNUG) about the standards which have been set for GP IT currently, whether these are being met, and what the main needs are going forward.
SNUG Survey: we are keen to gather thoughts from our members on how funding for the new GMS contract has been used in each area, and this will aid discussions at the SNUG Virtual Conference in November.
Programme and registration page for the SNUG virtual conference on November 10
Wednesday Aug 19, 2020
Wednesday Aug 19, 2020
NHS Scotland developed SCI Gateway in the early 2000s to allow secure communication of clinical data and enable GPs to make protocol-based referrals from Primary to Secondary Care. Over the years it has been used for many thousands of GP referrals, and also a much wider range of purposes including the requesting of advice from specialists, death certifications, infection notifications, and tertiary referrals. It has been adopted by the NHS in Wales and Northern Ireland. However the NHS now has to make a decision about the future of SCI Gateway in Scotland and consider whether to invest in its future, or whether it may be time to consider a new alternative product. We have discussions with Lesly Donovan, the General eHealth manager in NHS Fife, and John Wells, eHealth Project manager in NHS Forth Valley who consider some of our questions about how vital Gateway currently it is for the daily working of the NHS and is it really essential to keep it for the future?
We would be interested in what other GP IT users think...
Friday Jul 24, 2020
Friday Jul 24, 2020
As we continue to develop new ways of working in Scottish general practice, face to face consultations are no longer the norm. Many practices are making much greater use of telephone and video consultations and good triage systems are essential to help patients use services most effectively. eConsult (@econsult_thinks) from WebGP is a platform which provides new and easier ways for patients to get help with a problem - whether through self help, online advice or via telephone, video or face to face contact where appropriate. It is all requested online through the practice website - which removes the need to phone the practice. This episode features a discussion with Dr Kris McLaughlin of Stonehaven Medical Group who spoke to Dr Andrew McElhinney of SNUG, along with other members of his practice team, to discuss the details of how best to get eConsult up and running, and what practical issues need to be addressed.
What is eConsult, and how does it work? eConsult demo site
Let us know if you have any comments on Twitter at https://twitter.com/snusersgroup or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/scottishnationalusersgroup
Wednesday Jun 24, 2020
Wednesday Jun 24, 2020
This month, we have a special edition of our podcast, starting to look at online resources for Clinical Decision Support, this time featuring a wide-ranging conversation with @medmyths James McCormack, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia. We discuss why shared decision making about starting treatments is a vital part of Evidence Based Medicine, where many guidelines and the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) may have got it wrong, and why Scotland's move to Realistic Medicine is to be applauded. We also discuss why lower doses of medicines are often better, how Homer Simpson can help you learn and what some of the beneficial outcomes from the Covid pandemic might look like.
Visit James McCormack's YouTube site to see these educational videos and more: Evidence-based look at Clinical Practice Guidelines, Dose response curve, The surrogate battle - is lower always better?
The Best Science Medicine Podcast looks at evidence for managing common conditions seen in Primary care.
The BSM CHD risk calculator not only calculates the 10 year cardiovascular risk but lets you easily see the benefits or harms of a range of interventions for that patient.
As usual comments are welcome via our Twitter or Facebook pages.
Wednesday May 27, 2020
Wednesday May 27, 2020
Graham Gault is the eHealth Lead for Dumfries and Galloway and he was involved in the Scottish Government deal with Microsoft to purchase Office 365 for the NHS. He speaks to Dr Neil Kelly of the Scottish National (GPIT) Users Group (SNUG) about how he expects #office365 and @MicrosoftTeams to start to transform the way the NHS works, providing new opportunities for flexible and collaborative working online. We will be able to share documents and other files much more easily, also speak and meet online, with an impressive reduction in the need to travel and improvements in cybersecurity.
The pandemic has increased the need for remote working and been a catalyst for rapid change within the NHS. General Practices can start to benefit now from this new ability to work, meet with colleagues remotely, and share documents in the Cloud. This will greatly ease the difficulties caused by the current need to save files within local systems. NHS Scotland will also get a new email system later on this year as NHS Mail is replaced.
"Massive opportunities...the industry is changing, and our single message is that people have got to change and embrace this", says Graham.
Learn more about how to use MS Teams at:
NHSScotland - An introduction to Microsoft Teams
Friday Apr 17, 2020
Friday Apr 17, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world - and Scottish general practice. Many practices are using technology in new ways, and existing innovations have been accelerated - Dr Andrew McElhinney talks to Dr David Cooper @davidcooper1975 from Old Machar Practice in Aberdeen about using eConsult (http://www.oldmachar.co.uk/econsult.html) and to Karen Hotopp @KarenHotopp of @NHSForthValley about using Attend Anywhere/Near Me for video consultations. A number of new technologies are growing fast in general practice as we try to keep patients and staff safe and use other methods of consultations where possible.
Find out more at: https://nhsforthvalley.com/health-services/near-me-video-consultations/
Patient guide: https://nhsforthvalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/How-To-Attend-A-Near-Me-Appointment.pdf
This is a short video showing the set up in NHS Forth valley: www.carronbank.co.uk/eHealth_training_videos/Near_Me_set_up_GPs_and_patients.mp4
Practice managers are usually set up as service administrators and have the capability to set up users in the practice by using their email address. Log in to Attend Anywhere (in Chrome) and follow this link: https://nhs.attendanywhere.com/rc/Content/C_Tasks/VCM/VCM_WA_AddUser.htm
And a little light relief at.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojrtwXqqc6g