Shows
Scottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastChanging GP system: the Tollcross experienceAt the SNUG Members’ Day, a workshop featured Dr. Keith Mercer discussing his practice’s migration to the Vision IT system, in an interview with National Facilitator Manager Dawn Ellis.
Preparation
The team used checklists, spreadsheets, and searches to prepare for the move from EMIS. Keith and the Practice Manager dedicated around 10–12 hours to data mapping, alongside routine work. Staff completed short e-Learning modules on the Vision training system and benefited from early adopter on-site training.
Migration & Go-Live
During migration, the practice offered urgent appointments only and kept patients informed. EMIS was still used f...2025-07-2935 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastWhat new products could you be using?In this episode we hear from some system suppliers who were exhibiting at the recent SNUG Members’ day.
Numed’s Simon Healy explains how their ECG, spirometry and blood-pressure devices can integrate with a GP system, Caitlin Collins and Elliot Shaw from Microtech discuss Surgery Pod, a self-service computer system that captures blood-pressure, height, weight and lifestyle data in the waiting room. Eleanor Rafe from Accurx reports that some Scottish practices are now using its two-way messaging and booking-link features to cut phone traffic and provide asynchronous chats.
Sharon Hanley and Dani Henderson from X-on Heal...2025-06-2935 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastUsing a magic wand to fix the NHS in ScotlandDr Steve Baguley is a consultant in Sexual Health & HIV and has been Chief Clinical Digital Officer for NHS Grampian since 2010. This episode features a discussion in which he compares Estonia's effective digital health system, which requires providers to submit care summaries to a central repository, enabling seamless data sharing and full transparency for citizens (who can view their records), and Scotland’s NHS, which struggles with fragmented IT systems and unfulfilled promises, failing to meet its 2017 pledge for citizen data access by 2020. There have been significant delays in GP IT Re-provisioning, electronic prescribing and other digital transformation efforts.
...2025-05-3037 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastA conversation with Dr Margaret McCartneyWe have an interview this month with Dr Margaret McCartney, a Glasgow GP, broadcaster, and writer, who discusses her journey into media, the current challenges faced in general practice, and her views on technology, evidence-based medicine, and contemporary healthcare issues. Margaret shares how her media career began rather unexpectedly and gives some insights into her media engagement. She expresses significant frustration with outdated IT systems in Scottish general practice, in particular the current version of Docman, and argues for improvements and suggests integration of beneficial AI technologies could alleviate some of the administrative burdens.
The conversation also...2025-04-2635 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastLexacom’s new functionalityLexacom began as a simple audio recorder program created by former GP , Dr Andrew Whiteley, originally devised to save time by sending recordings across a network to a secretary. Over two decades, the company has grown organically, serving over 60% of GPs with its digital dictation, transcription, and speech-recognition solutions. In this episode, Dr. Whiteley describes how this developed. Lexacom is now expanding its feature set beyond traditional dictation, focusing on secure cloud-hosted platforms, sophisticated speech-recognition designed for medical terms, and dynamic workflows that tailor letters, reports, and consultation notes to individual practices.
A key new focus is th...2025-03-3025 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastRoger Neighbour on using AI in GP consultationsIn this episode, we have the privilege of speaking with Professor Roger Neighbour, former GP and past president of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). We discuss how AI-powered tools like Heidi Health and Clinitalk are providing new opportunities for GPs and GP trainees. We discuss:
The impact of AI scribes on GP consultations - are they are a game-changer?
The benefits and risks of increased use of AI in consultations – will this enhance clinical decisions or deskill doctors?
Training implications – can AI provide useful real-time feedback to trainees?
The balance between transactional (efficiency-focused) and relational (patient-focused) medi...2025-02-2327 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastLet’s Salsa with Weatherburn into 2025Dr Chris Weatherburn discusses his productive year, focusing on maintaining a work-life balance and the value of effective habits and shares insights on managing innovation responsibly within healthcare, advocating for new technology to be implemented safely. Reflecting on challenges in the GP IT landscape, he expresses confidence in overcoming uncertainties surrounding the future of the Vision system and emphasizes adaptability to change, citing the resilience and camaraderie of the GP community as key assets in navigating potential transitions.
We discuss resilience, humour, and the satisfaction of patient interactions in general practice. Chris underscores the joy and impact...2025-01-2536 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastThe ghost of GpassWe ponder the dramatic news that INPS has gone into administration and catch up on First Minister’s questions before our main discussion with Dr Colin Brown, a retired GP and now Healthcare Informatics Consultant.
Colin takes us through the evolution of GP computing systems and reflects on the challenges of implementing technology in healthcare, recounting the early adoption of Gpass, the main GP system in the 1980s and 90s. He highlights its limitations, including frequent breakdowns and outdated infrastructure, and the attempts to modernise it in the F3 group’s efforts to redesign it with dual data...2024-12-2436 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastMoving from EMIS to VisionIn this episode, we discuss migration to the Vision system for EMIS users in Scotland, focusing on key aspects of preparation. Some advantages of the new hosted environment include automatic backups, improved access to clinical systems across multiple sites, more collaborative working, and the ability to use non-medical prescribing with barcoded scripts. Vision Anywhere provides a secure backup system, and offers offline access to patient records, and can be used for home visits. Preparatory steps for migration include the management of non-DM&D drugs, addressing unissued acute scripts, and understanding the Vision system's "Preferred Pharmacy" approach.
The...2024-11-3036 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastDigital Dermatology in ScotlandDr Beth Kerr, a GP in the Scottish Borders, discusses her involvement in digital dermatology on this month’s SNUG podcast. She explains her role as a clinical lead in the development of a digital dermatology pathway in collaboration with the Centre For Sustainable Delivery (CFSD). The project is part of the Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) Pathway and aims to address the significant backlog in dermatology care across Scotland by implementing a streamlined process for GPs to send triage-quality images with referrals via a secure app. This app, integrated with the SCI Gateway referral system, allows images to be...2024-10-2730 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastGPIT, wine and farming in Dumfries and GallowayIn this month’s episode we visit Dumfries and Galloway, the latest stop in our trip around the regions. We speak with Dr Neil Kelly, a familiar voice on the SNUG podcast, and discuss life in the South of Scotland and how things are going with preparations for GP system change, how the local project team and facilitators have become confident in managing the change, and the importance of supporting staff during the transition. Neil has reduced his GP leadership workload and developed a new interest in farming, but still has plenty of reflections on the evolving nature of gene...2024-09-2726 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastMeet Heidi, your digital scribeIn this episode, we speak to Dr Hannah Allen, a GP with extensive experience in digital health and AI. She discusses her current role with Heidi Health, who developed Heidi, an AI-driven tool designed to assist clinicians. Hannah explains that her interest in Heidi was sparked by its potential to impact healthcare at scale, driven by the needs of clinicians and developed by a doctor. Heidi was originally aimed at enhancing pre-consultation processes but evolved into a comprehensive AI assistant that supports clinicians during and after consultations by automating tasks like note-taking and document generation. This evolution was influenced...2024-08-1927 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastData, DACS, demand and guitars in LothianIn this episode, we meet Dr Peter Cairns, who is a GP in Wester Hailes Medical Practice, in Edinburgh, and a clinical advisor to the Digital Directorate in Lothian. He mentions his involvement in the Edinburgh Community Link Network, his blog "Primary Care Crunch," and his musical hobbies. Peter discusses a currently mixed picture in general practice, highlighting some improvements in workforce pressures but also challenges like local resource issues and population growth. He reflects on the complexities of system changes in the NHS, emphasizing the need for meaningful data integration and digital transformation to improve quality in Primary...2024-07-2827 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastSuccessfully implementing Docman 10In this episode, we shift our focus from GP IT Re-provisioning to another major change for practices: the upgrade from Docman 7 to the cloud-hosted Docman 10. We've previously discussed Docman's vital role in document management and the GP2GP system for records transfer. Docman is indispensable for handling the influx of results and letters we receive daily. However, like everything else, it’s about to undergo an upgrade across every practice in Scotland. At our recent SNUG Members’ day, Judith Milligan from National Services Scotland outlined how the initial practices were selected for the move to Docman 10 and highlighted the NSS...2024-06-3025 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastRound the regions: modernising healthcare in AyrshireIn this episode, we feature a discussion with Dr. Bob Lunan, a GP from Marnock Medical Group in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Bob shares his journey in managing a growing patient population, expanding from 12,500 to over 18,000 patients. He discusses the challenges and successes of integrating new practices, especially during the pandemic.
Bob provides insights into the implementation and evolution of the digital triage system AskMyGP. He explains how his practice adapted the system to manage patient demand effectively, balancing online and face-to-face consultations. Bob also highlights their approach to chronic disease management, emphasizing the importance of both online and...2024-06-0426 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastACCURX in ScotlandIn this episode, we meet Emma Lynas and Dr Satya Raghuvanshi, to discuss how Accurx has evolved from a clinical decision support tool for antibiotic prescribing into a comprehensive communication platform for healthcare professionals and patients, facilitating various communication needs, such as sending SMS messages, conducting remote consultations, and managing patient enquiries. It is in 98% practices in England, and has been integrated with the new Vision system for Scotland, and can be used as a tool for total triage as well as for messaging.
Accurx’s features include SMS messaging, structured data capture for patient consultations, and co...2024-04-2928 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastMoving into 2024 with Dr Cooper and Dr WeatherburnWelcome to 2024! Dr David Cooper, @davidcooper1975, co-chair of SNUG and GP in Old Machar Practice in Aberdeen, discusses the progress of GPIT Re-provisioning, challenges faced, especially by EMIS practices, and the broader landscape which includes a number of upcoming projects and technological advancements expected over the next 12 months. David hopes for efficiency savings through smarter use of IT, including DACS systems, AI, Power Automate, Microsoft Forms, and the new SharePoint environment.
No new year would be complete without meeting up with Dr Chris Weatherburn, @ChrisWeatherbu1, to discuss his reading recommendations for the new year. We also, unexpectedly, ta...2024-01-1832 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastUsing video consultations in medical educationCould video consultations have the potential to be a game changer in medical education? In this SNUG podcast interview, Dr. Richard Darnton @DrDarnton discusses his role in running the GP part of the Medical course at the University of Cambridge, and his role as director of the GP Education Group (GPEG), focusing on the emphasis on hands-on experience for medical students in general practice. He highlights the topic of video consultations in medical education, particularly in general practice. Dr. Darnton discusses the challenges faced by GPs in adopting video consultations, including issues of complexity, logistics, and the perception of l...2023-12-0533 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastDiscussing general practice in Scotland and England with Dr GandalfGPs in England and Scotland are trying to do a broadly similar job - they both work within the NHS, yet they have different contracts, different organisational and digital infrastructures and different GP clinical systems. They both face similar challenges in terms of workload, prescribing, sustainability and increased demand. Additional team members like pharmacists, physiotherapists, mental health nurses and ANPs are reshaping the way we organise care. The digital health and social care strategies in both countries are broadly similar with a focus on digital transformation and giving patients increased access to their own records. Today we discuss all...2023-10-2235 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastA National Digital Platform for ScotlandThe National Digital Platform (NDP) is an open technology platform developed by NES (NHS Education for Scotland) in collaboration with multiple partners from across health and social care. It aims to make it simpler to deliver technology that improves the care and well-being of people in Scotland. The platform brings together cloud-based digital components and services to provide technology solutions for the public sector in Scotland. It offers a range of technology services, including an identity management service, application programming interfaces (APIs), and an application development framework.
In this episode, we find out more from Dr Paul...2023-09-2246 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastDiscussing digital transformation with Prof Bob WachterWe are delighted to welcome Professor Bob Wachter in this episode of the SNUG podcast.
He is Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), a highly influential voice in the worlds of medicine and Health IT, renowned for his book "The Digital Doctor"and the 2016 Wachter Report on NHS digitalization. He joins us to discuss a wide range of current topics, including the future prospects for healthcare, with a particular focus on the impact of digitalization, consumer expectations, and the balance between technology and human interaction in medicine.2023-08-2136 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastDigital asynchronous collaboration – using EngageIn this episode, we return to the world of Digital Asynchronous Consulting Systems (DACS) and ponder how digital changes might be implemented in general practice during a time of chaos for the NHS, as it has its 75th Anniversary.
We get a fake 5-year old’s opinion on DACS systems, before hearing from Michael Wong and Sandeep Singh from Engage Health Systems, who have developed a system called Engage Consult, a digital asynchronous consultation system (DACS), which is already in use in England but is new to Scotland. We covered the following ground in the conversation:
Wh...2023-07-0630 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastUnveiling the potential of AI in general practiceIn this episode, we delve into the fascinating world of some of the new AI tools and their impact on healthcare and innovation. We explore the advancements in large language models like ChatGPT and the potential they hold for transforming the way we access medical information and provide care. We discuss the experiences of Dr Keith Grimes, an expert in digital health and innovation, as he shares his insights from working at Babylon and his own consultancy.
We unravel the main points, such as the importance of detailed instructions and questions for obtaining accurate results from language...2023-05-2035 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastMaking the Right DecisionHigh risk medicines are defined as medicines that have a high risk of causing injury or harm if they are misused or used in error. Error rates with these medications are not necessarily higher than with any other medicines, but when problems occur, the consequences can be more significant. A number of high risk prescribing safety indicators have been identified.
We talk to Dr Ann Wales, @Ann_Wales who is the Programme Director for Knowledge and Decision Support at the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, and she manages the National Decision Support Programme and its Right Decision...2023-03-1132 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastIn hours activity data, books and Chat GPTHow can we best measure the activity in general practice and measure how busy we really are?
The In-Hours GP Activity project is a collaboration between National Services Scotland (NSS), Public Health Scotland (PHS) and the Scottish Government to access, understand and improve the availability and consistency of activity data from in-hours general practice. A pilot was held during the autumn of 2022 to try out guidance to practices on encounter recording, collect data and try out a dashboard at practice level.
Numbers of “encounters” as recorded in the practice clinical systems and the corresponding “healthcare profes...2023-01-2041 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastLearning about system change at the SNUG conferenceOur recent SNUG annual conference on the 30th November, was held face to face for the first time in over 3 years, at the Westerwood hotel in Cumbernauld. In this episode we get a taste of the atmosphere at the conference and say hello to some of the attendees. The main focus for many people was the forthcoming GP system change, with every practice now planning a move to Vision over the couple of years.
We have edited highlights of a workshop which was really useful in setting out what practices will need to think about before they...2022-12-1127 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastRe-provisioningcastAnd then there was one….
EMIS Health shared the disappointing news this week that they are unable to meet the timelines of the Scottish Framework for GP IT Re-provisioning, and as a result, have made the decision to withdraw.
This will leave Vision as the only accredited GP system for Scotland.
A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document regarding EMIS’ exit from the Framework has been created and issued to health boards. The NSS GP IT website (NHS net only) will also be updated to reflect the changes announced. If you have a specific ques...2022-10-2023 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastDocman – current problems and future developmentsDocman is an electronic document management system and is used by general practices across Scotland. It was integral in the move to paper light practice and provides a workflow functionality, as well as rapid transfer of discharge and clinic letters and results from hospitals via the Docman hub and electronic document transfer (EDT). Using electronic document interchange between practices, the GP2GP process has been developed to transfer patient records rapidly when they change GP practices.
We hear from Sharon Wishart, who is the lead facilitator at the Primary Care Mentor team in Fife, and we discussed...2022-09-0331 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastDiscussing the digital strategyScotland’s Digital health and care strategy was published in October 2021: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-digital-health-care-strategy/
What are we going to do with citizens data, with the management information that is collected, how do we address the challenges of devices and new sources of data that are coming in, how do we build trust?
In this episode, we hear highlights from a plenary from the May 2022 SNUG conference given by Jonathan Cameron, Director of Digital Health and Care at the Scottish Government.
There are three strategic aims:
Citizens to have access to...2022-08-0127 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastBack to the Future! Prof Crooks and the DHIProfessor George Crooks is the Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre. He was a GP in Aberdeen for many years and understands the challenges facing Primary Care, as we move forward in a Digital age. At the recent SNUG Members’ day, he gave a plenary entitled: “Back to the Future! How can we use next generation digital solutions to deliver safe effective and sustainable services?” in which he posed the following questions:
What does person centred data sharing look like?
How good - and complete - is the data that we use to make decision...2022-06-2928 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastHow has Covid-19 affected the care of patients with diabetes?Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce is associate professor at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, and her team published a paper at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic predicting how care for patients with conditions like diabetes might worsen during national emergencies like the Covid pandemic.
She also had a paper in Diabetes care looking at the evidence that patients with diabetes were at increased risk of more severe Covid-19, and has also looked at whether Covid-19 infection may itself lead to a higher risk of developing diabetes.
There is now some evidence starting to em...2022-05-2225 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastDigitizing GP records in ScotlandThe Practitioner Services Division of National Services Scotland (NSS) supports GP practices across Scotland in a number of important ways. In this episode, we speak to their Business Change manager Annie McDonnell (annie.mcdonnell2@nhs.scot) who describes a project to digitize new patient records coming into practices who have already backscanned their old patient records. We discussed how may practices in Scotland are participating in the project, how quality assurance works, and when the paper records may be safely destroyed. We also reflect a little on what life was like as a GP with nothing but paper patient...2022-05-0827 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastReviewing long term conditions with MedlinkWe have another episode looking at the care of patients with long term conditions, today we are joined by Dr Lorenz Kemper of Medlink Solutions. This is a system for carrying out online clinical reviews and can be used for reviews of conditions like asthma and diabetes, as well as a variety of other uses like medications reviews, submitting blood pressure readings, or reviews of patients on HRT or the contraceptive pill. Lorenz discusses how Medlink started up, how it provides practices with more options for reviewing patients and can prompt an overhaul for the entire approach to review...2022-03-2825 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastScotland’s House of CareScotland’s House of Care is based on the Year of Care Programme and as this BMJ article explains, is all about delivering person centred care in long term conditions.
In this episode of our podcast, we discuss how we can offer Care and Support Planning to patients with long term conditions, as we speak to Dr Graham Kramer @KramerGraham and Lindsay Oliver @lindsayeoliver, two of the leading figures in promoting this approach both in England and Scotland over the past few years. We also hear from Alison Fox, the Practice Manager of St Triduana’ s practice in E...2022-03-0547 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastThe wisdom of Doc MartinDr Bill Martin is a former co-chair of SNUG and has recently moved on after a long spell in general practice, during which he experienced progressive computerization of all aspects of general practice. We discussed why he still thinks general practice is a great career choice, why he thinks many of the changes which have happened during the pandemic will stick, and why we will have to be careful about “opening up” surgeries again. He reflects on impending GP systems changes, having been through it all before, and recommends lots of planning as many systems are replaced over the next...2022-01-2929 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastChristmas greetings to and from SNUGDr Rob Hamilton is a GP in Snug Medical Centre in Snug, a small town on the South coast of Tasmania. We say hello to Rob and hear a little about what life there is like at the moment, as the border with new South Wales is about to open and they may start to experience Covid-19 for the first time. We also reflect on a hectic 2021 with SNUG co-chair Dr Neil Kelly who gives us some ideas for new year’s resolutions, including a digital detox, or at the very least, switching off notifications on your phone. And of...2021-12-2348 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastArtificial Intelligence and DermatologyWould you trust a machine to diagnose your skin cancer? Or, maybe, to reassure you that a mole is “ok”? We take a dive into the world of machine learning, which is a branch of artificial intelligence based on the idea that systems can learn from data, identify patterns and make decisions with minimal human intervention. The most promising advances in medical image analysis have used a type of algorithm known as a deep neural network. But what happens if the images aren’t of good enough quality?
We discuss both the great potential and also some of the...2021-12-1645 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastThe Scottish Digital Prescribing and Dispensing ProgrammeThe Scottish Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Programme, is being led by Ewan Morrison, Director of Pharmacy, NSS and Dr Sam Patel, consultant physician in Respiratory and General Medicine NHS Lanarkshire, and eHealth Clinical Lead for NES Digital Services. This programme is a major national collaboration between NHS Education for Scotland and NHS National Services Scotland, and aims to revolutionize the way we prescribe and dispense medications in Scotland, which is currently a paper-based process with some electronic elements, involving medical and non-medical prescribers, patients and pharmacists, generating around 5 million items a month.
In one of our previous e...2021-10-3127 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastAsynchronous Consulting: the facts about DACSOne of the big areas of interest at the SNUG members’ day in May was the increasing use of digital systems for communicating and consulting “asynchronously” and how these are changing the face of general practice. In this episode, we have highlights from two of the talks discussing issues around online consulting. Thomas Dodd is a training partner for AskmyGP and he discussed some of the popular myths about online consultations – for example that patients prefer face to face rather than online contact, yet online services will also submerge GPs with new demand. Dr David Cooper, the co-chair of SNUG and...2021-08-0439 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastThe digital front door to general practiceThe way we deliver health care has been radically changed by the Covid 19 pandemic. In an almost Darwinian way, general practices have evolved their systems to try and meet the various challenges, much of it driven by technology and the ability to communicate and provide services by telephone or online. Many practices now have what’s been called a digital front door. The question is, how widely to we want to open up that front door? Practices across the UK have had to make new use of online services and are wondering rather uncertainly what the future implications of th...2021-07-0436 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastProtect and survive: avoiding a cyberattackIn the 1970s and 80s the UK Government produced a series of film and leaflets intended to advise the public on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack, called “Protect and survive”. In the wake of a recent massive cyberattack on the Irish health Service, which has paralysed their core health services, we remember the Wannacry attack on the NHS in 2017, consider how we have had to address cybersecurity since then, and how “Protect and survive” now might have a new meaning for us in the Digital age.
Scott Jaffray is the Associate Director Facilities & Infrastructure and head...2021-06-0625 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastA manifesto from RCGP ScotlandIn the week of an important Scottish Parliament election, we spoke to @DrChrisWilliams who is the co-chair of RCGP Scotland. Chris is a GP in Highland, with a special interest in IT and he discussed some of the consequences of the pandemic, as well as the current challenges facing general practice in Scotland. RCGP Scotland has developed its own manifesto, which was discussed by the parties at a recent hustings event. He highlights some of the most important requests from the profession for the new Scottish Government, to take the NHS, general practice, and GP Information Technology forward, over...2021-05-0331 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastNew GP IT systems: Cegedim shares its VisionAs Scottish GPs are starting to form cohorts within Health Boards, to prepare for selection of one of the next generation of GP IT systems, it will be essential to understand how each system delivers the requirements to become accredited and approved for use in Scotland
Dr Beena Rashkes and Dr Andrew McElhinney of SNUG were joined by Shona Wares, Head of Product Management, and Margaret McCaul, National Account Manager for Scotland, margaret.mccaul@visionhealth.co.uk, for Cegedim Healthcare Solutions @CegedimHS. They share their “Vision for the future of digital health”.
“Vision is a portfo...2021-04-1320 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastA conversation with Professor Sir Lewis RitchieProfessor Sir Lewis Ritchie has made an enormous contribution to both healthcare and technology in Scotland, over the past 40 years. He has been a GP partner in Peterhead, is still the James McKenzie Professor of General Practice at Aberdeen University, and he has also been Director of Public Health at NHS Grampian.
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/iahs/research/profiles/l.d.ritchie
He has played a unique role in shaping the computerisation of Scottish Primary Care, having written a book on the potential of computers in primary care, chaired the Electronic Clinical Communications Implementation...2021-02-1927 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastRecording Covid 19 vaccination data in ScotlandIn 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...2021-01-2325 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastPutting Chris into ChristmasAfter 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 bull...2020-12-2240 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastSNUG's first virtual conferenceThis 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...2020-11-2141 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastThe challenges we faceThis 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...2020-10-2829 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastStandards for General Practice Information TechnologyA 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...2020-09-2522 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastIs SCI Gateway really essential?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...2020-08-1931 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastStarting to eConsultAs 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...2020-07-2428 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastGood Outcomes from Evidence Based MedicineThis 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...2020-06-2437 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastUsing Teams in PracticeGraham 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.
...2020-05-2726 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastUsing technology to fight CoronavirusThe 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...2020-04-1724 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) Podcast40 years in GP Information TechnologyDr Jim Campbell is the Clinical Advisor to the @NHSNSS National GP IT Re- Provisioning Team @GPITScotland. He has been a key influencer in GP IT for nearly 40 years and describes his journey through the world of IT as a GP in Irvine, and GP IT advisor in Ayrshire, and also his roles with the GPASS Users Group, SNUG, and now NSS and GP IT Re-provisioning, with Dr Neil Kelly @NeilGKelly) of SNUG. Jim describes moving from a world in which all prescriptions and appointments were handwritten, and how he designed a Lunar Landing game, analysed orthopaedic discharges, asked i...2020-03-1921 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastMedication, medication, medicationA recent series of workshops called "Transforming the Primary Care Prescribing / Dispensing Pathway" was jointly sponsored by the Pharmacy and Medicines Division and Primary Care Division of the Scottish Government. We discussed some of the matters arising from these workshops and some potential solutions for Primary Care prescribing with Dr Scott Jamieson (@DocScott82) of the RCGP and Tony McDavitt (@skepticine) a Primary Care pharmacist in Shetland.
Topics included polypharmacy, barcode problems, increases in non-medical prescribing, who should do those medication reviews, why do GPs sign thousands of paper prescriptions which could be sent electronically, how to increase s...2020-02-1835 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastWhen Neil met LucyWhen you or your relatives are ill or in need of care don't you want the people looking after you to have the right information to look after you properly? Sharing the right information securely and at the right time with all providers of health and social care is both extremely important and also suprisingly difficult to achieve. Dr Lucy Munro (@DrLucyMM) is a GP and the Associate Medical Director for Primary Care at NHS National Services for Scotland (@NHSNSS). In a conversation with SNUG co-chairman Dr Neil Kelly (@NeilGKelly), she talks about her career and also how she h...2020-01-2531 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastWhat SNUG wants for Christmas...and SPIREDr Keith Moffat is a GP in Ayrshire and is a GP Clinical lead for NSS (National Services Scotland) within the ISD (Information and Services Division) Primary Care programme with NSS. This includes SPIRE (Scottish Primary Care Information Resource) which is a data extraction service for Scottish general practices. He is involved in planning and prioritising which reports will be developed and made available to practices, e.g. regarding high risk prescribing or identification of frail patients. The LIST (Local Intelligence Support Team) help practices, clusters and HSCPs to access and link different datasets for comparative data to help wit...2019-12-1526 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastDeveloping ReSPECTReSPECT is a process that creates personalised recommendations for a person’s clinical care in a future emergency in which they are unable to make or express choices. It was introduced in Forth Valley in 2017 and we speak to Dr Lynsey Fielden of Forth Valley Royal Hospital to find out more about what these conversations with patients may involve, some of the different settings they can take place in, and also how a new electronic version may help make this information more available in the future to health care professionals at the point of need.
This new ReS...2019-12-0122 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastFacilitating information technology in Scottish general practicesIn an interview with SNUG co-chairman Dr Neil Kelly, Louise McTaggart describes her experiences working with general practices in the West of Scotland over a number of years. Louise started off as a practice manager in Glasgow in the 1990s and after working for a time as a trainer and IT facilitator for practices in Glasgow, she is now the National GP IT Re-deployment manager for the National Services Scotland GP IT Re-Provisioning team. She has a long involvement with the Scottish National Users Group and has garnered much knowledge about how best to help share ideas and tips t...2019-11-0218 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastWhat will health care be like in the future?How will technologies like video consultations, artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) change the ways healthcare is delivered in the future? This episode features a conversation between Dr Andrew McElhinney, a GP and member of SNUG, with Dr Keith Grimes, who is also a GP and is currently the Clinical Innovation Director for Babylon Health (www.babylonhealth.com).
Keith discusses how after training in Scotland and working with electronic clinical communications implementation (ECCI) in the early 2000s, he later became involved with Babylon Health and is overseeing the safety aspects of their AI and patient triage...2019-09-2042 min
Scottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastGP IT re-provisioning in ScotlandThe re-procurement, renewal and modernisation of existing GP clinical systems in Scotland to the next generation of centrally hosted systems is called GP IT re-provisioning. The three suppliers who are on the Framework Contract Agreement are Vision, EMIS and Microtest, and they are currently developing their systems so they can be tested and validated against the Scottish specification and requirements.
What are the implications for Scottish GP practices? Dr Neil Kelly, co-chair of the Scottish National Users’ group (SNUG) speaks to Robert Hutton, who works for National Services Scotland as implementation manager for the GP IT re-provisioning pr...2019-07-2219 minScottish National Users' Group (SNUG) PodcastWhat is SNUG?This new series of podcasts is going to look at how technology supports health care in Scotland, and SNUG - the Scottish National Users group (https://www.snughealth.org.uk) - exists to try and ensure that people get the best healthcare through the best use of technology.
SNUG is a group of people who are involved in the delivery of health care through GP practices in Scotland. The SNUG Members' Day was held in May 2019 in Cumbernauld and a number of people gave short interviews about how SNUG provides a vital clinical voice to those who...2019-07-0914 min