interactive lifestyle

Could patients soon become e-patients? Lyn Whitfield examines the possible benefits of a webbased GP service in Southampton

Southampton City primary care trust covers more than 20 sites and 40 GP practices, employs some 2,500 staff and covers a city of almost 220,000 people. As an American might say, it has issues with communication.

To address them, the PCT has been working with Interactivhealth, a small company based up the M3 in Basingstoke, on a web-based system called imPaCT. It is built around databases using Microsoft tools and technology, but can be updated easily using new content-management software.

There are two aspects to imPaCT. One is an extranet - confusingly called an intranet by PCT staff - which gives people within the organisation passwordprotected access to its policies and business activities.

The other is a public site that gives out basic information about the PCT, links to external sites such as NHS Direct and an intranet hosting GP practice sites and other information.

The intranet (www. southamptonhealth. nhs. uk/net) is designed to pull the PCT together. The first 'page' is a PCT events calendar, which is also open to the public.

After that, staff log on to various resources, including discussion forums and a 'team briefing', which has replaced the PCT newsletter. The largest resource is a document library storing more than 1,000 PCT and practice policy documents and other material.

Security controls check who accesses what, but editing is simple. Twenty people have been trained to edit specialist areas and a similar number of practice managers look after their own intranets.

PCT media relations manager and website editor Roger Bingham says: 'All the sort of stuff that gets shoved on people's shelves and then goes out of date really quickly can be put here, and kept up to date. It is a resource for everybody.'

Interestingly, the PCT does not have access to the GPs' cabinets.However, Mr Bingham says that as far as it can tell, 'there has been good take-up'. Several hundred staff have computer access, and a cybercentre has been set up for those who do not.

Southampton's general public, meanwhile, enters www. southampton. nhs. uk through a home page displaying basic information about the PCT, news about the NHS and links to NHS Direct and other external sites, including the local general hospital.

The public site receives around 2,500 visits a week.Mr Bingham says the PCT is planning a push to increase usage. But imPaCT could be developed much further.

The PCT is experimenting with online forms for incident reporting and a new system has just been built for the patient advice and liaison service, with downloadable leaflets on various conditions and a secure e-mail service for queries and replies.

Interactivhealth managing director David Deakin, meanwhile, can imagine Southampton's citizens becoming 'e-patients', using a 'secure patient access system' to access a 'my services' area on their GP's website. GPs could send electronic information leaflets or personalised information to this site, as well as prescriptions, test results and reminders about medication and appointments.

'Some people are using e-mail to communicate with patients, but it is an insecure medium, so we are looking at a secure site on which that information could be displayed, ' he says.Mr Deakin has this running on an imPaCT demonstration model, but it has yet to be adopted by Southampton City PCT. One issue is money.

But Mr Bingham says there are other things to consider, including staff IT skills and the huge culture change that would be required for primary care to start working this way.

'There are innovative and interesting developments ahead, but they are a little way down the line, ' he says.

He adds that other PCTs thinking of investing in similar developments should make sure they are 'very easily usable' and that 'there is support and training for people at very different levels'.

He also feels PCTs need a long-term view and should invest the time in creating 'unique content' to drive usage.

In Southampton, the public already has one address for information on local services, how to use them and how to look after themselves. 'It is all about making it easy for people, 'Mr Bingham says.