Q&A with Birdie's product team: unlocking instant medical information with GP Connect

‍Ahead of our upcoming GP Connect webinar, we sat down with Sarah Calascione, our Care Management Product Manager, to explore how this game-changing NHS integration is transforming care planning for providers across the UK.

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What exactly is GP Connect, and why should care providers be excited about it?

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Sarah: GP Connect is a secure NHS integration that gives care providers instant access to essential medical information about their clients - things like active medications, allergies, immunisations, and recent GP encounters. What makes this so exciting is that it completely transforms how quickly and accurately care managers can create person-centred care plans.

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Before GP Connect, getting this information meant calling GP practices, waiting on hold for hours, or sending emails that might take days or even weeks to get responses. Now, that same information is available instantly with just a few clicks.

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Can you walk us through how simple it is to use GP Connect in practice?

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Sarah: Absolutely! It's designed to be incredibly straightforward. When you're in the main Clients tab within Birdie, you'll see a clear "Go to GP Connect" button. Click that, enter the client's name, date of birth, and NHS number - and you're in.

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The system is smart about helping you find the right person too. If there's a slight spelling difference between your records and the NHS records, or perhaps you are using the client's maiden name, GP Connect will double-check with you: "Did you mean this client with the same NHS number?" It gives you that extra helping hand to get you to  the right information when you need it.

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Once you're in, you land on a summary page with all the key information you need immediately - active medications, current allergies, recent GP encounters. But if you need to dig deeper into medication history or past allergies, you can navigate through different tabs. We've even included date range filters for easier navigation for clients with extensive medical histories.

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What drove Birdie to develop this integration, and what was that process like?

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Sarah: The opportunity came when the NHS made this data available to software providers through their spine directory. But gaining access wasn't simple - and quite rightly so, given how sensitive this information is.

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Birdie had to undergo an incredibly rigorous review process with the NHS. We were assessed on everything: our security practices, data privacy protocols, technical readiness - essentially proving that we could handle this sensitive data safely and responsibly. It involved multiple review stages, extensive testing, and numerous assessments before we could even begin development.

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The whole process took significant time and resources, but the payoff for our care provider partners has been enormous. We're incredibly proud to have earned this level of trust from the NHS.

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I understand GP Connect provides specific types of medical information. Can you explain what care providers can access and why?

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Sarah: GP Connect provides what we call "limited access" specifically designed for the social care use case. This includes active medications, allergies, immunisations, recent medical encounters - essentially the information that's most relevant for creating effective care plans.

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This isn't a limitation - it's actually perfectly tailored to what care providers need. The information available through GP Connect gives care managers exactly what they need to create safe, person-centred care plans without overwhelming them with clinical details that aren't relevant to their role.

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There are more comprehensive clinical datasets available through GP Connect, but those require additional NHS approvals and are designed for registered clinical professionals. For care providers, the social care dataset contains exactly the right level of detail to inform outstanding care delivery.

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What are the key benefits you're seeing from care providers using GP Connect?

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Sarah: The benefits really span the entire care journey. First, when you're creating an initial care plan, you're getting accurate, up-to-date information instantly. This means you can build comprehensive, appropriate care plans quickly rather than waiting days or weeks for GP responses.

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But it doesn't stop there. Throughout the ongoing care relationship, GP Connect continues to add value. If a carer is made aware of a new medication prescription in the client's home, the care manager can instantly check GP Connect to get more details and update the care plan accordingly. If there are any changes to a client's medical status, care managers can quickly access the latest information to make informed adjustments.

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Ultimately, this leads to better outcomes for clients because their care plans are always based on the most current, accurate medical information available.

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For care providers interested in getting started, what are the eligibility requirements and what does the onboarding process look like?

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Sarah: To be eligible for GP Connect, care providers need to be registered with the CQC and with an ODS code - that's your unique Organisation Data Service code that the NHS uses to identify organisations across health and social care. You'll also need to be providing social care services that require access to medical information for care planning purposes.

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We've designed the onboarding process to be as streamlined as possible whilst maintaining the necessary security standards. Care providers need to come prepared with their ODS code, have achieved a current latest status rating of “standards met” Data Security and Protection Toolkit, and they'll need to read and sign the National Data Sharing Agreement and acceptable use policy on the NHS side.

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With those elements in place, we can work quickly with the NHS to grant access to GP Connect. The back-and-forth with the NHS to verify your ODS code and approve access is typically very efficient once all the documentation is properly completed.

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Ready to see GP Connect in action?

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Join Sarah and our team for our upcoming GP Connect webinar hosted with NHS England, where we'll demonstrate the integration live and answer your questions about implementation. This is your opportunity to see firsthand how GP Connect can transform your care planning process and improve outcomes for your clients.

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Register for our GP Connect webinar here to discover how instant access to medical information can revolutionise your care delivery.

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Already a Birdie customer and ready to get started?

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If you're ready to onboard GP Connect now, you can register your interest through our onboarding form and we'll guide you through the process.

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