Key Objectives
- Improve patient experience when booking an appointment through IUC/CAS
- Single contact patient journey
- Reduce A&E Attendances
- Meet key recommendations made within the FYFV that the appointment booking standard project is committed to delivering including include:
- Ensuring there is capability across all STPs for booking appointments at GP practices – initially delivered through existing capability in the market but ultimately through open, standardised methods by December 2018
- Enabling Urgent Treatment Centres to offer appointments bookable through 111 as well as GP referral, will be treating patients by Spring 2018
- Enabling NHS 111 to book people into urgent face to face appointments where needed by December 2019
- All services can support electronic booking directly between services
Approach
This standard is being developed in a collaborative and agile way. Therefore, the standards and specifications will evolve, especially during First of Type (FoT)first of type deployments.
Working in conjunction with GP Connect
The GP Connect (GPC) programme has already developed a core national specification setting the standard for various capabilities including direct booking of electronic appointments between GP systems.
For GP to GP appointment booking or 111 to GP appointment booking standards the GPC standard should be referred to can be found here. The GPC team are currently working with several suppliers to develop against the standard and to run pilots trialling various functionality covered set out by the GPC specification including booking appointments between GP Federations.
There is a high level of commonality between GP Connect and UEC appointment booking requirements. The UEC team have worked with the GP Connect team in defining this standard.