Just setting up 'Records Access' is not a complicated task - but continuing to manage and administer it is proving to be!
Despite a lack of 'overwhelming demand' there is the on-going challenge of basic administration. As soon as anyone is active with a surgery 'transaction' facility there is the burden of managing forgotten passwords, and even worse - 'technical questions' that relate more to internet problems and the layers of security.
For a practice like mine, this generates more work for the 'team', and in my case - for myself as the key system administrator and manager. But I am increasingly nervous that this will rapidly become unmanageable as the pool of patients with RA slowly grows. I cannot be available daily to address individual questions, or to provide an evening and weekend service when away from the surgery building. I certainly am NOT the one to ask computer and software questions of - or to provide an informal 'support-line'.
Anecdotal comments from other surgeries and enthusiasts echo this concern. A whole new 'system' of working and support is required - and for such aspirations to become widespread in General Practice, patients, clinicians and surgeries are going to need a whole new level of support and back-up - or we let patients down. It is pretty obvious that there are resource implications in the pipeline.
Doing it right is a significant and enduring challenge......
Peter S.
