Optimising our health records improved productivity and care

As part of PCSE’s transformation programme, we provide a dedicated, centralised record storage facility which enables medical records to be processed and verified seamlessly. Not only does this improve the management of healthcare records, but it also improves staff productivity.

Primary Care Support England (PCSE) delivers digital, logistical and support services to every GP, dentist, optician and pharmacist providing NHS services in England. Their focus is on improving these services by standardising processes nationally and delivering efficient, transformed solutions.

When a patient is no longer registered with the health authority, the GP practice receives a deduction notification from their patient listing, and the paper medical record is required to be sent into a storage archive. In 2015, circa eight million medical records were being stored by NHS England in numerous facilities across the UK. Not only was this costly and difficult to manage, but the storage companies utilised were unable to move individual records without losing the integrity of the boxes and medical records.

PCSE enlisted our services to conduct a full inventory of their medical records. As part of PCSE’s transformation programme, we now provide a dedicated, centralised record storage facility which enables the successful processing and validation of received medical records.

Robust end-to-end record management service

With our breadth of experience, knowledge and capability in records management and storage, as well as our ability to offer a fully-managed service, PCSE collaborated with us to manage the decant operation of their various storage sites and ongoing record management requirements.

The records were securely transferred by personnel experienced in handling clinical information and security protocols for the collection and delivery of personal and sensitive data. During the collection and transportation process, we maintained a clear audit trail from the point of collection to the records being deposited into their secure warehouse. Strict security compliance was sustained throughout the process.

Smarter and secure access to healthcare records

In the first 18 months of migration, approximately 12 million medical records were processed. With a dedicated, centralised record and warehouse management system, PCSE was able to eliminate the need for NHS England to maintain records themselves, manually document details, and conduct extensive, time-consuming searches if a record was required. As a result of the centralised system, medical records received by NHS England can now be processed and validated against secure NHS data.

For ease of access, each medical record has a unique barcode and is consolidated into various box types according to the NHS number. Moreover, files can also be accessed quickly and sent as physical copies or digitised for electronic transmission, improving productivity and efficiency.

Benefits

• Consolidated secure storage - all records are stored under one roof in a secure ISO environment, saving valuable space at offices.
• Improved tracking - all files and boxes are barcoded and registered onto our warehouse management system enabling PCSE to keep track of their records.
• Authorised records accessibility - authorised users can recall any file or box from storage; we can digitise its contents and send it electronically or arrange for the hard copy to be sent.
• Promotes compliance - we ensure compliance with relevant document retention legislative requirements.

Key outcomes

• 6,822 UK GP practices were supported.
• 12 million records processed in first 18 months.
• Dedicated site for medical records only, no contamination of other business records.
• Uniformity and consistency in processing of medical records.