Derry-headquartered Elemental Software has become the first social prescribing software provider to be awarded a place on the important NHS GP IT Futures framework.
Around 7,000 GP practices in England will thus be able to choose Elemental’s solutions, with the potential to significantly accelerate the adoption of Elemental’s digital social prescribing platform.
Through the NHS GP IT Futures framework , GPs, practice staff, suppliers and buyers in Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and Commissioning Support Unit (CSUs) can more easily identify and procure the IT services that meet their needs.
The GP IT Futures programme is a critical enabler for taking primary care towards the requirements set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, five-year framework for GP contract reform and the Digital, Data and Technology Vision.
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Through its digital platform, Elemental provides teams with the technical connectivity needed for multi-sector partnership working and leadership, as well as the ability to scale and measure health and wellbeing within communities most in need. During the pandemic, the number of people seeking social support increased by 147%.
Nearly 12,000 GPs, nurses, practice managers, social workers and other government staff are already making referrals via the Elemental platform, which is the only digital social prescribing software integrated with all three GP systems used in the UK.
In England, the NHS Long Term Plan states that nearly one million people will qualify for referral to social prescribing schemes by 2024. Research conducted by the University of Westminster found that such schemes have the potential to cut GP consultation rates by 28% and A&E attendance by 24%.
The Elemental team stated that the the most important and urgent change deriving from its inclusion in the GP IT Futures programme is to ensure that patients and the NHS can safely and securely access and share primary care data in real-time. "This data connects patient care across care settings, provides the insight to allow the NHS to be more efficient and enables progress in medical research," the software firm revealed.
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Before featuring in the new GP IT Futures Digital Buying Catalogue, a place where GPs, CCGs and all buyers in primary care can explore digital health solutions and products, organisations must meet all standards and capabilities set out in the new framework and gain approval from NHS Digital.
Commenting on the company’s achievement, CEO and Co-Founder of Elemental, Jennifer Neff said, “We are so proud to have been awarded a place on the NHS GP IT Futures framework and for becoming the first end-to-end digital social prescribing software provider to do so. This further establishes Elemental as a trusted, compliant and quality assured health-tech solutions supplier.
“Over the last few years, we’ve spoken to many GPs and commissioners who have struggled with the current state of systems at GP practices and who have been limited in procurement choice and availability across social prescribing and personalised care, so for us, this is a huge step towards better choice for professionals, and better outcomes for patients”.
For more information on Elemental’s social prescribing platform, visit here.
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Source: Written from press release
