This is due to the removal of secure fax, as a means of sending discharge summaries, from 1st October 2015.
As part of the NHS Standard Contract 18/19, from the 1st October 2018 all electronic clinical correspondence including discharge summaries need to be sent via direct electronic transmissions, not by email. If the NHS standards are not met, there will be a fine of up to 2.5% of the trusts quarterly turnover.
How Docman can support the electronic discharge summary target
Docman Hub is an electronic postal service for the delivery of letters between any healthcare provider, removing the need for stamps, envelopes and the associated costs.
Over 120 NHS Trusts use Docman Hub to send and receive a variety of clinical and non-clinical documents in a safe and secure way, ensuring timely delivery with a full audit trail.
Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust have reported efficiencies through using Docman Hub for the electronic transfer of patient letters. Ali Perry, Business Transformation and Project Manager “By sending documents electronically we have improved data quality, saved time and ensured a structured process for sending documents to GP practices. We have improved communication with GPs and now have proof of sending documents to GPs.”
Benefits of Docman Hub
- Helps you meet delivery targets for all types of letters by sending documents electronically instead.
- Streamlines and secures the transfer of documents using a highly flexible system capable of accepting and managing multiple sources.
- Confidential information delivered safely by sending letters electronically, removing the risk of them being lost.
- Saves valuable time and money by removing paper and postage costs and speeding up dealing with incoming and outgoing post.
- Makes auditing easy by storing documents and providing immediate access to a comprehensive real time audited data trail.
Docman Hub connects Primary and Secondary Care organisations and can be used to transfer any document type including discharge summaries, discharge letters, Out-of-Hours Reports and 111 messages. By sending letters electronically to other health providers, patient letters will arrive much faster, helping to reach your discharge summary target.