User Persona – GP
Bio
‘I’m a GP and have worked in the same practice for 7 years. I’m often working from the practice on a desktop computer, but occasionally visit patients at home. My goal is have more direct time with patients, allowing me to provide a better-quality care. With a focus on patient-centred care, I manage a blend of face-to-face consultations, remote triage, and care coordination. I use the Shared Care Record approximately 5% of my day, primarily to see out-of-network providers or for very recent healthcare interactions that aren’t on the Electronic Patient Record yet.’
Quotes
“The biggest bugbear is we can’t do what we’re trained to do because we’re picking up a lot of work from the hospital.”
“By checking the Shared Care Record, I am able to see that the patient I was due to visit, was in the hospital. This prevented me from making an unnecessary home visit, saving valuable time for both the patient and me.”
“The Shared Care Record plugs the information gaps…I am empowered to confirm treatment plans, address patient concerns about recent consultations, and support informed decision-making.”
“I’ve got the potential through the shared care records to have a look at what happened in that consultation with the specialist.”
Goal and motivations
My motivations lie in fostering patient well-being through efficient, responsive, and informed care. I aim to:
- Streamline workflows to reduce duplicative efforts, and alleviate the growing administrative burdens within primary care, enabling more direct time with patients.
- Provide timely, informed care by accessing up-to-date information from secondary care settings (e.g., hospitals, specialists) to resolve patient issues promptly by accessing information at my fingertips.
- Provide comprehensive and informed patient care by ensuring that all recent and relevant data is available during consultations. When gaps in data occur, I value the ability to use the ShCR to reduce the need for follow-ups or additional consultations.
Challenges
- Dissatisfaction with the range of data available in the ShCR. Providers such as mental health services and out-of-area hospitals are often not integrated into the system, leading to gaps in the ability to access important documents and consultation details.
- Primary care is overwhelmed with tasks that should be handled by other sectors of the healthcare system.
- The current ShCR setup is limited to passive information viewing rather than active, integrated care planning – there is a need for the ShCR to evolve beyond viewing information into enabling collaborative workflows between clinicians.
Opportunities
- Simplify access protocols, such as contextual launches, to encourage more frequent use of the system during consultations
- Improve the layout and bespoke navigation within the Shared Care Record, particularly the duplication of tabs and colour-coded sections, to enhance ease of use
- Develop shared workflows that allow multiple providers to collaborate on treatment plans, bridging the gap between general practice and other care providers more seamlessly