iPLATO introduces new ‘smoking QOF’ feature on innovative myGP app ahead of NHS financial year

Once again, the end of the NHS financial year is fast approaching with GP surgeries preparing for their busiest time of year in the lead up to 31^st March 2017. Of course, practices are still open to patients in need, but behind the scenes practice staff are hard at work to meet Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) targets.

Smoking Status

Developed by health-tech specialist iPLATO,  a new ‘smoking QOF’ feature on the newly enhanced myGP^TM app is rapidly being adopted by GP practices across the UK, to help them protect practice income while reducing administration and, at the same time, freeing up staff to allow for more face-to-face patient care. Adding to other benefits offered by the app, the result of its innovative data capture and sign-posting functionality is that myGP has been the most downloaded medical app in the UK for most of October and November – boasting over 65,000 registered patients.

QOF is an annual reward and incentive programme for GP practices with a quarter of their income being dictated by achievements of targets, which are linked to the 15.4 million people in the UK who are living with a long-term health condition such as lung disease, diabetes and heart failure. Keeping up to date with a patient’s smoking status, as well as providing advice on resources and services to help quit the habit is a good example of a QOF target with a large number of associated points. This financial year, smoking QOF on its own is worth over £10,000 per practice.

Previously, GP practice staff spent hours on the phone and ‘on the hunt’ for valuable information in order to meet QOF targets. After the recent upgrade to myGP – available for download on Apple and Google app stores - many practices are moving this aspect of patient interaction to the ‘cloud’ making the stressful and often time-consuming task of finding out a patient’s smoking status and signposting local stop smoking services significantly simpler and quicker.

So, how does it work? myGP is programmed to ask patients for their smoking status to ensure that the data is updated every 12 months. The answer and the subsequent rules based sign-posting are Read Coded onto the patient’s medical record. If the practice has customised and switched on automated smoking services sign-posting, each confirmed smoker will receive a customised message including the web address to local stop smoking service. Practices are benefiting from the automated data collection and sign-posting feature for smoking, with myGP allowing practices to meet QOF targets simpler and faster than ever before.

Tobias Alpsten, CEO, iPLATO comments:

The smoking QOF feature is only the start of helping GP practices to meet their QOF targets. iPLATO is looking to automate other QOF and administrational activities in the coming months to allow clinicians to further direct their attention, skills and energy on patient care and wellbeing whilst managing successful businesses at the same time.