We securely store and manage over 17 million medical records for NHS England and GP practices, offering flexible records management services tailored to each practice’s needs. Whether fully digitising or storing on paper, our solutions are secure and scalable to support your practice needs.
In today’s healthcare environment, efficient management of GP records has become imperative. Across England, over 45 million paper records are still in circulation, occupying critical space and straining resources. While these records primarily serve as administrative backups for Electronic Patient Records (EPRs), their management continues to be a resource-intensive task that diverts attention from patient care.
Despite advancements in digital solutions, the continuous influx of paper and the occasional need to revert to physical records highlights the ongoing requirement for robust record management strategies. Our tailored medical record management solutions ensure your records are both secure and readily accessible, while enhancing the operational capacity of your practice through reducing administrative burden, to the benefit of your patients.
Our focus is on freeing up your staff’s time from cumbersome record management to supporting patient care. By partnering with us, you will reclaim valuable space within your practice, reduce risks associated with physical record storage, and move to digital access to patient information - anytime, anywhere.
Our services:
- Receiving records for new patients from either the practice or directly from PCSE logistics
- Either full digitisation or storage of records in a secure facility
- Dispatching paper records for deducted patients directly to PCSE logistics
Key benefits
- Increased operational efficiency: Leverage our expertise in storing and digitising records for efficient and secure management, freeing up administration time and space within your practice.
- Improved compliance: Stay compliant with health information standards and regulations without the hassle.
- Reduced risk: Minimise the risk of data breaches and physical damage to sensitive patient information. Records stored in a secure facility dedicated to medical record storage.
- Cost savings: Reduce costs associated with paper storage and manual record-keeping within your practice, reallocating funds and space to vital patient services.
- Enhanced patient care: Utilise saved space for patient treatment areas, office space, or other purposes to support improvement in the quality of your healthcare services.
WHY CHOOSE US?
ROBUST DATA SECURITY
Ensure unparalleled protection of patient records with our services. All our data processes meet Cyber Essentials Plus, GDPR standards, ISO 27001, and ISO 9001 certifications, guaranteeing compliance and security at every step. Our secure, efficient handling includes on-demand or bulk digitisation tailored to your needs, with records managed securely in our warehouse for faster turnaround.
SWIFT EFFICIENT ACCESS
Our digitised on-demand service gives you easy, quick and secure access to your records. Records can be uploaded to your clinical system and are in a format ready for responding to SARs if needed.
LEVERAGING OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH PCSE
We can remove the need for paper medical records to ever visit your practice. For new patients, paper records can be diverted within the PCSE logistics network to be delivered directly to the record archive, and for deducted patients we can pick, package, and hand off to the PCSE network. This saves administration within the practice, and CO2 and other emissions through a more direct journey to their destination.
Digitising Lytham Road Surgery: Enhancing efficiency and space
Background
Lytham Road Surgery was part of the digitisation pilot in Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB. All the paper medical records held at the practice were digitised, uploaded to the clinical system, and the paper originals destroyed. This freed up space for more valuable use within the practice.
However, this was a one-off activity, and the PCSE logistics network continued to deliver paper records for newly registered patients. There was a meaningful build-up of paper records in the practice, impacting on the original benefits.
Solution
The practice undertook periodic digitisation with a supplier and attempted to digitise within the practice too. However, neither of these worked for the practice. The records are now delivered by the PCSE network directly to the Capita digitisation site, where the records are digitised, then sent electronically to the practice for reviewing and loading into the clinical system.
Following digitisation, the paper records are held and periodically destroyed following practice authorisation. This solution maintains the practice as fully digitised with the access, space and administrative benefits of no longer receiving or storing paper records.
Optimising space with digitise-on-demand storage solutions
Background
Middleton and Dinsdale Medical Practice were moving to a new, purpose-built site. In the run up to the move, the team identified an opportunity to repurpose the space used for medical records storage to more value-add activity. This transitional period, before shelving was fitted and records were moved, was an ideal time to switch to a record management service.
Solution
The practice chose Capita’s storage with digitise- on- demand to free up space at the new site. Our expert team efficiently packed and moved the records from the temporary practice site to our secure warehouse. Upon arrival, a full review of the records was undertaken to ensure only current patient records were stored.
New patient records will be delivered to the practice for summarisation, with periodic collections for storage. This solution has freed up valuable space within the practice for alternative uses and reduced the administrative burden on the practice staff.
Contact us:
Transform your GP practice with our secure, efficient, and space-saving digitally enabled solutions.
Further case studies:
Large London Practice – Storage with Digitise on Demand
Background
A large central London medical practice, with one of the largest patient lists in the country, faced a significant challenge due to limited, expensive real estate costs. The practice had been using an offsite storage provider for patient records to free up space within the practice. However, the high patient churn rate resulted in significant administrative burdens within the practice. New patient records and records for patients leaving the practice still needed to pass through the GP Practice, leading to operational challenges. Consequently, a substantial backlog of records accumulated for both registering and deducting patients.
Solution
Capita introduced an end-to-end record management service that streamlined the process while maintaining the space-saving benefits of the previous storage provider.
Here's how it worked:
- Record transfer
- All patient records were directly transferred from the off-site storage provider to Capita.
- To address the existing backlog, a comprehensive audit was conducted. Records for patients who were no longer part of the practice (deducted patients) were identified and extracted.
- These extracted records were then handed off directly to PCSE logistics for further handling.
- New patient records
- When new patients joined the practice, their paper records are diverted to the Capita warehouse.
- Capita indexed and stored these records efficiently.
- Automated processing
- Patients leaving the practice were automatically processed:
- Their records were picked, packaged, and prepared for dispatch to the new GP Practice.
- This automation eliminated the need for the practice to manually request and package records.
- As a result, administrative resources were saved, and valuable space within the busy central London site was preserved.
By implementing this solution, the London practice significantly improved its record management efficiency, reducing administrative overhead, and optimising its use of space.
Other results we are delivering:
Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Our partnership with Aintree University Hospital involved scanning 55.2 million pages to improve access to medical records. This project streamlined operations and reduced costs by utilising our secure infrastructure and digital integration expertise, significantly improving space utilisation and record accessibility.