NEWS Manager Practice


Seaton Park Medical Group is the largest primary care team in Northumberland, and managing partner Pat Stevenson provides an interesting perspective on how the practice has embraced the concept of “demand management”. On page 12 we look at the


IN THE ever demanding world of general practice we as managers are always looking for ways of becoming more financially streamlined whilst trying to balance this against maximising services to our patients. It is enabling patients to access services as it suits them, and this can involve ordering scripts, booking appointments and making enquiries all online. Surgery pods and patient check-in systems are also ways in which patients can be actively involved in their own healthcare. This allows practices to reduce costs and deliver high- quality, patient-centred care. On page 8 Joanne Curran looks


at some of the technologies already being employed by practices across the UK and in one surgery in particular near Edinburgh. Much of the push behind


telehealth is to help deal with increasing patient demand in general practice and this theme also emerges in our practice profile by Jim Killgore on page 10.


COVER INSET: RICHARD LEE


issue of how non-clinical information – in this case rude and aggressive behaviour in a patient – is recorded and stored, and the importance of fully understanding how practice IT systems operate in order to ensure compliance with principles of data protection. There is an important


difference between being aggressive and being assertive and on page 8 MDDUS trainer Cherryl Adams offers some hints on how to “respond” rather than “react” to a situation. In a similar vein, employment law expert Ian Watson (page 5) provides some tips on handling “difficult” conversations with employees. Our Call Log on page 4


highlights some recent advice calls made to MDDUS, with topics including dental practice websites, disclosure of medical records after death and using Twitter to communicate with patients. The case study on page 14 concerns a prescribing error that ended up as the subject of a report by the Health Service Ombudsman.


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Practice Manager is published by The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, Registered in Scotland No 5093 at Mackintosh House, 120 Blythswood Street, Glasgow G2 4EA. The MDDUS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MDDUS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.


DENTAL practice managers are being urged to review their practice websites to ensure compliance with strict new GDC guidance. MDDUS is advising every prac-


tice to check that their website includes all relevant and up-to- date information as detailed in the GDC’s Principles of Ethical Advertising. Under the new rules, practice websites must include a range of information including the dentist’s professional qualifi- cation and GDC number, the GDC’s address and contact details, details of the practice’s com- plaints procedure and the date the website was last updated. MDDUS dental adviser Rachael


Bell said: “Websites can be a great marketing tool, but exactly what is being offered and to whom


SUMMER 2012  ISSUE 6


needs to be clear and accurate if dentists are to keep themselves in line with the GDC’s guid- ance. Most practices that have websites will already have most of the information that the GDC are asking them to display but it would be beneficial for practices to re-check their websites in light of the new guidance. “If dental practices are exploring


setting up their own website they will now know from the GDC what information must be included.” Other information that must


be displayed includes the practice name, address and contact de- tails. Websites must be kept up- to-date and accurate and cannot display information comparing one dental professional’s skills with another.


Dentistry Scotland Awards


THE call is out for entries to the 2012 Dentistry Scotland awards which again are being sponsored in part by MDDUS. Categories include most attractive practice, best employer, best


patient care, best dental team and culminating in practice of the year, both north and south. Last year’s inaugural awards ceremony was held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire and was so successful that the organisers have decided to return there for the 2012 ceremony. For more information and details on how to enter the awards go to www.dentistryscotland.co.uk/awards


Draft guidance on social media


DOCTORS should avoid using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to discuss individual patient care, according to new draft guidance from the General Medical Council. Interacting with patients through personal social media profiles should also be avoided. Social Media for Doctors says doctors should instead direct patients to their professional social media accounts and ensure privacy settings limit the availability of personal information. The use of social media, the draft guidance says, has “blurred the boundaries between ‘public’ and ‘private’ and changed the way in which online aspects of private lives are accessible.” The draft guidance, which will be out to consultation until June 13,


makes recommendations about privacy online, interacting with patients through social media, behaving respectfully towards colleagues online, anonymity, raising concerns, confidentiality and conflicts of interest. It recognises that the use of social media by doctors has the


“potential to bring benefits to patient care by engaging with the public and colleagues” but it also has risks. It advises: “If a patient contacts you through a private profile, you should explain that it is not appropriate to mix social and professional relationships and, where appropriate, direct them to your professional profile.” To take part in the GMC consultation on Social Media for Doctors, visit www.tinyurl.com/gmcec1 by June 13.


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