England is ready to set up a secure and standardised electronic system for patient discharge summaries and outpatient attendances, it has been announced.

Developers said a trial in Dorset had proved successful, enabling more than 4,000 messages to be sent to four practices that volunteered to take part in the project. The system enables information to be added automatically to practice records, saving doctors and staff time in re-entering information.

Messages are sent using the Message Exchange for Social Care and Health (MESH) and have been built to HL7 FHIR standards, according to NHS Digital, which has overseen the project. Messages can also include standardised coded clinical terminology, such as SNOMED-CT.

Andrew Meyer, from NHS Digital, said: “We have come a long way from the early days of sending discharge information through the post, fax and even email to now providing a standardised and reliable service. Hospital staff can be reassured that the messages they send to GP practices have been delivered, read and acted upon, without the need to follow up with telephone calls. Interoperability between different systems is key to reaching this target and we aim to work with other Trusts and GP suppliers to ensure that all GP computer systems can send and receive transfer of care messages in the near future.”

In a second step, NHS Digital said it is also ready to roll out electronic notifications from community pharmacies, providing notice of pharmacy provision of medicines, such as flu vaccinations.

Ian Lowry, director of medication, social care, child health and maternity at NHS Digital, said: “This latest stage in the rollout means that a number of GP practices and community pharmacies in England are able to benefit from electronic notifications rather than the current method of email or paper. This saves time for both pharmacy and GP practice staff and supports integrated working between care settings when patients need to access essential medicines in an emergency.”