- New centralised database will stop drug abusers from ‘shopping’ between doctors to get their fix
- Database will hold records of all patients across the Island
- Independent report found that substance abusers in Jersey were doctor shopping
DRUG abusers will not be able to ‘shop’ between doctors to get their fix of medication when a new centralised database holding the records of patients across the Island is introduced, the head of a body that represents GPs in Jersey has said.
An independent report into the Island’s drug habits found that substance abusers in Jersey were ‘doctor shopping’ between GPs in search of specific prescription medication.
The study, which was commissioned by the States and produced by the UK Centre for Drug Misuse Research, also found that a small number of GPs – ‘less than ten’ – were issuing prescriptions for certain medication ‘well outside the range of their colleagues’.
And now Dr Nigel Minihane, the chairman of the Primary Care Body (PCB) which represents all Jersey GPs, has said doctors are aware of the problem of ‘doctor shopping’ but he hopes a new central server that will share information among surgeries across the Island will all but cure the problem.
He added that GPs who significantly over-prescribe drugs could face being struck off.
All 15 of the Island’s GP surgeries have signed up to the GP Central Services system that the States have invested £1 million into.
A similar system is already in place in the UK.
The scheme enables medical records to be accessed by other GPs when patients visit a different surgery. It is expected to be rolled out in the autumn.
‘It is something we have wanted to introduce for a long time,’ said Dr Minihane.
‘The whole idea is that we can start registering people and identifying them to see where people are attending.
‘The IT we have here is slightly different to what is in the UK but we should have that set up over the next two months.’
‘Basically, if you’re a drug abuser your doctor will be able to see if you’re going down the road to see another doctor and can flag it up. We have the technology in place, it has just been about finding a unique identifier that will contain all the patient’s details.’
Speaking about the news that some GPs were prescribing much more medication than many of their colleagues, Dr Minihane said prescription tables are monitored each year by a governance officer and those seen to be over-prescribing were asked to justify their actions.
‘Doctors have tried to take people under their wings. If they are addicted to a drug do you just stop it or do you kerb it and try to bring them off slowly?
‘All doctors have to undergo external appraisals each year and will not be re-validated by the General Medical Council unless they come up to the mark. They could be struck off for serious variance but they would usually be persuaded to undergo retraining before revalidation is confirmed.’
