WebsiteWatch: NHS information centre PRIMIS+

Sara Howard & Amy McKay, PHC RIS

NHS information centre PRIMIS+

<www.primis.nhs.uk/>

PRIMIS+ is an information management service delivered by England 's National Health Service (NHS) Information Centre for health and social care and is currently based in the Division of Primary Care at The University of Nottingham. Established in 2000, PRIMIS+ is a free service that provides training and support to primary care organisations with the goal of improving patient care through improving data quality and effective use of their clinical computer systems.

PRIMIS+ operates by providing training to information facilitators who are funded by local Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) or Health Informatics Services (HIS). These facilitators then transfer their knowledge and skills to GPs and practice staff in their local health communities.

The PRIMIS+ website gives staff employed by PCTs or HIS a way to find out more about services offered to them such as education and training, analytical tools and data analysis services and implementation support services. The website also includes PRIMIS+ publications, useful links and information about upcoming events and training.

Whilst the site is mostly directed at PCTs and HIS, it does provide useful information regarding the issue of data quality in general practices. Case studies that highlight how data quality has been improved though a PRIMIS+ supported information facilitator are available to be searched by topic. The idea of providing training and support to information facilitators who can then ‘cascade' their knowledge down to GPs and general practices could be of great interest to the Australian primary health care sector and this website is a great place to start.