GPs concerned over costs associated with MedLIS   

The IMO has called on the HSE to engage on the roll-out of the national medical laboratory information IT system (MedLIS). This is to ensure there are no increases in workload and costs for GP practices.

A motion on the issue was passed at the IMO AGM in Killarney last month.

The MedLIS project, which has been subject to delays and implementation challenges, aims to establish a fully integrated, nationwide laboratory information system.

The system has been put in place at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, and is currently in the process of being implemented in Cavan and Monaghan hospitals, according to the HSE.

However, GPs in the north-east region have raised concerns about increased workload and costs associated with MedLIS.

Monaghan-based GP Dr Illona Duffy proposed the motion at the IMO AGM. Dr Duffy told the Medical Independent there is a danger that the new online ordering system would result in more work and costs for GPs.

She explained that requesting a blood test now involves accessing MedLIS through practice software and completing multiple steps before printing both a barcode label and an A4 order form.

“It is going to take more time,” Dr Duffy explained. “We are told we must have label printers and we must have A4 printers and most of our nurses wouldn’t have A4 printers in their surgery; they’d have had a GMS printer – that’s it.”

She said when MedLIS was first proposed and set to be piloted in their area, GPs were to be provided with equipment, including label printers, with all associated costs covered. “But now we’re going back to a system where the hospital is going to make savings in lots of ways… and we’re being expected to now take on this workload and this cost. But this is not acceptable.”

A HSE spokesperson said there had been engagement with the IMO and that feedback from the GP community had been “positive”.

The spokesperson added: “The benefits for GP practices and their patients include reduced turnaround time for patient tests, less paperwork and improved access to information on patient tests. The GP ordering solution has improved the ability of the laboratories to deliver GP requests in a faster and more efficient timeframe”.