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When to use GP Connect

When GP Connect is used, and the situations where it may be relevant to organisations, suppliers and developers.

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Overview

GP Connect supports direct patient care by enabling approved systems to access, share and update information held in GP records. It is used across a range of health and care settings where professionals need timely access to information recorded by a patient's GP. This page describes common scenarios where GP Connect is used and includes examples of how organisations have applied it in practice.

If you've identified a scenario where GP Connect may be relevant, you can learn more about how it works and the technical resources available for implementation.

Who is included

The following care settings can be considered. However, not every instance under these broad headings can be granted connection.

Each submission will be reviewed by our expert team (including legal, information governance and clinical experts) and connection approved or declined after careful review of each individual submission.

  • 111 and 999 paramedics in ambulances and call centres
  • Accident and emergency including minor injuries/walk in centres and urgent treatment centres
  • Community care
  • GP out of hours
  • GP (for temporary or non-registered patients)
  • Hospital and practice pharmacy
  • Secondary care (scheduled care)
  • Mental health trusts
  • Social care including care homes, hospices, domiciliary care
  • Primary care and
  • Community pharmacy (Pharmacy First)
  • Optometry
  • Nurses visiting patients including health visitors and continuing health care

Who is not included

The following care settings are not approved for rollout:

  • Patient-facing services
  • Health and justice, including prisons
  • Private health organisations
  • Any service that is outside the scope of direct care including pre-employment medicals, risk stratification, and research and planning

Typical scenarios

The following examples describe common situations where GP Connect is used to support direct patient care. They explain when the service is relevant, rather than how it is implemented.

These scenarios also indicate when digital systems need to integrate with GP Connect. If you are a system supplier, GP Connect may be relevant when your product needs to access GP record information, update GP records after care events, or support care delivered outside GP practices.

  • If you are a system supplier and think GP Connect may be relevant to your product, technical details, APIs and onboarding information are available in our API and integration catalogue.
  • If you are a developer or integrator and want to ask questions, share experiences or get support, you can join our Developer Community.
Accessing GP record information during care in other care settings
Accessing GP record information during care in other care settings

GP Connect Access Record is used to make relevant GP record information available to authorised health and care staff when a patient is receiving care outside their registered GP practice. This supports safer clinical decision‑making by ensuring staff have timely access to information recorded by the patient’s GP.

This use is relevant where your product supports users delivering care outside GP practices and needs to present information from the patient’s GP record as part of direct care.

Supporting continuity of direct care across settings
Supporting continuity of direct care across settings

GP Connect is used to support joined‑up direct care by enabling approved systems in different care settings to securely share GP record information when it is needed. This helps maintain continuity when patients move between services or receive care from more than one organisation.

This use is relevant where your product operates in care settings that depend on access to up‑to‑date GP record information to support ongoing direct care.

A patient with complex medical needs can call NHS 111 with a suspected infection
A patient with complex medical needs can call NHS 111 with a suspected infection

They can:

  • have their record triaged by an NHS 111 clinician (using GP Connect: Access Record)
  • get themselves an appointment with their local out of hours service
  • attend the appointment (using GP Connect: Appointment Management)
  • have antibiotics prescribed and information regarding their encounter can be sent in a PDF back to their registered GP to be added to the patient record, (using GP Connect: Send Document) where the information will then be available the next time someone uses an Access Record product

Case studies

These case studies show how organisations have used GP Connect to support direct patient care in practice. They demonstrate some of the benefits realised across different health and care settings and provide examples of how GP Connect has been applied to meet local needs.

Last edited: 8 July 2026 1:38 pm