In Practice Systems Limited


In Practice Systems Limited is a health informatics company based in London.

Company history

The company now trades as INPS and as Vision and was established in 1984 under the name of Ranchalley Ltd. It quickly changed its name to Value Added Medical Products Ltd and then to Reuters Health Information Ltd in 1997. It is part of the Cegedim SA group.
Vision is not connected to the company of the same name based in Munich or to Vision Health, based in Coatbridge.
In 2010 it had about 20% of the English market, 30% of the market in Scotland and Northern Ireland and just over 50% of the market in Wales.

Products

It produces one of the computer systems available to GPs in England under the Systems of Choice scheme from 2008, as well as through Local Service Provider, the CSC. Like other GP systems it makes extensive use of Read codes. It permits patients to book appointments on line and order repeat prescriptions. It also permits patient record access. The new GP IT Futures framework will support modularity and so make it easier for new suppliers to enter the market. The other approved GP systems are SystmOne, EMIS Health and Microtest Health.
From April 2014 practices are contractually required to promote and offer patients the opportunity to book appointments online, order repeat prescriptions online and gain access to their medical records online.
The system hosts pathway management systems which automate the processes of monitoring patients, for example those taking disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs which are potentially toxic.

Wales

It is one of two companies, the other being Microtest Health, awarded a four year contract by the NHS Wales Informatics Service after EMIS was excluded because its bid failed to 'meet a number of the necessary evaluation criteria relating to financial, contractual and functional requirements', according to NHS Wales. INPS Vision was already established in Wales, but Microtest was not.