Practices in the UK can be members of a Primary Care Network (PCN), which is a group of practices who have chosen to work together and with local community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital and voluntary services to provide care to their patients. We are members of Stalybridge PCN which is a group of 9 local GP Practices.
This arrangement means that practices within the same PCN may share data with other practices within the PCN, for the purpose of patient care (such as extended hours appointments and other services), Each practice within the PCN is part of a stringent data sharing agreement that means that all patient data shared is treated with the same obligations of confidentiality and data security.
Collaborating as a PCN also allows us to provide pateints with additional services which are commissioned at PCN level, for example mental health workers, social prescribers, community pharmacists and muscular-skeletal first contact physiotherapists (MSK FCP’s).