Practice business & finance

1 Sept 2026 Why does my GP charge me? A practice cannot charge its own registered patients for treatment at any price — but it can charge for the paperwork that was never NHS work. Plus the asymmetry with consultants, and the talk of doing a dentist.

14 Aug 2026 The workload the formula can't see Appointments at record levels, GP numbers below 2015, sessions that run six hours, and a population aged 90+ up more than half in twenty years — set against a funding formula built in 2004 on 1990s data.

11 Aug 2026 The list is the business Almost everything a practice earns multiplies by one number: the registered list. Ghost patients, list cleansing, students, summer tourists, new-build estates and care homes — and why a patient is not a patient.

5 Aug 2026 Who carries the risk? Hospitals get their deficits written off; GP partners are personally liable for practice losses. A look at the asymmetry, the losing spiral it creates, and why the risk is also why general practice is cheap.

2 Aug 2026 The plumbing: profit, partnerships, VAT and limited companies Why two identical practices make different profits, how drawings and capital accounts really work, why leaving money in the practice hurts, and the VAT and limited-company traps waiting for PCNs.

31 Jul 2026 No 2 in my How GPs are paid series — the surgery building LinkedIn LinkedIn share for part 2 of the How GPs are paid series: why owning your surgery was once policy, last partner standing, and whether ownership decline affects length of service.

31 Jul 2026 The surgery building: asset, anchor or millstone? Why owning your surgery was once official policy, how rent reimbursement really works, the rise of last partner standing, and the questions to ask before buying into practice premises.

30 Jul 2026 How GPs are paid, the 2026 update! LinkedIn Announces the 2026 rebuild of the How GPs are paid article: 49p per patient per day, why practices hold no budget for tests or prescribing, and Howbeck's marketplace workshops.

30 Jul 2026 How GPs are paid: the 2026 update A full rebuild of this site's most-read piece: where every pound of GP practice funding comes from in 2026, where it goes, and why profit = income minus expenses still explains everything.

19 Jun 2026 When AI Gets It Wrong LinkedIn A partnership profit-split calculation where AI stayed confidently wrong for several rounds illustrates why outputs must be sense-checked — right and wrong answers sound identical.

4 Apr 2026 Neighbourhood Working - Part 2 LinkedIn Argues that capitation gives general practice a structural incentive for prevention, so PCNs should set the population health agenda using individual-level data rather than postcode proxies.

26 Mar 2026 Any companies or organisations with a product or service looking for a primary care or… LinkedIn Offers his Cheshire team as a primary care or community partner for organisations applying to the NIHR i4i FAST funding call.

23 Dec 2025 I'm really enjoying doing these interviews! LinkedIn Reflects on interviewing GP colleagues about their varied portfolio careers, funded by Cheshire East, and hopes to expand nationally.

14 Nov 2025 A six-step roadmap for lean digital transformation Pulse PCN A six-step framework for PCN digital transformation leads as ICB budgets shrink: audit existing systems, prioritise ruthlessly, pool resources and act as value stewards rather than buyers of new tools.

2 Sept 2025 New process for PPA Drugs Claims? LinkedIn Calls out the paper-based quarterly PPA reimbursement claim for practice-administered drugs as a day-long manual chore in every surgery, and asks why EMIS or others cannot automate it.

10 Aug 2025 Clinical Trials LinkedIn Argues that training ever more practices to compete for scarce commercial trial places is self-defeating, proposing collaborative lead-site models with satellite practices instead.

8 Aug 2025 The insidious lack of uplifts in line with CPI for all sorts of payments is real. LinkedIn Argues that missing CPI uplifts across NHS payments erode practice finances despite headline core-funding rises.

7 Aug 2025 Very interesting summary sent to me - apparently of BMA's view of new contract:' LinkedIn Summarises the BMA's reported position on the new GP contract, covering GMS's survival, Single Neighbourhood Providers and funding doubts.

14 Jun 2025 This is an interesting article and topic. LinkedIn Recalls the south Cheshire GP cooperative that once ran local out-of-hours care, disbanded by government without clear evidence.

15 May 2025 Digital fatigue: A treatment plan for DTLs Pulse PCN Argues digital fatigue stems from poor change management rather than the tools themselves, offering a nine-point framework for PCN digital and transformation leads.

6 Mar 2025 What's in the latest contract LinkedIn Reviews the 2025 GP contract's CVD focus, risk stratification and access reforms, noting little clarity on integrated teams or the PCN role and no sign the profession actually loves the deal.

17 Jan 2025 Time for GP Provider Collaboratives? LinkedIn Floats a big idea: private equity backing at-scale GP provider collaboratives that use GPs with special interests to deliver intermediate-level elective work and the left shift, with equity stakes to attract them.

6 Jan 2025 Is it time to change QOF? LinkedIn Argues QOF and chronic disease reviews should target patients with the most to gain from intervention, using impactability modelling rather than risk rank or month of birth.

16 Oct 2024 Human vs Bot - John Connor vs The Terminator' LinkedIn At the BP show Neil compares RPA automation and outsourced human clinicians for results filing, weighing cost, safety and adaptability.

1 Aug 2024 Letter just out. Interesting - contract uplift and expansion of ARRS scheme to allow… LinkedIn Flags a new contract letter that uplifts funding and lets ARRS money employ newly qualified, otherwise unemployed GPs.

20 Jun 2024 Is this the end of GP Federations? LinkedIn Disagrees with predictions of GP federations' demise, arguing they provide governance and project support that small PCNs lack, and that working at scale is the future.

19 Mar 2024 Today at 10 o'clock is our next DTL online forum/webinar. LinkedIn Promotes a free DTL online forum featuring a GP contract update and demos of two products for those interested in digital transformation.

12 Mar 2024 My co-director Michael Pyrah usually produces a summary document of any relevant… LinkedIn Shares co-director Michael Pyrah's summary of the latest GP contract letter, and offers Howbeck consultancy and bid-writing support.

11 Mar 2024 What does the end of the 5 year deal mean? LinkedIn Urges PCNs to review value for money from ARRS roles now the five-year deal and funding growth have ended, weighing favourites like pharmacists and MSK FCPs and floating a DTL per practice.

8 Mar 2024 New GP Contract Letter LinkedIn Reflects on the 2024 GP contract letter's proposal to let non-GP specialists work in general practice, seeing opportunity in hospital-grade clinics shifting care left rather than a threat.

8 Feb 2024 I was having a look at www.how2.training earlier - It is the not for profit free to use… LinkedIn Revisits the not-for-profit How2.training platform for primary care IT that he helped set up, struck by how much content it now holds.

20 Oct 2023 Agree there are numerous great tools out there that would help patient care but often not… LinkedIn Reflects that useful digital tools often lack funding, and floats a pay-by-use model as a possible solution.

17 Oct 2023 Had a demo of “See the signs” today https://cthesigns.co.uk' LinkedIn Reviews a demo of See the Signs, covering referral forms, symptom risk assessment and cancer tracking.

23 Aug 2023 While I’ve been on holiday (is there an OOO on LinkedIn?) Pulse published one of my… LinkedIn Notes Pulse has published his article on NHS IT, responds to a critical commentator and teases a face-to-face DTL conference at Stoke on 28 November.

25 Jul 2023 Are your practices confused as to why their end of year payments don't quite match what… LinkedIn Links to an Ardens explanation of why practices' year-end Network Contract DES payments don't match what CQRS led them to expect.

19 Jul 2023 Locally there is a lot of confusion over what the £13500 transformation money is for and… LinkedIn Explains the £13,500 transformation funding tied to the Modern General Practice digital triage programme, and questions its fairness.

19 Jul 2023 Pay rise for salaried GPs? LinkedIn Questions how the Prime Minister can announce a pay rise for salaried GPs when practices are independent contractors on GMS funding with no set pay grades to enforce.

24 May 2023 GPAD Matching LinkedIn Details the mess found when checking GPAD appointment-category mapping across a PCN: miscoded clinics, ARRS staff confusion, rival definitions of triage and shaky IIF indicators.

1 Apr 2023 QOF Disappointment LinkedIn Argues the 2023/24 QOF cholesterol and heart failure indicators lag current clinical guidance — non-HDL targets and the four pillars of heart failure care — leaving room for local schemes.

30 Mar 2023 The updated GP contract is out see https://lnkd.in/eaPKQ2tD for all the updated parts. LinkedIn Notes the updated GP contract has been published and promises the author's analysis once he has read it.

30 Mar 2023 Capacity and Access Framework LinkedIn Why paying PCNs to improve on a patient-experience baseline risks penalising high performers — regression to the mean, small samples and awkward income splits between practices.

17 Mar 2023 Inequalities in Primary Care Funding LinkedIn Argues ICBs must confront the inequity of inherited CCG discretionary funding schemes worth 15-25 pounds a head, asking whether they were ever assessed for value.

9 Mar 2023 Is it time to break the link between ARRS and New Roles? LinkedIn Asks whether ARRS funding should be decoupled from prescribed roles, whether practices should fund new roles from GMS money, and whether ICBs should top up PCN budgets.

28 Jan 2023 Yesterday got a look at the new IIF reporting module in Edenbridge APEX. LinkedIn First impressions of the new IIF reporting module in Edenbridge's Apex, praising its overnight automatic updates.

10 Jan 2023 Very interesting post on why making GPs salaried doesn't really make a lot of sense... LinkedIn Shares an article arguing that making GPs salaried is not the answer, stressing the point is not party political.

6 Jan 2023 Hopefully you know I help run a not-for-profit free to use IT training site called… LinkedIn Promotes how2.training, a free non-profit IT-training site for NHS staff, and asks people to register and follow to secure funding.

3 Dec 2022 Track and Trace - would you reply on Excel? LinkedIn On Tim Harford's account of how Public Health England's Covid track and trace lost cases by running on an old version of Excel — a lesson in databases versus spreadsheets.

29 Nov 2022 So this week GP funding is out: https://lnkd.in/e8NhTDsF' LinkedIn Published GP funding data reveals large, unexplained variation between similar practices, with Neil noting a potential £1 million gap near him.

27 Sept 2022 Supporting GPs in winter document is out - headlines are' LinkedIn Summarises the Supporting GPs in Winter document and argues most measures are already under way and unlikely to help.

23 Sept 2022 GPs/PCNs are going to be allowed to employ digital leads under Aroles funding. LinkedIn Discusses ARRS funding for PCN digital leads, rumoured at senior 8a level, and whether smaller networks will want the role.

20 Apr 2022 Further to a previous post we have now updated our advice on the new GP contract and in… LinkedIn Shares an updated guide to the new GP contract and PCN DES, refreshed with information current to April 2022.

1 Apr 2022 Vaccine targets in QOF LinkedIn Argues QOF vaccine targets are unfair because informed dissent cannot be excluded — his practice stands to lose £30k after registering Afghan refugees who missed MMR timescales.

2 Feb 2022 Some of you will know that we run How2.training as a not for profit GP IT training… LinkedIn Introduces How2.training, a free not-for-profit GP IT training platform with 1,500-plus users, and its new YouTube channel.

9 Jul 2021 Really interesting stuff here on GP Access: https://lnkd.in/dDYP9Da' LinkedIn Weighs claims about GP access that demand is finite and predictable, arguing that working at scale smooths capacity variation.

5 Jul 2021 Great to have myGP on board !' LinkedIn Welcomes myGP as a partner in How2, his not-for-profit site aimed at raising IT skills across primary care.

30 Jun 2021 You can now find a bundle of videos on how to use iPlato and set it up for your GP… LinkedIn Announces free iPlato how-to videos on the not-for-profit how2.training site he helped set up for NHS staff.

21 May 2021 New Practice manager wanted at my surgery - SandbachGPs/Ashfields PCC -… LinkedIn Advertises for a practice manager at his 26,500-patient, ten-partner Sandbach practice, outlining its scale, services and post-Covid challenges.

20 May 2021 Are you a GP partner or practice manager? LinkedIn Promotes a Howbeck service helping practices understand cash flow and forecast year-end profits.

23 Apr 2021 Just had a demo of OneContact by Thomas Andrew Porteus from Iatro and Matt Sweeney from… LinkedIn Reviews a OneContact demo, praising its online forms for QOF and other schemes at a low price.

26 Mar 2021 All GPs and practice managers - how to earn your practice more money in the last week of… LinkedIn QOF tips for lifting practice income by finding miscoded patients for high-value registers like heart failure and dementia.

3 Mar 2021 Had a really interesting session today being a mini-dragon at a NW AHSN pitching event -… LinkedIn Recounts sitting as a 'mini-dragon' on an NW AHSN panel with angel and VC investors judging health tech startup pitches.

25 Feb 2021 Howbeck Healthcare Limited has been working closely with one of its local GP Federations… LinkedIn Shares a Howbeck guide to the Trainee Nurse Associate role and its ARRS funding for practices.

27 Aug 2020 Making the best of the additional roles funding Advice with Denise Smith of SMASH PCN on using ARRS funding: why sustainability and HR fears are overblown, how their federation handles the money, and tips on recruiting early.

5 Aug 2020 For the last few years on and off Ive run an informal course/workshop for local GP… LinkedIn Gauges interest in his 'business of general practice' course for registrars and others, covering the GMS contract, accounts and partnership.

3 Mar 2020 My business partner at Howbeck Healthcare Limited Michael Pyrah shares some of his… LinkedIn Shares business partner Michael Pyrah's analysis of the new GP contract - good for PCNs but offering little to individual practices.

3 Mar 2020 How the new GP / PCN contract is likely to impact on general practice LinkedIn Analysis of the 2020 GP contract: practices carry significant new obligations while most financial benefit flows to PCNs, so PCNs must convert ARRS roles into real practice support.

26 Sept 2019 My latest article is out - some thoughts on what PCNs should be pushing for re their IT… LinkedIn His DigitalHealth.net column on what primary care networks should push for in their IT plans and partnership working.

26 Sept 2019 Partnership working Argues PCNs should standardise clinical systems, share back-office staff and join up networks — and that EPRs must let staff work across multiple practices at once.

5 Sept 2019 How GPs are paid A three-part primer on GP practice finances: the partnership model, profit shares and drawings, expenses from staff to premises leases, and the wide variation in funding per patient.

23 Aug 2019 Primary Care Networks Useful Links A link collection for new PCN clinical directors: the Network DES specification, guidance, registration form, network agreement and VAT information note.

7 Jun 2019 Role of PCN pharmacists? LinkedIn A Howbeck Healthcare crib sheet for appointing the new PCN pharmacist role under the DES: funding models, training, supervision, indemnity and a long list of network-wide tasks.

23 May 2019 Another View: On whether a GP-contract-driven change is going to come A close reading of the 2019/20 GP contract's digital ambitions — data sharing, 111 direct booking, activity dashboards — concluding much of it is hot air rather than real change.

14 Mar 2019 My latest Digitalhealth.net column is out : https://lnkd.in/eyCNXT2 with some of my… LinkedIn Points to his Digital Health column examining the digital elements of the new GP contract.

31 Jan 2019 Today the NHS publishes the new GP contract that includes making GPs work in networks -… LinkedIn Marks the new GP contract mandating primary care networks and shares a DigitalHealth.net column on why primary-care IT may not be ready.

10 Jan 2019 A summary of the NHS 10 year plan and some comments on local implications. LinkedIn A bullet-point summary of the NHS Long Term Plan with local commentary: primary care networks and pooled funding are real, and digital-first registration could destabilise traditional practices.

9 Jan 2019 Keep up to date with NHS reorganisations by learning from Cheshire LinkedIn A note-form briefing using Cheshire's changes — HCPs, Places, care communities and a proposed pan-Cheshire CCG merger — to explain where NHS reorganisation is heading.

22 Nov 2018 Things my IT could do better – 2 A detailed rant on EMIS prescribing: unintelligent warnings, grey drug lists, clunky personally administered drug workflows, shared inboxes and unsynced repeat medications.

8 Jun 2018 Call for info on audit software LinkedIn Asks suppliers of GP clinical audit software to get in touch, predicting the working-at-scale agenda will revive demand for tools comparing practice performance beyond QOF.

21 May 2018 Call for info on audit software LinkedIn Asks companies to send details of primary care clinical audit packages, predicting the working-at-scale agenda will revive demand for tools comparing practice performance beyond QOF.

13 Apr 2018 NHS RightCare - Wrong? Reports that a health informatics company disputes NHS RightCare's choice of peer CCGs, echoing his own practice's struggle to get value from its comparisons.

6 Apr 2018 Things my IT could do better - 2 A detailed rant about EMIS prescribing: unintelligent pop-up warnings, grey unreadable drug lists, clunky PA drug handling, a shared inbox muddle and no way to sync repeat medications.

16 Mar 2018 CCICP is looking for an independent chair - job on NHS jobs! LinkedIn Advertises for an independent chair of CCICP, a Cheshire GP, hospital and mental-health partnership eyeing an integrated care role.

13 Mar 2018 Got any year end money left to spend? - Think about buying a FeNO machine - it could pay for itself! Makes the financial case for buying a Circassia FeNO machine with year-end money: better asthma diagnosis and reviews, with medication step-downs paying it back.

28 Jan 2018 AF Screening How a GP federation tackled undiagnosed atrial fibrillation with Alivecor handheld ECGs, a Technomed cloud-reported ECG service and Cardiocity Rhythm Pads in every practice.

29 Sept 2017 How can GPs get the technology they need? GPonline Argues that general practice IT needs scale, proper funding and GPs back in charge of the budget, drawing on a 30-practice federation that hired its own IT support.

5 Sept 2017 Things a GP federation could be doing - 1 LinkedIn First in a series of project ideas for GP federations: cutting practice electricity costs with Luceco LED surveys and bulk-buying energy through the right broker.

19 May 2017 Our Health Partnership (Birmingham super practice) are coming - are you?? LinkedIn Promotes a South Cheshire GP alliance expo on federated working, with Birmingham's Our Health Partnership attending.

4 May 2017 Free Not for Profit Conference on June 13th for GPs & GP Federations sharing success and… LinkedIn The South Cheshire and Vale Royal GP Alliance Expo focuses on practical federated schemes that work, rather than the politics or legal structures of scale.

4 May 2017 Free Not for Profit conference sharing innovation & successful schemes for GP Federations. LinkedIn Promotes the South Cheshire & Vale Royal GP Alliance Expo on 13 June, a practical conference on how to make a GP federation successful.

2 May 2017 Are you a GP or Manager working in a GP Federation? LinkedIn Invites GP federation staff to a not-for-profit conference in Crewe on 13 June sharing real project examples from partner federations.

14 Feb 2017 Free conference for GPs and GP Federations - June 13th Crewe, Cheshire' LinkedIn Promotes a free all-day GP federation conference in Crewe sharing IT-leaning case studies that improve quality, income and working life.

14 Feb 2017 Free Conference for GPs and GP Federations - June 13th Crewe, Cheshire.' LinkedIn Promotes a free June conference in Crewe for GPs and federations, built around practical case studies that improved income, services and working life.

14 Feb 2017 Free Meeting for GPs and GP Federations June 13th, Crewe, Cheshire' LinkedIn Invites GPs and federations to a free Crewe conference of practical, IT-leaning case studies for improving income and working life.

12 Feb 2017 My GP federation is planning a (not for profit) conference on Tuesday 13th June, in Crewe… LinkedIn The South Cheshire GP federation plans a free June conference in Crewe on primary care innovation and seeks 10-20 sponsors.

12 Dec 2016 Should General Practice be more like McDonalds.... or NISA? LinkedIn Argues practices should share back-office functions faster, asking whether a McDonald's-style franchise or a Nisa-style buying-and-support group is the better model for general practice at scale.

8 Dec 2016 Government have announced funding for a second round of pharmacists in GP practice. LinkedIn Notes second-round funding for pharmacists in GP practice, citing Howbeck's role placing 20-plus across three federations.

29 Jun 2016 South Cheshire CCG have awarded the contract for Community Services to a consortium of… LinkedIn Explains that South Cheshire CCG's community services contract has gone to a trust and GP alliance consortium forming the CCICP.

26 Jun 2016 Why GP Federations need a CCIO From a CCIO summer school talk: why GP federations need clinical IT leadership, illustrated by projects on extended access, online booking, Apex dashboards and pooled typing.

6 Apr 2016 Funding Innovation On investors circling NHS IT without understanding it, and why clinicians' ideas need platform-style clinical systems, seed funding and Google-style 20% time to get built.

12 Jan 2016 Federation and the IT to make it Work Why practices federate rather than merge — fear, unequal contract and QOF income — and why GP clinical systems can't yet support separate practices sharing staff and back offices.

3 Nov 2015 My Wife's GP practice Kiltearn Medical Centre in Nantwich Cheshire 13K patients in a… LinkedIn Advertises a practice manager vacancy at Kiltearn Medical Centre in Nantwich as the current postholder retires.

22 Sept 2015 Point of Care Testing Proposes mining ICE order-comms data to expose test-ordering variation and reinvesting savings in point-of-care testing — if CCG lab budgets could be shifted to practices to fund the machines.

14 Sept 2015 Here's how crazy the NHS is. LinkedIn A critique of NHS budget silos, where the practice is asked to switch inhaler brands to save the CCG money without funding, while pharmacists are paid per patient.

6 Sept 2015 Pleased to announce that The Stoke GP Federation of 47 practices covering 490K patients… LinkedIn Announces that Stoke's 47-practice GP federation has appointed Howbeck Healthcare, citing earlier work that won alliances around £10 per patient.

1 Aug 2015 Handling Demand On stretching a shrinking GP workforce: Harry Longman's phone-first triage, online asynchronous consultations, waiting-room questionnaires and Sky-style dynamic appointment lengths.

14 May 2015 It's Primary Care Jim...but not as we know it! LinkedIn A twelve-point plan by co-director Mike Pyrah for how practices can meet the transformation agenda by federating, managing demand and preserving continuity of care.

5 May 2015 IT for GP federations Outlines the draft IT strategy for a 28-practice GP federation: shared networks, video calls, the GPask Q&A site, and the Apex activity dashboard from Edenbridge.

20 Feb 2015 Michael Pyrah and I are interested in building a list of associates to work with us,… LinkedIn Invites associates skilled in HR, finance, IT and service redesign to join the author's GP federation support venture.

13 Feb 2015 How English GPs are paid (3) LinkedIn Uses HSCIC per-practice income data to show huge funding variation, an average of £136 gross per patient per year, and a ten-minute consultation earning a GP roughly £5 before tax.

12 Feb 2015 HSCIC have today published data on GP income. LinkedIn Reacts to HSCIC GP income data, contrasting his practice's roughly £115 per patient with others receiving £300 to £1,700.

5 Feb 2015 How are English GPs paid? (2) LinkedIn Part two of a series on GP practice finances, walking through the expenses side: staff, rent and lease risks, indemnity subscriptions, stock, IT reimbursement and pension quirks.

4 Jan 2015 How are English GPs paid? LinkedIn Explains the basics of English GP funding: practices as partnerships holding GMS or PMS contracts, why partners draw profit shares rather than salaries, and common misconceptions.

20 Nov 2014 Are you thinking of setting up a GP federation? LinkedIn Promotes the 4GPs package for setting up a GP federation, citing existing sites that have already secured over £400K in funding.

27 May 2014 Transforming Primary Care A response to the 'Transforming Primary Care' policy paper: case management of high-risk patients is right, but longer hours miss the point — GP efficiency and better IT matter more.

27 Nov 2013 Another View: Twenty Six Reads the new GP contract against a looming retirement crisis and argues future primary care IT needs smarter triage-led appointment systems, integrated video consults and business intelligence.

11 Oct 2013 I predict 1. the imminent end of the NHS pension scheme and 2. LinkedIn Predicts NHS pension tax changes will push most over-55 GPs to retire from April, with major workload consequences for practices.

1 Oct 2013 Another View: Twenty Four Fears that care.data's monthly extract of coded GP records could fuel crude league tables scoring practices and individual GPs without context or statistical care.

2 Mar 2013 Anyone know of any good research or case studies into how GP practice teams operate? LinkedIn Looks for research or case studies on how GP practice teams operate, particularly under a growing partnership.

25 Feb 2013 Another View: Seventeen Applies easyJet-style self-service thinking to general practice: let patients reprint fit notes online, automate hypertension checks, and build a searchable directory of services.

20 Aug 2012 Another View: Eleven Argues the NHS needs coordinated support for clinicians with software ideas — funding, IP advice and business help — and floats crowdfunding for health innovation.

20 Apr 2012 Should we allow private companies to mine the NHS databases for profit? LinkedIn Poses the question of whether private firms should be allowed to mine NHS databases for profit, linking to a fuller blog post.

17 Nov 2011 Our CCG (South Cheshire Health) www.southcheshirehealth.org.uk won the Patient Centred… LinkedIn South Cheshire Health CCG wins an HSJ Patient Centred Care award for a nursing home scheme cutting emergency admissions.

20 Feb 2011 Im interested in discussing practice based desk top diagnostics with possible / potential… LinkedIn Invites providers to discuss practice-based desktop diagnostics as the GP consortium weighs options should local diagnostics leave its block contract.

12 May 2009 IT should make me more money Argues GP IT focuses on government targets rather than practice profitability, and identifies market gaps in stock control, staff performance reporting and appointment-linked business intelligence.

21 Sept 2008 Is your practice website good enough? GP magazine Argues that a practice website is becoming a marketing essential and poses challenging questions on signposting, openness about performance and findability.

17 Sept 2008 Creating a Master Guide to NHS websites A hunt for statistical process control and QOF funnel-plot resources exposes how scattered NHS websites are, prompting calls for a master index and an NHS wiki.

17 Jun 2008 From the consulting room goes mobile (or not) Microsoft NHS Resource Centre Why GPs on home visits still have no usable access to patient records in 2008 — flaky 3G ToughBook trials, EMIS's inadequate portable options and laptops funded for management instead.

12 Feb 2008 From the consulting room: a few issues with Choose and Book Microsoft NHS Resource Centre A 2008 critique of Choose and Book as slow, buggy and badly designed, arguing GPs should refer electronically for a consultant opinion while admin staff handle appointment booking.

1 Nov 2005 Why I switched to a smartphone GP magazine Explains how combining phone and PDA in a Windows smartphone solved carrying two devices, with buying tips and a pointer to NHS-wide mobile contracts.

11 Oct 2005 Why go to the EMIS user group conference? GP magazine A report from the EMIS National User Group conference explaining what a practice gains from attending, including news of the planned move to PCS web.

22 Apr 2003 Careful with your coding GP magazine On the perils of miscoding diagnoses in GP records, with real examples, and why symptom [D] codes are a safer choice until a diagnosis is firm.

15 Dec 2002 Maclean-McNicoll GP accounting software review GP magazine Reviews a computerised cashbook package written by two working GPs, covering setup, data entry, reporting and its value for practices computerising their accounts.