With effect from 01 April 2018, several changes have been made to the General Medical Services (GMS).

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According to NHS England, the new agreement is part of the body’s longterm investment in GP services. In the current financial year there will be a 3.4% uplift in financial investment, amounting to just over £256 million. This will rise to over £12 billion a year by 2020/21.

The changes affect several areas:

1. Financial

• There is 1% uplift in pay (amounting to over £102 million), and a 3% uplift in expenses.
  • The amount per practice allocated by the Global Sum Formula will increase from £85.35 to £87.92 per weighted patient.
  • The value of a Quality and Outcomes Framework point will rise by 4.1% (from £171.20 to £179.26).
  • Practices now have the ability to advertise fixed-term for GP locum jobs to provide temporary cover for absent staff. The maximum weekly payment for workers filling locum jobs has also increased to £1,751.52 a week. This is positive news for providers of locum staff, such as http://www.thegplocumagency.co.uk/.

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2. Contractual

• There is a new requirement for GP practices to use the NHS e-Referral System for all new referrals to external consultants from October 2018.
  • There is a new target for GP practices to have at least 10% of their patients registered for online services; practices that fail to meet this target will be required to work with NHS England to better promote online services.
  • The National Quality Requirements are set to be replaced in October 2018 with new Key Performance Indicators.
  • NHS-commissioned practices will no longer be able to advertise GP services which are provided by private providers, if practices are supposed to be providing such services on the NHS.

  3. Patient-related

• GPs now have the ability to remove a patient from the violent patients register, if a patient has been flagged as violent in error.
  • GPs will be able to share relevant patient data with social care providers, provided that certain safeguards are met.

  While the BMA describes the changes as ‘minimal’, the General Practitioners Committee has informed that it is working to introduce ‘major’ changes in the 2019 financial year, including a ‘wholesale review’ of the Quality and Outcomes Framework, options for revitalising the partnership model and new staff initiatives.

A redesigned Google Gmail interface will reportedly be released over the coming weeks. What are the main changes that users can expect, and what does all this mean for your business?

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What’s changing?

Aside from a sleek new look, the main change is introducing easier access to other Gmail apps, such as the calendar. New features will also be rolled out, such as an email snooze option that removes a message from your inbox until a pre-selected time. There’s also an interesting ‘smart reply’ feature that suggests a response to a message by scanning your emails. Anyone who has used the mobile app will be used to these features.

A further feature that has been widely reported is the dramatic-sounding ‘self-destruct’ option! This essentially allows the user to set a time at which an email is deleted. Other changes of note include a confidentiality mode that restricts what the recipient can do with your message, such as print, forward the email, or copy and paste the contents. The revamp will also reportedly include a feature that allows the sender of an email to request that the recipient confirms their identity before they can access the message.

What does this mean for you?

First and foremost, it means that if you’re a Gmail user, you can shortly expect to see some changes to the interface. These aim to make your experience more streamlined and efficient, as well as boosting security. However, on a broader note, the fact that Google is implementing changes also highlights the importance of continual evolution of your online presence, security features and web strategy. Whatever the size of your business and its geographical reach, it’s worth seeking out national or local help, such as Lincolnshire web design agency, https://perspectivedesign.co.uk/, to find out if your website is as good as can be, or whether some changes could improve your visitors’ experience.

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When you regularly access a particular website or application, it can be hard to adjust to a new layout. However, the consensus seems to be that the changes to Gmail make tangible improvements to the interface. If your website has had the same look and features for a number of years, maybe it’s time to follow in the footsteps of Google and look into whether a revamp is in order.