The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts and Personal Medical Services Agreements) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2022

Alternative premises for remote provision of services

3.  After regulation 20 insert—

“Services: remote provision outside practice premises

20A.— (1) Without prejudice to regulation 17(7) (essential services) and paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 (attendance outside practice premises), the contractor and any sub-contractor may provide a remote service from a location which does not constitute practice premises, if the requirements in paragraph (2) are met.

(2) The requirements referred to in paragraph (1) are that—

(a) the service is provided from an appropriate location;

(b) the service is provided through an appropriate digital or telecommunications method; and

(c) the service is appropriate for provision outside of practice premises.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), a location is not appropriate if—

(a) the location or its environment is not conducive to ensuring the confidentiality of patient information, in connection with the service to be provided from that location;

(b) the location or its environment is not conducive to ensuring appropriate provision of the service from that location.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b), a digital or telecommunications method is appropriate if it meets—

(a) the requirements in the GPIT Operating Model relevant to that method, including any requirements as to software, or

(b) requirements which are equivalent in their effect to the relevant requirements in the GPIT Operating Model.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(c) the service is not appropriate for provision outside of practice premises if—

(a) it would not be clinically appropriate for the patient on that occasion; or

(b) it is otherwise not appropriate to the needs or circumstances of the patient.

(6) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(a), “patient information” means information which relates to the physical or mental health or condition of a patient, to the diagnosis of their condition, to their care and treatment, or information which is to any extent derived, directly or indirectly, from such information.”.