Registration Links Summary

The Registration Links software enables the electronic exchange of registration data between the practice and the TP via a modem link and a network. The Registration Links software may either be switched on or off for a practice.

Refer to the Registration Links chapter in the Training Guide or its on-screen help for full details.

In England & Wales, Phase 2 Registration Links has slightly different updated screens to Phase 1 which is used in Scotland, called Partners.

The Registration Links module is separate from Registration but closely integrated. The Registration Links module processes the registration data from Registration before onward transmission to the TP and receiving the responses.

If you are transmitting daily to the TP, you will need to view and action Registration Links transactions on a daily basis.

Any change made to certain details of an active (permanent) patient on a Registration screen will generate an outgoing Amendment Transaction (Out). These details include a change of address, date of birth amendment, name change after marriage, etc.

• GP Code*, GP Ref**, Surname, Forename(s), Previous Surname, Birth Surname**, CHI Number**, NHS Number, Title*, Sex, Date of birth, Address (5 fields), Postcode, Drugs Dispensed Marker, Rural Mileage (Blocked/Special/Walking in England/Wales; Road, Footpath and Water Miles in Scotland), Residential Institution Code*/Institution Code **

  * in England and Wales only; ** in Scotland only

Any new patient added with a complete registration to the permanent practice list will generate an outgoing Acceptance Transaction to the TP. This patient has a registration status of Applied, and is classed as an Unacknowledged Acceptance.

Their Registration screen remains temporarily "frozen" and non-editable, until the TP confirm the acceptance with a replying Approval Transaction, usually within a few days.

When a transmission is run, the outgoing transactions generated by the practice that day (Amendment and Acceptance Transactions) will be automatically included in the next scheduled transmission to be sent off via the HealthLink Network to the TP.

The incoming transactions that originate from the TP are picked up from the HealthLink Network at the same time as the practice sends transactions. These incoming TP transactions are displayed in Process Incoming Transactions, Registration Links, and can be:

• Approval Transactions (see above)
• Deduction Transactions (see below) when a patient is deducted from the GP List.
• Amendment Transactions (In), for example, to amend a patient’s NHS number.
• Medical Records Transactions, keeping track of medical records for new patients and those deducted, between the TP and the practice (see Medical Record flags).

Some of these Incoming Transactions are processed automatically and the practice need take no action. For those patients that are classed as Unacknowledged Acceptances, an Approval Transaction confirms a new patient on the practice list and unfreezes their Registration screen and updates the patient’s registration status from Applied to Permanent (No records) automatically.

A Deduction Transaction from the TP means that the patient has transferred out (registered with another practice, or died) and is being deducted from the practice list. The practice are reminded to send the medical records back to the TP. Only the TP can deduct an active patient.

The practice cannot actively transfer out a patient but they can request a deduction if they know the patient has died, left the area or embarked. The TP can also reply with a Deduction Request Rejection if they disagree with a practice's request.

Rejection Transactions - There are two other sorts of Rejection Transactions which allow the GP or the TP to "reject" certain transactions - those from the TP to GP (REF), and those from the GP to TP (REG). A GP can reject a Deduction Transaction if the patient is out of the practice area, if the GP wants to keep the patient on the list. The TP will only generate a Rejection (Wrong TP) Transaction (REF) if an Acceptance has been forwarded by the GP Practice to the incorrect TP.

Unmatched transactions - If transactions are sent which cannot be matched with any patient on the database, perhaps because of incorrect NHS Number or Transaction Number, they are placed in the Process Error File. This screen should be viewed daily within Registration Links, and as far as possible, the GP Practice should try and trace the reason for the unmatched transaction, which may be deleted if found to be irrelevant.

Each transaction will have a transaction number sequentially generated by the system when being translated into a transmission. The term translation refers to incorporating the various transactions into a form suitable for transmission to the TP as part of the GP Communicator process.