Thousands of patient records are currently under review following the discovery of incorrect vaccination status codes logged in GP IT systems. The issue has prompted integrated care boards (ICBs) to reach out to 337 GP practices.

Key Details:

• Approximately 57,000 records may be affected by this coding error.
• Jacob Haddad, CEO of Accurx, stated that the problem was not due to a technical fault.
• Accurx has limited the selection of codes to prevent similar errors in the future.

Haddad emphasized the company’s commitment to supporting primary care teams who are under significant pressure. He noted that the issue arose when some vaccination codes were incorrectly selected during patient invitations.

As a result of these errors, some patients were mistakenly recorded as having received vaccinations, which means they may not receive follow-up invitations for necessary vaccinations.

Actions Taken:

• GP practices affected have been instructed to review patient records to correct vaccination statuses.
• Patients who need to be re-invited for vaccinations will be contacted accordingly.

The primary concern relates to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccinations, although other vaccinations may also be impacted.

Official Statements:

Health Secretary Wes Streeting mentioned in a parliamentary statement that there is currently no evidence of harm resulting from these errors. He reassured that not all patients with affected records missed their vaccinations, as initial invitations were sent out.

Streeting also confirmed that Accurx has made necessary amendments to its clinical coding to prevent future occurrences. He stated:

“GP practices will review patient records to ensure that anyone due for a vaccination who hasn’t received one is offered it as soon as possible.”

On average, each affected GP practice will need to review fewer than 200 cases. NHS England and ICBs will assist in this process, and a detailed root cause analysis will be conducted to learn from this incident and prevent similar issues in the future.

A spokesperson for NHS England confirmed that an IT issue led to some GP records incorrectly indicating that patients had received vaccinations, primarily affecting RSV vaccinations. They assured that all patients due for vaccinations received their invitations as normal, and GP practices are now in the process of reviewing and correcting records.