The number of practitioners who have set up a profile on The PPR (The Private Practice Register) has passed 30,000, reinforcing its status as the definitive source of information for the independent healthcare sector.
Online technology specialists Healthcode, the brains behind The PPR, revealed the latest milestone as it set out plans to improve the free registration process in the coming months. It means that around another 5,000 independent practitioners have registered in the last six months in order to share accurate information about their practice efficiently and securely with private hospitals and PMIs within their network.
Now Healthcode hopes to encourage even more to set up their PPR profile by making the process quicker and more straightforward after listening to feedback from existing users and commissioning an expert usability evaluation. The improvements will include :
- A redesigned online registration page, broken down into clear, manageable sections.
- Pop-up information boxes to clarify common points of confusion.
- A progress bar so users can see how much they have completed and the estimated time to completion.
- The form will be more intuitive and easier to complete
Fiona Booth, Head of External Affairs & Stakeholder Engagement at Healthcode said: “It’s hugely satisfying that so many independent practitioners have registered for The PPR since Healthcode launched the service in 2016. Now we want to make it even easier for other practitioners to join them and reap the rewards including being able to securely store and control essential information about their practice in one place and share it efficiently, such as when maintaining hospital practising privileges or updating banking details.”
“In line with our collaborative approach to developing all our products and services, we have sought input from existing users in order to improve the experience of new registrants. We are addressing their concerns with a clearer, less onerous registration process while ensuring that The PPR remains a valuable information resource. In addition, we have introduced free 1-2-1 online tutorials to help practitioners register and maintain their PPR profile which are available through our new Healthcode Academy.”
Healthcode’s Product Marketing Manager, Desné Marston added: “While 30,000 profiles is a significant milestone, we know there is work to be done. Healthcode remains focused on ensuring The PPR is a truly sector-wide data solution that meets the needs of all stakeholders in terms of its capabilities and user-experience. As well as seeking feedback from individual users, we have invited practitioner organisations including the BMA’s Private Practice Committee, the Independent Doctors Federation and the Federation of Independent Practitioner Organisations, along with hospital groups and PMIs to join the PPR Data Standards Group (DSG) which recently met for the first time. The DSG will be instrumental in steering the future development of The PPR and its alignment with the Medical Practitioners Assurance Framework.”