News

A new digital feature has been launched to help accurately and quickly identify which GP consulted with a patient and when—avoiding multiple clinicians being drawn into clinical negligence claims when they have not been involved in a patient’s care.

Developed in collaboration with Medical Protection Society (MPS), the new clinician-identification feature automatically records the clinician responsible for every patient interaction—whether in person, over the phone, by text message or letter—and securely stores the information in the patient’s electronic record.

The new feature removes the need for practice staff to spend time manually tracing who was involved in a patient’s care if a claim summons lists all clinicians, and reduces the risk of error. It also saves numerous GPs the time and stress of liaising with MPS, or their indemnifier, about a claim they should not be involved in.

The feature, now available to all Socrates users across Ireland, was designed in direct response to feedback from GP teams.

Featuring: (L – R) Michelle Herbert (Medical Protection Society) & Eileen Byrne (Lanas)

Eileen Byrne, Managing Director at Lanas, said:
“This enhancement within Socrates gives practices and MPS members the reassurance they need when reviewing clinical information. It’s a simple but meaningful update that was developed with GPs in mind—strengthening accuracy, supporting their work, and saving valuable time during what can often be a stressful process. By removing ambiguity in shared patient records, Socrates helps GPs focus more on care and less on paperwork—another step in improving efficiency, transparency, and confidence in primary care.”

Dr Rob Hendry, Chief Member Officer and Medical Director at MPS, added:
“Socrates’ new clinician-identification feature addresses a longstanding issue in clinical negligence claims, where all GPs in a practice can be listed on a single summons even if they have never met the patient. This could be because the patient cannot recall who they saw on a particular day, or because of the period of time between a consultation and a claim being brought. This can cause multiple issues for all parties involved. We’re delighted to see the feature rolled out to GP practices across Ireland, and to have collaborated with the Socrates team on its development. It brings about greater accountability and transparency to medical records and should help to reduce the number of GPs being named as defendants in claims unnecessarily.”

For further information contact:
Lauren Turner – [email protected]
MPS Press Office – [email protected]