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IG 2012 deadline - 10 weeks to go
All NHS providers, including community pharmacies, need to provide information governance assurances to the NHS on an annual basis. This is done through the online Information Governance Toolkit. The deadline for contractors to submit their 2011/12 return is the 31st March 2012.
There are no significant changes to the information governance requirements this year. The Department of Health has confirmed that pharmacies are exempt from requirement 9-319 (business continuity planning) for 2011/12 whilst discussions continue between PSNC and the Department of Health on business continuity planning.
Key points to note about this year's submission:
- Pharmacies are expected to attain Level 2 compliance against each of the pharmacy information governance requirements. Whilst optional, it is not mandatory for pharmacies to have evidence to comply with the Level 3 requirements.
- It is important to make some comments to support entered scores, this could be by making some comments in the comments box or ticking the relevant evidence obtained boxes but it is not mandatory to complete the optional fields to record where each piece of evidence is located or to upload evidence such as policies and procedures. Note some evidence will include commercially sensitive information and would therefore be inappropriate to upload.
- Changes have been made to improve the usability of the Toolkit. Any scores, evidence and comments entered into a pharmacy's 2010/11 assessment will automatically be rolled over to the 2011/12 assessment. However, there is still a need to tick to confirm that scores, evidence and comments have been reviewed and to update the information entered where necessary.
- Head office staff members can now centrally view the submissions of individual stores through a central log-in. To access this functionality, Head office staff should contact the Exeter Helpdesk (0845 3713671).
- Forgotten passwords? Technical support in using the NHS Information Governance Toolkit, including requests for access right changes and password re-sets can be obtained from the Exeter Helpdesk (Exeter.helpdesk@nhs.net or 0845 3713671).
Detailed guidance on the information governance requirements including templates to support meeting each requirement can be found in the dedicated Information Governance section of this website.
Frequently Asked Question
I have completed the Toolkit for 2011/12 but for some reason the 'publish' button is greyed out and I can't select this. What should I do? (new)
Any scores, evidence and comments entered into a pharmacy's 2010/11 assessment will automatically be rolled over to the 2011/12 assessment. However, there is still a need to tick to confirm that scores, evidence and comments have been reviewed and to update the information entered where necessary. It is only possible to click the 'publish' button once the 'requirement reviewed' checkbox on each requirement page has been ticked.
Posted 23 January 2012