GP Trusted Tools

Tool Category: Clinical systems

  • SystmOne

    SystmOne is the second-largest GP clinical system in England, used by over 2,700 practices — roughly a third of the market. Its defining feature is the “one patient, one record” model: a centrally hosted record that can be viewed across 25+ SystmOne-connected settings (GP, community, mental health, prisons, child health, palliative care and more) without separate data-sharing agreements each time.

    Pricing

    Not openly published. Procured through the national NHS GP system framework and typically ICB-funded rather than bought directly, so the practical cost question is about migration and training. Confirm your local arrangement.

    Function

    It provides the full electronic patient record toolset — prescribing, referrals, appointments, document management and reporting — with full NHS Spine integration and a large add-on ecosystem via IM1. The shared-record model means that when a patient is seen across different SystmOne services, clinicians see the same record. The patient-facing app is Airmid.

    Ease of setup

    Like any core clinical system, moving to SystmOne is a major, ICB-supported migration rather than a self-install. Day to day, the practical setup question is onboarding staff to an existing installation and configuring the modules and templates your practice uses.

    Ease of use

    The shared-record model is powerful for practices working closely with community and other services. The interface is functional and consistent across care settings; as with any deep system there is a learning curve, and views on usability vary by role and prior familiarity.

    Applications / best fit

    Particularly strong for practices and areas that value the cross-setting shared record — for example where GP, community and other local services all run SystmOne. Suits practices of all sizes. Reviewer context (whether local community and secondary services also use SystmOne) strongly affects the real-world benefit.

    Things to check before buying

    Migration effort if switching, staff training load, which third-party tools you rely on and whether they integrate, how the shared-record model works with your local data-sharing governance, and data ownership and exit terms.

    Compare with

    EMIS Web, Vision and Medicus — see the other clinical-system pages.

    TPP (The Phoenix Partnership)

  • Vision

    Vision is the smaller of the long-established GP clinical systems, sitting behind EMIS Web and SystmOne. Vision 3 provides the full electronic patient record toolset with customisable record views, embedded prescribing and clinical decision support, plus reporting and audit/search tools. Vision Anywhere adds quick, predictive data entry and supports working across multiple sites with real-time shared records.

    Pricing

    Not openly published. Procured through the national NHS GP system framework and typically ICB-funded. Confirm your local arrangement.

    Function

    Vision 3 covers consultations, prescribing, decision support, appointments and reporting, with fully customisable patient-record views. Vision Anywhere is the mobile/point-of-care client, offering predictive data entry and support for shared patient records across sites in real time.

    Ease of setup

    A core clinical system, so adoption is a major ICB-supported migration rather than a self-install. Practical setup is mostly staff onboarding and configuring record views, templates and reporting.

    Ease of use

    Positioned as easy to use with customisable, functionally rich record views; Vision Anywhere is designed for fast point-of-care entry. As with any mature system, usability impressions vary by role and prior experience.

    Applications / best fit

    Historically favoured by some practices for its record-view customisation and mobile working. Given its smaller market share and the supplier situation below, prospective adopters should weigh long-term viability carefully. Reviewer context is important — established Vision practices may report very differently from anyone considering a fresh move.

    Things to check before buying

    Supplier stability is the key due-diligence point: In Practice Systems Limited was placed into administration by the Cegedim group in December 2024. Anyone considering Vision — or currently on it — should check the current status of the product, its NHS assurance, roadmap and support arrangements directly with Cegedim and their ICB before making decisions. Also confirm migration/exit terms and data ownership.

    Compare with

    EMIS Web, SystmOne and Medicus — see the other clinical-system pages.

    Cegedim Healthcare Solutions

  • Medicus

    Medicus is a cloud-based GP electronic patient record and, as of June 2025, the first genuinely new core GP clinical system approved by NHS England in 25 years — breaking the long-standing EMIS/TPP duopoly. It is built around modern interoperability, integrating with 24 national NHS services and being the first to adopt five new national open standards.

    Pricing

    Not openly published. Assured through the NHS framework and expected to be procured via the national route/ICB. Confirm directly with the supplier and your ICB.

    Function

    A cloud-native GP EPR designed to work across settings — GP practices, care homes, vaccination centres — with flexible device access including tablets. It integrates with 24 national NHS services (electronic prescriptions, e-Referral Service, NHS App) and prescribing uses FDB Multilex. It is the first system to implement five new national open standards for information exchange.

    Ease of setup

    As a newly assured system, it is procured and migrated through the national process with supplier support. Being new, there is less accumulated third-party integration and peer experience than the incumbents, so early adopters should expect a closer working relationship with the vendor during onboarding.

    Ease of use

    Designed from the ground up as a modern, cloud-native, tablet-friendly system, which is part of its appeal. Because it is new, there is limited independent usability track record yet — an area where early reviews here will be especially valuable.

    Applications / best fit

    Likely to appeal to practices wanting a modern, interoperable, cloud-first alternative to the established systems, and those willing to be early adopters. As of mid-2025 it was live in a handful of early-adopter sites serving 42,000+ patients. Reviewer context — early-adopter status, practice size and appetite for a newer product — is central to interpreting any review.

    Things to check before buying

    Maturity and roadmap, breadth of third-party integrations relevant to your practice, migration effort and support, reference sites you can speak to, and data ownership/exit terms. As with any newer product, weigh the modern design against the depth of experience behind the incumbents.

    Compare with

    EMIS Web, SystmOne and Vision — see the other clinical-system pages.

    Medicus Health

  • EMIS Web

    EMIS Web is the market-leading GP clinical system in England, used by roughly 55% of practices. It’s the day-to-day workspace for the whole team: recording consultations, prescribing, managing appointments and workflow, running searches and QOF reporting, and clinical decision support at the point of care.

    Pricing

    Not openly published. Core GP clinical systems are procured centrally through the NHS framework (formerly GP IT Futures) and are typically funded via your ICB rather than bought directly, so the practical cost question is usually about migration and training rather than a licence fee. Confirm your local arrangement.

    Function

    It connects across primary care, community, pharmacy and specialist settings, and increasingly ships AI features such as an embedded clinical scribe that captures consultations into SNOMED-CT-coded notes. EMIS Web also has the largest third-party integration ecosystem via the IM1 programme, so practices using it have the widest choice of add-on tools such as triage, messaging and analytics.

    Ease of setup

    As a core clinical system, adoption is a major, ICB-supported undertaking rather than a self-install — migration, data transfer, training and information governance are managed through the national process. Switching systems is a significant project, so in practice most of the setup question is about onboarding new staff to an existing installation.

    Ease of use

    A mature, feature-dense interface that most GP staff in England will have encountered at some point. Familiarity is its strength; the depth of functionality means there’s always more to learn, and opinions differ on how modern the interface feels compared with newer entrants.

    Applications / best fit

    Suits practices of all sizes wanting a well-established system with the broadest range of compatible third-party tools. The large integration ecosystem is a particular draw for practices that rely on add-ons. Reviewer context — practice size, PCN arrangements, and which add-ons you use — matters a lot here.

    Things to check before buying

    Because procurement is largely centralised, the practical questions are the migration effort if switching, training load, which third-party tools you depend on and whether they are supported, and how the Optum ownership is shaping the roadmap. Understand data ownership and exit or migration terms up front.

    Compare with

    SystmOne, Vision and Medicus — see the other clinical-system pages.

    EMIS Health (Optum)

    4.0
    4.0 out of 5 stars (based on 1 review)