The London NHS Diagnostic Service offers GPs and other healthcare professionals direct access to high quality diagnostic and imaging scans and tests throughout London, including MRI, ultrasound, x-ray and audiology. The service is an award-winning venture between InHealth and NHS London, appointed by the Department of Health.

The service ensures that patients are seen within 13 working days from the referral date, with the electronic diagnostic report following two days later by e-mail, or four days by post.

Since the launch in April 2007 the service has provided fast access to diagnostic tests and scans to over 250,000 patients in Greater London and has received positive acclaim from patients, GPs and healthcare professionals alike.

Fundamental to the success of the service has been the reporting aspect which is being delivered by 4 Ways.

Direct access to diagnostic services is a new concept for a vast majority of GPs in London and the ability of 4 Ways to develop a reporting package specifically for GPs has been key to the success of the service. 4 Ways reports on around 11,000 scans per month and has developed tailored audit software to ensure no breaches occur. The team of radiologists reporting on the service have now gained over four years of experience on reporting for the primary care market and have become leaders in their field. This team has worked closely with InHealth, PCTs and GP consortia to deliver education symposiums to help ensure informed and correct referrals.

The Department of Health applied stringent KPIs, particularly around compliance with audit and governance. By utilising the unique software and following internal protocols 4 Ways has met and exceeded all KPIs.