2025/26 GP Contract Changes
Headline points
7.2% cash growth on the contract funding envelope (£889 million increase)
Focus on shifting care into the community, prevention, and moving from analogue to digital
Emphasis on improving digital access to practices and empowering patients
Digital Access Requirements
Online Consultation Tools
From 1 October 2025: Practices required to keep online consultation tools open for the entire duration of core hours (8am-6:30pm)
This applies to: Non-urgent appointment requests; Medication queries; Administrative requests
Safeguards must be in place to prevent urgent clinical requests being erroneously submitted online
Guidance will be displayed on practice websites
GP Connect Implementation
By 1 October 2025: Practices must enable specific GP Connect functionalities: Read-only access to patient care records (for NHS commissioned providers for direct patient care, private healthcare providers (with explicit patient permission); allows Community Pharmacy professionals to send consultation summaries directly into GP practice workflow - reducing administrative burden for practice teams
Digital Communication with Patients
NHS England will be allowed to contact patients digitally (rather than only in writing) when patients move from a practice area
This enables additional routes to advise patients about registration options
Transparency and Patient Information
Digital Patient Charter
NHS England will publish a patient charter outlining what patients can expect from their practice
Practices will be required to publish this charter on their websites
Will improve transparency and clarify how practices handle requests
Care Quality and Risk Stratification
Capacity and Access Improvement Payment
The CAIP payment (£87.6 million) will continue but changing from three domains (staffing, extended access and proactive care management to two) - (i) supporting modern general practice access(£58.4 million) and (ii)to incentivise PCNs to risk stratify their patients (£29.2 million) incl to those who would benefit most from continuity of care
Patient Safety Strategy
Practices required to register for an administrator account with the learn from patient safety events service (LFPSE)
Will be used for recording patient safety events and contributing to NHS-wide learning
Out of Area Registration
New contractual requirements for GP contractors to work collaboratively with commissioners on out of area registration
Safeguards implemented when practice lists expand rapidly with out of area patients
Providers need commissioner approval to ensure safety and effectiveness of arrangements
During the approval process, patient lists should be closed to new out of area registrations
New Enhanced Service - Advice and Guidance
New enhanced service worth up to £80 million for advice and guidance
Will support closer working between general practice and secondary care
Practices can claim £20 Item of Service payment for pre-referral requests
Supports the government's goal to move care from secondary to community setting
Key opportunities for digital and tech providers
1. Online Consultation Platforms
(i) Significant opportunity as practices must keep online consultation tools open during all core hours
(ii) Demand for robust, user-friendly platforms that can handle non-urgent appointment requests, medication queries, and admin requests
(iii) Solutions that incorporate clear safety features to prevent urgent clinical requests being incorrectly submitted online
2. GP Connect Integration Solutions
(i) Tools that simplify implementing the mandated GP Connect features
(ii) Solutions for private healthcare providers to securely request and manage explicit patient permission for NHS GP record access
(iii) Integration platforms for community pharmacies to efficiently send consultation summaries into GP practice workflows
3. Patient Risk Stratification Tools
(i) Opportunity to develop AI/ML-driven analytics that support practices to risk stratify patients
(ii) Data visualisation solutions that make stratification insights actionable for clinicians
4. Digital Communication Systems
(i) Solutions to facilitate digital patient communications, especially for patients who have moved from practice areas
(ii) Secure messaging platforms that meet NHS standards
5. Patient Safety Reporting Systems
(i) Integration solutions for the required learn from patient safety events service (LFPSE)
(ii) Simplified interfaces for recording and reviewing patient safety events
6. Advice & Guidance Platforms
(i) Tools to streamline advice and guidance between primary and secondary care
(ii) Solutions that track and facilitate claiming the £20 payment for pre-referral requests
(iii) Platforms that demonstrate impact on reducing unnecessary referrals
7. Out of Area Registration Management
(i) Tools to help practices safely manage expanding lists of out of area patients
(ii) Solutions that support the commissioner approval process and demonstrate safety/effectiveness
8. Digital Patient Charter Implementation
(i) Website integration solutions for the required patient charter
(ii) Tools to track practice compliance with the charter commitments
The contract changes create particularly strong opportunities in online consultation platforms, risk stratification tools, and advice & guidance systems, as these align directly with areas receiving significant new funding or regulatory requirements.