Filling in General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) forms is hardly an optometrist’s favourite task, but it is a compulsory one for practices that offer NHS work. In England, the relevant GOS form must be completed and sent to Primary Care Support England (PCSE). “If that isn’t done, we don’t get paid for our services,” says Natasha Richards MCOptom, an optometrist at Specsavers in County Durham. NHS services make up 75% of all activity at her practice. “Without GOS forms, we wouldn’t have a business at all.”

All GOS claims used to be written by hand on paper forms and sent off in the post to be processed by PCSE. Filling in the claims is a routine administrative task, but simple errors can easily creep in. When mistakes occur, PCSE rejects the claim and the form is sent back to the practice for resubmission. This process can lead to delayed payments for practices, and patients may have to wait longer than necessary to receive their voucher to purchase spectacles. To combat these frustrations, PCSE Online was launched in October 2019 – a platform for practices to submit and track GOS claims electronically. They can also view their ophthalmic payment statements and submit applications for the National Performers List within the online portal. “About 18 million paper forms a year were sent into PCSE until recently,” reveals Katrina Venerus, an Ophthalmic Consultant at PCSE.