Health correspondent Karen Allen: Concerns about patient confidentiality

The GPNet system is designed to enable doctors and hospitals to communicate electronically and could reduce waiting times for items such as medical test results.

Although many doctors' surgeries have computers already, the government plans to extend this into one network.

The new system could reduce waiting times for medical test results

All 35,000 GPs in the National Health Service will be allocated a computer linking them to a network of hospitals across the country.

It will give them the very latest information about treatments and drugs, and allow them to obtain test results electronically without the need for a hospital visit.

Hospital appointments for patients could be booked with the click of a mouse.

The BBC's Karen Allen reports on GPNet

Alasdair Liddell, director of NHS planning, said: "This will be designed with the objective of ensuring that all GPs have access to an integrated system capable of delivering high quality clinical support to each GP desktop."

But the the issue of whether patient confidentiality can survive the computerisation of medical records has worried some doctors.

And although the provision of computers has been widely welcomed, it is far from clear whether this security question has been fully resolved.

The programme is expected to be completed by next year.