Shutterstock
The summary care record (SCR) is now used in almost 6,000 community pharmacies — around half the total number in England — one year after its roll out to community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, NHS Digital has announced.
To date, more than 20,000 pharmacy professionals have completed online SCR training, enabling them to have access to key clinical information about a patient derived from the GP record, and almost 90% of community pharmacies have participated in briefing sessions to support their implementation of the SCR.
The community pharmacies making the most use of the SCR system are accessing records on average 50 times a week.
Mohammed Hussain, programme head for integrated pharmacy at NHS Digital, says: “It is really encouraging that half of community pharmacies now have access to [the] SCR, allowing them to support patients with better informed and tailored care.
“From April 2017, accessing [the] SCR will also become a NHS England measure under the Quality Payments Scheme for community pharmacy, helping to drive up quality of care in this setting.”
Nazam Iqbal, a pharmacist working at Manor Pharmacy in Leigh, near Manchester, says: “The process of setting up the SCR viewer was simple and easy. I can use it when delivering services such as the flu jab, or when an issue arises with the emergency supply of medication. It is an invaluable tool to help pharmacists make a better clinical judgement, with all the relevant information available to them.”
