Pharmacy

(asked on 30th June 2014) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects to be able to introduce the sharing of patient data with community pharmacists in support of patient safety in England.


Answered by
Dan Poulter Portrait
Dan Poulter
This question was answered on 3rd July 2014

Local solutions are presently being developed. In addition, NHS England has commissioned the Health and Social Care Information Centre to deliver a “proof of concept” project in order to enable 80-100 community pharmacies, across 2 or 3 geographical areas, to access the Summary Care Record (SCR). Subject to the proof of concept, the SCR should provide a platform which will enable pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to view prescribed medicines, allergies and adverse reactions for patients who go to their pharmacy for urgent or unscheduled care.

The project aims to:

- determine if SCR viewing can be safely implemented in community pharmacies and will add value to existing practice and patients' experience by improving quality, safety and continuity of care;

- identify the optimum model for implementation should the proof of concept conclude that SCR access provides added value; and

- assess whether providing community pharmacies with access to the SCR has the potential to relieve the increasing demands on the wider healthcare system.

It is planned that the first pharmacies will go live towards the end of 2014, with the project due to provide its findings and recommendations early in 2015. Further plans will be developed based on those findings and will be published in due course.

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