Electronic health record launched

Patients across the borough who need emergency care will be able to ensure that healthcare staff have quicker, easier access to important information about them, thanks to a new electronic record.

The NHS Summary Care Record, which is being introduced in the area this month, is a secure electronic record which contains key health information about a patient’s medication, allergies and any previous bad reactions to medicines. This information can make all the difference to ensuring safe treatment in an emergency when no other information is available, for example, when a patient’s GP practice is closed.

Patients have the right to opt out of having a Summary Care Record and can do so easily by filling out an opt form, which is included in the letter being sent to them, using the freepost business reply service.

Safeguards for patients who do decide to have a record include healthcare staff having to ask their permission before a record can be viewed. Access is restricted to staff with a chip-and-pin NHS smartcard who are involved in a patient’s treatment. Unlike paper records, an audit trail is generated when a record is viewed. No other information will be added to a record without the patient's explicit consent.

Dr Nick Dawes, Medical Director, NHS HMR said: “I am pleased that patients in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale will soon be able to benefit from having a Summary Care Record. These new records are a vital step forward in helping us to deliver safe and effective patient care.

“By making information about medicines, adverse reactions to medications and allergies available to staff we can avoid adding to the stress of elderly or confused patients who are asked to remember these details when they need urgent care. The information held in Summary Care Records is potentially lifesaving and will, without doubt, significantly improve patient care in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale.”