summary care record There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). The Summary Care Record is meant to help emergency doctors and nurses help you when you contact them when the surgery is closed. Initially, it will contain just your medications and allergies.
Later on as the central NHS computer system develops, (known as the ‘Summary Care Record’ – SCR), other staff who work in the NHS will be able to access it along with information from hospitals, out of hours services, and specialists letters that may be added as well.
Your information will be extracted from practices such as ours and held on central NHS databases.
As with all new systems there are pros and cons to think about. When you speak to an emergency doctor you might overlook something that is important and if they have access to your medical record it might avoid mistakes or problems, although even then, you should be asked to give your consent each time a member of NHS Staff wishes to access your record, unless you are medically unable to do so.
On the other hand, you may have strong views about sharing your personal information and wish to keep your information at the level of this practice. Connecting for Health (CfH), the government agency responsible for the Summary Care Record have agreed with doctors’ leaders that new patients registering with this practice should be able to decide whether or not their information is uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System.
For existing patients it is different in that it is assumed that you want your record uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System unless you actively opt out.
For further information visit the HSCIC Website
If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete a form and bring it along to the surgery.
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Download the opt out form
Your Medical Records & You – Statement Of Intent
It is important that your medical record is available when and where you need it.
You may feel, especially if you have an extensive medical history, that it is very important for some of your medical information to be available if you were on holiday away from the practice area and or taken ill and ended up in hospital. Having your Summary Care Record (SCR) available will help anyone treating you without your full medical record. They will have access to specific information from your medical record about any medication you may be taking and any drugs that you have a recorded allergy or sensitivity to.
Your SCR is automatically updated on at least a daily basis to ensure that your information is as up to date as it can possibly be.
Of course if you do not want your medical records to be available in this way then you will need to let us know so that we can update your record accordingly.
Your medical records when leaving the practice.
It is very important that you are registered with a doctor near to where you live. We encourage patients to do this as soon as possible if they move out of the practice area. Once you have re registered with a new GP, your medical records will be forwarded on to them via NHS England.
If you move to a GP surgery that uses a clinical computer system compatible to ours (EMIS Web™), your electronic medical record will be available to them as soon as they register you at the practice. This is called GP2GP transfer