Summary Care Record

There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.

Why do I need a Summary Care Record?

Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.

This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.

Who can see it?

Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.

How do I know if I have one?

Over half of the population of England now have a Summary Care Record. You can find out whether Summary Care Records have come to your area by looking at our interactive map or by asking your GP

Do I have to have one?

No, it is not compulsory. If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete a form and bring it along to the surgery. You can use the form at the foot of this page.

More Information

For further information visit the NHS Care records website or the HSCIC Website

Consent Form >>>

Download the opt out form >>>>

Enriching SCRs with additional information

A simple and more efficient way to update SCRs with a set of additional information from a patient’s GP record is now available to GP practices. Additional Information is added with explicit patient consent and supporting guidance is available below (including optional patient leaflets to support conversations with patients).

Additional information included in the SCR

The ‘additional information’ content has been defined and reviewed by clinical groups and suppliers. SCRs with additional information incorporate individual coded items and associated free text and will include:

• Significant medical history (past and present)
• Reason for medication
• Anticipatory care information (such as information about the management of long term conditions)
• Communication preferences (as per the SCCI1605 national dataset – formerly ISB-1605)
• End of life care information (as per the SCCI1580 national dataset – formerly ISB-1580)
• Immunisations

Additional information automatically included in the SCR is selected in one of three ways:

1. It is identified as significant medical history within the GP record. For EMIS Web this is ‘Active Problems’ and ‘Significant Past Problems’. For TPP SystmOne this is the ‘Local Summary’ and ‘Active Problems’. For INPS Vision this is ‘Priority 1 Items’ and ‘Active Problems’.
2. It is part of the HSCIC SCR inclusion dataset (see below)
3. It is a manually added item from the GP record. Any code within the GP record may be ‘manually added’ to the SCR, according to patient wishes.

The content within each individual record will be broadly the same but subtle differences will exist due to the way different GP systems capture information.

http://systems.digital.nhs.uk/scr/additional