The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 273 No 7315 p312-315
4 September 2004

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· The Charter
· Charter ballot
· Volunteer agencies
· Voting
· Personal control
· Medicines and devices
· Simvastatin
· Ward technicians
· CAM
· Remuneration
· The Profession
· Education
· CRCS
· Retention fee
· Onlooker

Letters to the Editor

Medicines and devices

Am I missing something?

From Mr D. A. Canniford, MRPharmS

I read the article on the Dictionary of Medicines and Devices (PJ, 7 August, p199) with great interest.
In the scenario outlined at the beginning of the article, the authors write: “His personal effects, including his medicines, were all destroyed in the fire that followed the accident. At the roadside, the attending clinicians access his electronic NHS care record . . .”.
Am I missing something? How do the clinicians access his electronic records when the fire has destroyed all his personal effects? Is there a plan that all members of the public in the UK must be “electronically tagged” or is there a plan that all should wear a metal bracelet or necklace, and that in a country that will not even countenance universal identity cards?

Dennis Canniford
Tullow, Co Carlow, Ireland

PAUL FROSDICK and CHRISTINE DALTON, authors of the article, respond: Mr Canniford raises an important issue that, while undoubtedly of current interest and importance, is outside the scope of the NHS Dictionary of Medicines and Devices. The concern expressed is pertinent to the debates around confidentiality and access to personal records and, secondarily, to our inability to construct a watertight plot.
Regardless of the detail in the fictional story used to introduce our article, the fact remains that the standard computer-processable representation of medicines and medical devices across all health care systems will facilitate the sharing of information between health professionals, for the ultimate benefit of all our patients.
The realisation of that potential is to be welcomed and we are encouraged that, to date, concerns expressed relate to our creative writing skills, rather than the fundamental science underpinning our work.

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