Pharmacy access to NHS care records is not being withheld

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The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7385 p96
28 January 2006

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Pharmacy access to NHS care records is not being withheld

Access to the NHS care records service is not being withheld from pharmacists, according to Jeanette Howe, deputy chief pharmaceutical officer for England.

At a meeting of the All-Party Pharmacy Group, held in London this week, Mrs Howe explained that the care record service does not yet have full functionality.

“Until information is inputted there is nothing to gain from [being connected to] it,” she said. She added that since the care record guarantee is now in the public domain the Department of Health can begin to look at how pharmacists access records and confirmed that the department will be consulting on this.

Data safety The British Medical Association’s GP Committee stated last week that it supports the creation of summary care records on the national database. However, it passed a recommendation that patient data should only be uploaded on to the NHS summary care record if patients have actively decided to have their details shared.