The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7499 p504
26 April 2008

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• White Paper
• Patient records
• Electronic prescribing
• Pharmacy contract
• Community pharmacy
• Medicines use reviews
• Minor ailment scheme
• Medication errors
• English Pharmacy Board
• Council election
• Education
• Public relations
• New professional body
• The Society (2)
• Euthanasia (2)

Letters to the Editor

Patient records

Patients have valid reasons to be sceptical

From Mr J. Silcock, MRPharmS

Your leading article “More haste, more speed” (PJ, 12 April 2008, p422) suggests that it is essential to make patient health records accessible to community pharmacists. From a professional perspective this is correct, but members of the public often remain unconvinced for a number of valid reasons.

Pharmacists who simply fulfil a supply function have no need for access to sensitive personal data, whatever role they may like to have in the future. The pharmacy environment is often commercial and patients may worry about access to their data by a variety of part-time staff.

Service changes (for example, repeat collection and delivery) have often distanced pharmacists from patients who could benefit most from enhanced professional input. Patients value continuity and may be disturbed by frequent changes in managerial or dispensing staff.

Data protection has become a highly sensitive issue. I suspect the Government will act in accordance with the expressed wishes of patients and their representatives. Pharmacists must demonstrate to patients that they both need data access and can be trusted with it. This means asking patients more questions and initiating more clinical interventions within the current contractual framework.

When patients can see the difference this makes, then the message to the Government from focus groups and consultation exercises may change.

Jon Silcock
Lecturer in Pharmacy
School of Healthcare
University of Leeds

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