Campaign launched for pharmacists to access digital health records

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has launched a campaign for pharmacists to have read and write access to digital patient health records to help with dispensing medicine

The RPS is calling for pharmacists to have secure, electronic access to a single up-to-date patient record.

The NHS in England has already announced a programme to roll out Summary Care Record access to community pharmacies across England, after pilots showed this level of access reduced unnecessary visits to the GP and avoidable medicine errors. 

The RPS has said it wants to see a staged development of this initiative with pharmacist having read-write access to the single complete electronic health record for all patients that is currently in development across Great Britain.

The RPS has said the records would be accessed by pharmacists together with other relevant health professionals only when there is a clinical need and only with the consent of the patient. 

Focus groups held in Scotland by RPS revealed that patients support pharmacist access to full patient records when patients themselves choose, and explicitly consent to, who may access the information.

With the ability to also update health records, the RPS said pharmacists could provide GPs with dispensing updates and add information when patients transfer from one care setting to another.

Chair of the RPS English Pharmacy Board Sandra Gidley said: "It is vital for patient safety that informed decision making is at the centre of all health care interventions.

“Full, patient led access to health records would greatly enhance the ability of pharmacists to add information as well as to read appropriate information regarding a patient's care.

“We have proven successfully through the recent pilot of pharmacist's access to the Summary Care Record that patient care is enhanced by appropriate access to information."

"The RPS believes that patient care and medicine safety will be improved if pharmacists have read and write access to patient records.

“This would also allow the NHS to maximise the value of the significant investment it makes in medicines."