Introduction & module overview

The summary care record (SCR) is an electronic database of important patient information, collated from GP medical records. Although there are other shared care records available, the SCR is the only system with national coverage and is GP system ‘agnostic’. SCRs are used in care settings across the NHS, including accident and emergency departments, out-of-hours services and hospital pharmacies. They can be seen and used by authorised staff involved in a patient’s direct care.

NHS England is advocating the use of SCRs by healthcare professionals as they have demonstrated clear benefits to patient care. Access to SCR information helps avoid delays to urgent care and can help reduce prescribing errors. Since their introduction into community pharmacy, SCRs have enabled a safer, more efficient and better informed service for patients. As community healthcare professionals, pharmacists should access a SCR whenever they need further information to inform their care of a patient as part of their daily practice. The average number of SCR views per pharmacy per week was 1.43 as this CPD module went to press.