When to use a SCR
There are a number of scenarios when it would be deemed suitable to access a patient’s SCR in a community pharmacy (see Table 1).
Benefits of using SCRs
Improved patient safety
Timely access to accurate patient information:
- Supports the provision of safer and more informed advice
- Improves the decision-making process and prescribing accuracy
- Helps identify potential prescribing errors and so reduces patient harm which, in turn, reduces hospital admissions
- Ensures that dispensed medicines are clinically appropriate.
Improved efficiency of patient care
- Instant access to clinical information reduces the time, effort and resources required to obtain medicines information from the patient’s GP practice via phone calls or faxes
- Access to patient information allows pharmacy professionals to make quicker decisions, meaning less delay to patient care and more timely decisions
- More time invested in direct patient care.
Improved effectiveness of patient care
- Supports the delivery of quicker, more efficient care to patients
- Reduces patients’ need to visit multiple care settings
- Fewer delays to patient care means improved convenience for patients
- Enables access to essential medicines information at weekends and out-of-hours when GP practices are closed
- Enables quicker access to urgent medicines
- Supports a seven-day service and increases confidence in the profession
- Improves the patient experience.