South Scotland MSP Brian Whittle has been promoting the opportunities for pharmacies that come from creating digital health records at a reception in Holyrood.
The South Scotland MSP hosted representatives from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Scotland at an event to tell MSPs why community pharmacies need better access to patient records to improve their treatment. Currently, there isn’t a single shared electronic patient record that pharmacists can access to review a patient’s medical history or update their notes. Instead, they have to rely on what’s known as the Emergency Care Summary, which is often incomplete or out of date, and means that pharmacists have to contact GPs or tell patients they need to see their doctor before they can issue a prescription.
Brian, the Scottish Conservatives’ spokesman on Public Health, believes that better use of technology across the NHS can make a big difference to the care patients receive and how quickly they receive it.
While access to patient records varies between pharmacies, most say that their access to key information is limited and more than 1 in 10 say that they have no ability to access medical information when someone comes to them seeking help.
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“Community pharmacies have a vitally important role to play in the future of the NHS. More and more often they are becoming people’s first port of call for minor issues. That makes it all the more important that pharmacists are properly informed about a patient’s medical history when they offer advice or dispense drugs. The lack of a single shared electronic record that pharmacists can use to quickly and easily get the necessary information slows down patient care and often ends up putting more pressure on GPs. We need to invest in new technologies across Scotland’s NHS to help reduce the ever growing pressures on healthcare. Something as simple as electronic patient records, accessible by healthcare professionals whenever and wherever it’s needed, has the potential to transform how patients experience care. I’m delighted to have been able to help the Royal Pharmaceutical Society promote this idea among my fellow MSPs at Holyrood.”
