Numark Ltd has provided to NHS Digital the following statement:. As such, our policy will provide cover to pharmacists and technicians utilising and operating within approved guidelines and continuing to act with due regard to patient safety, care and consent. The General Pharmaceutical Council released a statement regarding liability:.

We believe that access to records will increase dialogue and communication and improve collaboration with other healthcare professionals. Whilst this is not a new area for some of the profession, for example those working in hospitals or those who work as prescribers, we recognise that this is a developing area for community pharmacy.

Pharmacy professionals who can access patient medical records must ensure that they apply the principles and requirements of conduct, ethics and performance to any additional information that they can access as result of these changes.

Under the first principle in those standards, concerning governance, standard 1. Within some areas of England, pharmacy contractors may be accessing Local Health and Care Records LHCRs. For example the Dorset Care Record can be accessed by pharmacy contractors.

Contractors may opt to access a LHCR record as an alternative to SCR access for relevant scenarios. However, even for contractors which opt to use LHCR as much as possible instead of SCR, SCR is a useful back-up e.

in case the LHCR system experiences a technical outage. Consistent access to SCR is required as described above. As these events finished in mid-February, a new process will be announced in the coming months for those who have not been to an event and plan to go live with SCR.

Community Pharmacy England will issue news once the new process is confirmed. There is a checklist of items to complete at cpe. Also read more on the NHS Digital implementation guidance document.

As a relief pharmacist within a multiple organisation who is the person that should provide my face-to-face training briefing event and how should I get my Smartcard SCR-enabled? Your pharmacy superintendent will be able to advise on how your organisation is going live with SCR and how you can get your Smartcard activated for SCR.

Smartcards require adjustment to enable SCR — although this should be able to be done remotely. What is the process for locum staff with the 5F Smartcard wishing to gain SCR access onto that Smartcard?

What if there is delay? There will be a process for locum users to be able to access SCR. The locum Smartcard 5F may be used, frequently this may be provided where the staff member works at 5 or more pharmacies at short notice.

In addition locum staff can then also add many regular premises to their Smartcard so that they can log-in using those rather than the generic F code.

Where is the SCR Acceptable Use Agreement AUA for me to sign? What are the steps needed to sign this? You may contact your SCR Implementation Manager for further advice based on where you are located contact information at end of this document. Can SCR be accessed from any standalone computer using a Smartcard reader?

SCR can be accessed on a pharmacy PMR system that is on the N3 network e. pharmacy computer in the pharmacy. It cannot be accessed from home on a laptop.

It can only be accessed on the N3 network with access via a Smartcard. If you have another PMR system terminal in another location in your pharmacy and if it is connected to N3 network and has a Smartcard reader, you can access SCR. Only Pharmacy technicians that are registered with General Pharmaceutical Council GPhC can access SCR.

Initially, only the regulated roles by GPhC e. pharmacist and pharmacy technician can access SCR. The SCR team is exploring how other types of pharmacy team members could have access to SCR e. pre-reg, dispenser.

All registered technicians that require access to SCR must complete the CPPE SCR eLearning module. You can use these test patient NHS numbers to practice SCR access and become familiar with the process: , , , What is the website address that we need to use to access SCR?

Will our chosen pharmacy system supplier have compatibility with SCR? Your pharmacy system supplier needs to allow access to Internet Explorer on web browser for SCR access see cpe. Is there a step-by-step guide on using SCR and finding the necessary information on the system?

If I have a query with a repeat prescription patient, given the patient will not be on-site, can I phone the patient to gain consent? SCR can only be accessed if you have consent from the patient e. in person or over the phone. But for repeat patients you can have a one-off consent conversation which provides access consent for 12 months.

You should record this permission in PMR patient notes field for the patient. For information on emergency access see the question immediately below. Some pharmacies use SCR frequently each day. The person auditing usage may check a proportion and that there is a patient, but should not need to check the clinical determination.

Summary Care Records are created and maintained by GP practices. Records are then maintained automatically, whenever there is a relevant change to the patients practice record and the user has logged on with their smartcard.

GP practices also have the capability to access and view SCRs for any non-registered patients including emergency and temporary patients.

As soon as a practice starts creating SCRs they are considered to be live with SCR. Any patient that is either seen at the practice, or whose information on their local record is updated, will have their SCR updated through the creation of a GP Summary Update.

How is the SCR updated? Is there a requirement for GP practices to update the SCR? Practices were required to implement this requirement as soon as possible after 1 April and should, by 30 September , have published a statement of intent at the practice premises and on the website where applicable to achieve the requirement by 31 March The requirement is on the basis of the current definition of the SCR i.

the core SCR record contains medications, allergies and adverse reactions and is uploaded on the basis of implied patient consent. Additional information can only be uploaded with explicit patient consent and should be information required to support patient care in an emergency or urgent situation.

The SPL was a record of vulnerable patients thought to be at high risk of complications from coronavirus COVID An updated NHS SPL was generated weekly by NHS Digital, incorporating additional patient data provided by acute trusts, GP practices and other data sources.

This enabled community pharmacy teams using the SCRa application to see an alert when viewing the SCR of such a patient. The Shielded Patient Flag went live from April Following the government announcement in September regarding the end of national shielding in England, the SPL for England closed and changes to patient risk status stopped being applied.

Information contained in the SPL was last updated at the end of September As of November , NHS Digital planned to undertake a managed closure of the SPL during late and early and planned to issue further communications later.

Following the end of shielding, NHS Digital has been instructed by Department of Health and Social Care and Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation JCVI to change the high-risk flags in medical records, associated with previously clinically extremely vulnerable CEV patients, to a moderate or low-risk flag.

This is part of a managed closure of the List. As part of this, an engagement exercise took place with those who had used SPF to fully understand any continuing or additional use cases of the SPL. The aim of the engagement was to minimise the impact of closing the list on local services.

NHS Digital engaged with a range of audiences including Community Pharmacy IT Group CP ITG , hospital trusts, local authorities, mental health providers, and GP IT suppliers. Further info. If you have queries on this webpage or you require more information please contact it cpe.

To share and hear views about digital developments with like-minded pharmacy team members, join the CP Digital email group today. Community Pharmacy England has published new guidance to help community pharmacy owners complete the latest…. The NHSmail team previously announced that multi-factor authentication MFA is set to become mandatory across….

NHS England, in collaboration with RSM, is seeking feedback from pharmacy teams regarding their experience…. The NHSmail team have announced that multi-factor authentication MFA is set to become mandatory across…. Community Pharmacy England will be hosting a series of webinars to help pharmacy owners and….

NHS approved IT systems for recording SCS and DMS consultations and sharing data with the…. Print Page. Booking, referrals and appointments with IT. IT policy and development.

CPCF clinical services IT requirements. Keeping pharmacy profile information up-to-date. NHS Profile Manager. NHS IT ops, orgs and policy. Patient digital services. The NHS website. Technology and workflows.

Back to page. Summary Care Record SCR Published on: 10th May Updated on: 2nd February The new NCRS portal updated April NCRS enables view of SCR information but additionally view of: Personal Demographics Service National Record Locator NRL Locally held care plans can also be included Reasonable Adjustments Flag RAF Information within NCRS is consumable by IT system suppliers.

It is important that RAs keep a log of users given this access for exceptional reasons so that it can be revoked as appropriate at some point in the future. Those pharmacy team members with the pharmacist and 5F codes on their card were granted SCR rights associated with the 5F code for at least one year.

This bulk adjustment performed by NHS Digital meant that if the staff used the 5F at various pharmacy premises, they could still access SCR information. The new Smartcard code is planned to automatically expire after one year.

This activity was performed centrally so that no action should have been required by pharmacy team members or local RAs. This is recognising that newly qualified pharmacists are experiencing delays converting from pre-registered to fully registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council GPhC because they are unable to sit assessments with the GPhC.

NHS Digital is helping to progress these applications and has issued guidance for RAs. The NHS Digital central Smartcard team issue policy and guidance for use by the RAs. Framework for use before the COVID pandemic Patients confirm their consent by requesting that their GP practice activates SCR with AI for them so that other health and care workers such as their pharmacist may have ability to have sight of that information when needed.

Local campaigns Within some areas, local stakeholders may support campaigns for patients and health and care workers to be able to make greater use of SCR with Additional Information and be aware of its benefits.

Pharmacy usage of SCR and SCR with AI Pharmacy teams are encouraged to make use of SCR and SCR with Additional Information where available to enhance the care they can provide for their patients e.

A screenshot example of SCR with Additional Information can be seen below: See also: SCR additional information NHS Digital Patient leaflet regarding additional information. Additional Information within SCR Patients may request to their GP practice that the practice adds other useful content beyond the core data set.

These are details of: fertility treatment; sexually transmitted infections and treatments; terminations; and gender reassignment.

SCR access checklist The process for community pharmacy contractors and pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to use SCR is set out at the SCR checklist. The FAQs were really useful and answered very professionally from someone who really knew every aspect of SCR. CPPE online training All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who will access the SCR must have completed the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education online SCR training and assessment module prior to accessing the SCR.

Practising helps staff for when real usage is needed. NHS Digital have published leaflets to assist pharmacies: Logging on and searching for a patient GemAuthenticate Logging on and searching for a patient Identity Agent 2 NHS number is used where known, some pharmacy teams obtain this using their EPS module or PMR, and paste this into the SCR application.

When to use SCR Pharmacy teams report that the SCR can be used as an alternative to contacting the GP practice in some scenarios. Will SCR allow me to check whether a prescription is eRD? Will locums using SCR have their accesses associated with our pharmacy?

Accessing SCR information The SCR might be accessed in different ways such as: The standalone web viewer SCR application known as the SCRa : This does not require any additional software. Integrated viewer: May be developed by system suppliers to allow users to view the SCR within their existing clinical system.

SCR 1-click available within Sonar and PharmOutcomes from Pharmacists and technicians can access vital patient information quickly through the Summary Care Record SCR 1-click feature that is available within the PharmOutcomes and Sonar systems.

Delivery plan to be confirmed. ProScript systems EMIS tbc tbc ProScript LINK AAH Pharmaceuticals tbc tbc RxWeb Clanwilliam Health tbc tbc Sonar Sonar 1-click feature present for certain service modules Currently scheduled to go live with after being accredited in Mid System Supplier status updates: If you are a pharmacy system supplier that is developing or currently supplying an SCR enabled PMR System to the English market and would like your name added to this list please contact Community Pharmacy England.

Why the pharmacy will access their record e. How often will the pharmacy access? You can ask for a one-time access or could ask them for permission to view their SCR while they are in your care.

PTV can be withdrawn by the patient : The patient should also be informed that they can change their decision at any time. Opting out of having an SCR All patients in England have been communicated to with regards to having an SCR; they have the ability to opt-in or opt-out at any time.

Examples of when this option could be seen as appropriate in community pharmacy are: a patient with language difficulties; or elderly patients with dementia. Patient consent form templates Consent is often best to obtain verbally because in many case pharmacy teams report that patient already have access to this information to support their dispensing work.

However, there is a template: NHS Digital sample form PDF FAQs about SCR consent model Q. This could be added to admission forms. Patient information, leaflets and posters should be made available at the care home — examples can be found on the patient materials SCR page.

This is required to meet Data Protection Act rules on fair processing. Otherwise, the pharmacy can access SCR based on the above. If the patient has not completed the arrival process, then care home can give permission by proxy, as appropriate.

Who will access SCR and when? What measures are taken to protect patient data? Security measures include: Smartcard users have agreed to use their cards in line with the user policy; Standard Operating Procedures SOPs for SCR use must be in place; the professional code of conduct, and employment contracts must be adhered to; and contractors complete the Data security and Protection Toolkit each year.

It is very important that additional information in the source record is coded appropriately, maintained, and updated in a timely manner, ideally at the point of care. Most coded data will be available in the SCRai but will only be included in core SCR if the patient consents.

Patients can, however, opt to have sensitive information included. The information must be added to the record manually.

Guidance on including additional information in the SCR can be found on the NHS Digitial website. This serves to highlight the importance of correct use of coding within GP practices. Summarising patient records supports this, and it remains a contractual requirement for practices to summarise patient records.

Future development will see plans to digitise paper-based medical records , to provide more informed care decisions and patient outcomes, and deliver the NHS Long Term Plan vision.

Not all medications are prescribed within a general practice. Other care settings, such as accident and emergency departments, community pharmacies, and by other clinical professionals like paramedics and dentists, can also prescribe medication to patients, including repeat medication.

It also explains what steps GP practices can take to ensure that this information is recorded correctly. SCR can be accessed in a wide range of settings, subject to access controls :.

The following settings and use cases are currently not in scope for SCR viewing and will not be approved for rollout:. Two exceptions were granted under an urgent public health need for COVID clinical trials. These were the Principle and Panoramic trials. Note Where the patient cannot give their permission, the clinician treating them can still access the SCR without their consent where it is deemed in the best interests of the patient.

Being able to view the SCR in community pharmacies has clear benefits for patients and staff. Community pharmacies have an increasing role in providing primary care services, including vaccinations, minor injuries, medicines reviews, etc.

The following can be checked, with hour access:. Access is via a secure web-based viewer , SCR 1-click , or the Spine portal. Information created by the pharmacy will integrate with the GP record and if coded and relevant will then be included in the SCRai.

It is good practice to provide all patients with information about the benefits of opting in, and risks of opting out of the SCR, so that they can make informed choices, especially when registering with a GP practice see important points to note below.

The health and social care system faced significant pressures during the COVID pandemic. This will be reviewed following the coronavirus COVID pandemic.

Further information on the use of confidential patient information without consent COPI for COVID purposes can be found on the Health Research Authority website. NOTE patients can continue to express an SCR consent preference and can change their mind at any time.

Patients can inform the practice of their choice or complete the SCR patient consent preference form and return it to the GP practice. Practices should publicise this as an option and offer the link on their website. Patients can inform thepractice of their choice or complete the SCR patient consent preference form and return it to the GP practice.

In some circumstances practices can also amend SCR opt-out decisions. Often at the point of care from another provider, patients realise the limitations of not sharing their SCR.

Patients should understand that opting out of SCR also prevents the use of national applications like the electronic prescription service EPS and electronic referral system eRS.

Identifying frailty in patients can help predict who is likely to have a fall, become dependent on other people to help with basic care tasks, experience an unplanned admission to hospital or a care home, or die within the next year.

Frailty is also associated with anxiety, depression, and a poorer quality of life. To help the NHS to respond to the coronavirus COVID pandemic, we are providing coronavirus vaccination event information and additional information in Summary Care Records for patients by default, unless they have previously told the NHS that they did not want their information to be shared.

Users of the Summary Care Record application and the 1-Click Service will be made aware of specific suspected and confirmed COVID information by a message box displayed on the SCR. We would like to know more about how health and care professionals access patient records, to better understand how we can tailor future developments to meet their needs.

You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Please email your enquiries to: [email protected] and reference the SCRa. The National Care Records Service provides a quick, secure way to access national patient information to improve clinical decision making and healthcare outcomes and it is free to use.

Find out how we're using the Summary Care Record to ensure health and care professionals have the information they need to provide patient care. We offer an integration service for systems suppliers for them to launch the National Care Records Service from within their local applications.

It's a simpler and less resource intensive method to view the service, and replaces the previous 1-Click Service to view the Summary Care Record Application SCRa. We've updated one of our systems, the Summary Care Record application SCRa , to record and display essential information about a patient's COVID exemption status to support patients who are exempt on medical grounds to be recorded for exemption from COVID vaccines or COVID vaccines and testing.

Last edited: 1 March pm. Skip to main content. Internet explorer is no longer supported We have detected that you are using Internet Explorer to visit this website.

NHS Digital Services Summary Care Record application SCRa. Summary Care Record application SCRa An application which allows health and care professionals to view clinical and demographic information.

Page contents Top of page What SCRa is How to use SCRa Help to improve access to patient records Contact details Further information.

Summary Care Record application SCRa retired We retired the SCRa on 31 October for the majority of users.

A Summary Care Record is an electronic patient record, a summary of National Health Service patient data held on a central database covering England, part of the NHS National Programme for IT A school's Single Central Record (SCR), also known as a Single Central Register, is a vital tool for safeguarding students and ensuring regulatory compliance Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) means of converting nitrogen oxides, also referred to as NO x with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen (N

Scr - A web based application which allows health and care professionals to view clinical and demographic information in a patient's Summary Care Record (SCR) A Summary Care Record is an electronic patient record, a summary of National Health Service patient data held on a central database covering England, part of the NHS National Programme for IT A school's Single Central Record (SCR), also known as a Single Central Register, is a vital tool for safeguarding students and ensuring regulatory compliance Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) means of converting nitrogen oxides, also referred to as NO x with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen (N

The SCR Candidate Guide provides an overview of the program and curriculum, information about the exam process, insight into how to leverage your SCR Certificate, and more. of the individual respondents in a GARP study indicated they will need additional SCR knowledge in the future.

of respondents surveyed believe their organization has a current strategy in place to effectively mitigate climate change. of respondents indicated their firms are planning to develop a strategic approach to climate risk in the future. Candidates enrolled in the certificate program will gain knowledge critical to managing sustainability and climate risk.

The certificate is part of GARP's flagship certifications and educational programs, recognized by firms worldwide. The quality of this certificate is supported by a peer-reviewed, rigorous assessment developed by domain experts and updated regularly to ensure currency and relevance.

Certificate holders benefit from engaging with global networks and are empowered to navigate broader international perspectives — inviting opportunity for collaboration, innovation, and value creation.

The curriculum was developed by a world-class advisory committee comprised of subject matter experts connected to the most current research, pedagogy, and frameworks across this emerging area of risk.

We are a not-for-profit organization and the leading globally recognized membership association for risk managers.

The NCRS is being piloted in different health and care settings including within Weldricks pharmacies, and wider roll-out is anticipated. Professionals that have tested NCRS can complete this 3-minute CP ITG NCRS feedback snap survey or email it cpe.

Read more: NCRS. For information about SCR and multi-site arrangements please refer to the briefing at: cpe. Developments during included:. Read about updating Smartcards and applying the SCR code if you still need to at: Updating Smartcard roles.

NHS England and NHS Improvement through its local teams is responsible for the issue of Smartcards and commissions local Registration Authorities RAs to carry out this function.

Contractors should report any concerns about the adequacy of local RA arrangements to LPCs. SCR with Additional Information. Standard SCR displays some standard information. SCR with Additional Information includes richer information so that health and care workers can provide enhanced care. For the time being patients will not have to ask their GP practice to activate it.

This arrangement will be reviewed after the pandemic. Patients confirm their consent by requesting that their GP practice activates SCR with AI for them so that other health and care workers such as their pharmacist may have ability to have sight of that information when needed.

Patients request to their GP practice that the practice enables SCR with Additional Information for them. The GP practice activate SCR with Additional Information on a patient-by-patient basis. Additional information may, on occasion, also be added to the SCR of a patient who lacks capacity to consent where the GP makes a relevant determination.

See also below:. Within some areas, local stakeholders may support campaigns for patients and health and care workers to be able to make greater use of SCR with Additional Information and be aware of its benefits. Pharmacy teams and LPCs are encouraged to support any local or national campaigns that promote SCR with Additional Information.

NHS Digital resources include:. Pharmacy teams are encouraged to make use of SCR and SCR with Additional Information where available to enhance the care they can provide for their patients e. when delivering a service or providing emergency supply.

Increasingly patients will also be able to access health information with the NHS App if GP practices have enabled NHS App features. SCR contents. Patients may request to their GP practice that the practice adds other useful content beyond the core data set. If this data has been added to the appropriate record field by the GP practice, then the person accessing SCR will be able to view:.

There are items which are not included unless the patient specifically asks for them to be. These are details of:. Training, guidance and access. The process for community pharmacy contractors and pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to use SCR is set out at the SCR checklist.

That also applies to a newly opened pharmacy which will have relevant staff use SCR. Make sure you watch two related webinars to find out how to get the most out of Summary Care Record SCR access in your pharmacy.

The first webinar, hosted by Community Pharmacy England and NHS Digital is available on-demand. It covered getting ready, the benefits of SCR usage, how to use SCR to improve efficiency, and top tips and experiences from users. The second webinar, hosted by the National Pharmacy Association NPA , is also available on-demand here.

NHS Digital explained how SCR can help improve the day to day running of a pharmacy and shared examples of life-saving interventions that could not have happened without it.

An on-demand recording of the webinar is available to watch at: cpe. To view the recording, you will need to register or input the email address you registered with previously. Note: Before April face-to-face training was necessary but this is no longer required.

All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who will access the SCR must have completed the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education online SCR training and assessment module prior to accessing the SCR.

The Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education CPPE has also launched an e-learning programme on the use of Summary Care Records in community pharmacy intended for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pre-registration trainees who are about to begin using the SCR.

Whilst this can be completed at any time and provides excellent information on SCR in general , the best time for it to be completed is close to the time when your pharmacy will be going live and starting to access to SCR e. just before attending the face-to face event so that SCR can begin to be used immediately following the event.

This will allow the Registration Authority on behalf of NHS Digital to see that you have passed the assessment and then allow you access to SCRs on your Smartcard. Using SCR. To practise and test usage: enter test example dummy patient numbers such as: ; ; ; ; or NHS number is used where known, some pharmacy teams obtain this using their EPS module or PMR, and paste this into the SCR application.

Pharmacy teams report that the SCR can be used as an alternative to contacting the GP practice in some scenarios. SCR may also be used by contractors who do not currently have access to more detailed electronic health record systems such as their Local Health and Care Record LHCR system.

LHCR records include more information from the GP record compared to SCR. SCR medicines information may also be provided within the existing pharmacy clinical system if the pharmacy supplier has added this type of integration. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society RPS has published a one-page factsheet which explains those scenarios in which to use the SCR or another electronic health record e.

the LHCR if you have access to it. The decision as to when to use SCR or another electronic health record is a professional one. Other: Check eligibility for other pharmacy services e. The EPS Tracker allows this functionality, but the SCR currently does not. In some scenarios Tracker and SCR are used together in unison.

Pharmacy staff which have Smartcards with only the FFFFF multi-site code, and SCR usage rights associated with their FFFFF general code, will be asked to select which pharmacy they are working in. The SCR usage will be counted as an SCR access for the selected site.

Are pre-registration pharmacists and pharmacy technicians able to access SCR? Two agreed professionals regulated by General Pharmaceutical Council GPhC can access SCR: pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

Pre-registration trainees can do the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education CPPE training in preparation for qualification. The suggestion is that trainees do this close to the time that they are to qualify so that the learning is maximised. System suppliers can integrate the use of SCR information so that SCR information can be accessed more quickly and easily for when required.

Pharmacists and technicians can access vital patient information quickly through the Summary Care Record SCR 1-click feature that is available within the PharmOutcomes and Sonar systems.

This can help SCR to be used as part of providing pharmacy services such as NUMSAS and the Digital Minor Illness Referral Service. Community Pharmacy England and the Community Pharmacy IT Group have encouraged all PMR suppliers to similarly implement SCR 1-click functionality into their software.

Learn more at: the PharmOutcomes SCR 1-click video guide. Visit the Sonar Informatics website for more information about their system. EPS and Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework CPCF system suppliers or system users may inform Community Pharmacy England about progress:.

System Supplier status updates: If you are a pharmacy system supplier that is developing or currently supplying an SCR enabled PMR System to the English market and would like your name added to this list please contact Community Pharmacy England.

If you are aware that details above have changed please let us know. EPS and CPCF IT Suppliers needing to speak with NHS England about integration options may contact Summary Care Record SCR and NHSE TD live services team: liveservices.

operations nhs. Consent model. The consent framework was established during when pharmacy teams began to make use of SCR and was agreed by NHS Digital, Community Pharmacy England and others at that time as a starting point consent model.

The framework may be updated later as SCR usage becomes more common. Verbal confirmation is generally the best way to obatin consent, although some contractors may opt for written confirmation especially where the permission is ongoing.

There is a sample form for recording this further below. All patients in England have been communicated to with regards to having an SCR; they have the ability to opt-in or opt-out at any time.

If a patient wishes to opt-out of having an SCR altogether as opposed to just not letting you view it then they should be advised to contact their GP practice who will record this preference.

This will assist the work of the SCR Governance Person see relevant section of this webpage investigating the legitimacy of emergency accesses. Children can have an SCR, and in instances where the child understands what is being asked of them,.

permission to access SCR is their decision. Refer to GPhC guidance on consent. Consent is often best to obtain verbally because in many case pharmacy teams report that patient already have access to this information to support their dispensing work.

However, there is a template:. NHS Digital sample form PDF. My pharmacy serves a large care home. How can the patients provide their consent to SCR access or could this be done by care home staff?

The RPS advise that the process for obtaining consent to be used is for:. What if I believe that accessing the SCR for a Care Home patient is needed, but I cannot obtain consent?

There is a consent model as explained above. In emergency situations where this model is not applicable, pharmacy may consider emergency access described earlier. How long should I keep an SCR consent form that has been signed by the patient?

This may involve SOPs. Written consent is not required but it can be obtained. It is for a contractor to judge how long forms should be kept for, balancing the need for an audit trail against the fifth Data Protection principle of not keeping information longer than necessary.

Obtaining informed consent is necessary. Governance person and auditing. SCR usage is encouraged where the pharmacist or technician determines it useful and with consent where required.

A person for each pharmacy will be able to view alerts about SCR activity, and take action to investigate only where needed. Read more below if you will be carrying out this role or assigning it persons within your pharmacy. Privacy alert notifications if you have NHSmail can provide prompts for the SCRGP to investigate SCR access and to check that the accesses have been appropriate.

Use of the Alert Viewer tool is also an option. The SCRGP will review the pattern of privacy alerts at regular intervals to spot anomalies. Where the access is legitimate than the privacy alert is closed and no further action is required.

In the event that any illegitimate access is confirmed during the investigative process, local guidelines will apply. This can include disciplinary action, which could include ending a contract, firing an employee or bringing criminal charges.

The number of individuals undertaking the role of the SCRGP will vary amongst different community pharmacy organisations. Organisations may take into account the frequency of usage, number of staff accessing, and the number of branches live with SCR, when assigning the SCRGP role s. SCRGPs are responsible for checking appropriate use across the organisation.

How much time is required to undertake the SCRGP role? How many alerts require checking? There is no mandated number of privacy alerts which require investigation.

One pharmacy team may decide to take a few minutes each week for checks, another pharmacy team may use more time, but check each quarter. The regularity of the checks may be reviewed and adjusted as processes become embedded into practice, or in the event of evidence of inappropriate usage.

Who can be a SCRGP in community pharmacy? Every pharmacy has a nominated SCRGP prior to accessing SCRCR. The designated SCRGPs ideally should not have access to SCR for the pharmacy branch they work in. However, this may not be feasible in small pharmacies, and pharmacy professionals with access to SCR may also have the SCRGP role.

Read more at: SCRGP guidance, user guides and training materials NHS Digital. Patient communications. The pharmacy privacy notice may explain that pharmacy professionals will access records such as SCR and Shared Care Records.

We align with NHS protocols for use of records. We may also ask you if, whilst you remain under our care, our pharmacy professionals can consult relevant records. If you allow us to see those health records this will help to ensure that relevant medical information is visible to our professionals.

A template privacy notice can be found at: cpe. For locally produced SCR communication materials, pharmacies need to take care to ensure compliance with the NHS Brand guidelines if planning to use the NHS logo. Patient access to SCR info.

Increasingly patients will also be able to access SCR and other health information e. from their Shared Care Record within the NHS App , if GP practices have enabled NHS App features.

To use the calculator:. The calculator states the date of the data being used. SCR usage data in raw spreadsheet format will continue to be published for those that need to use this spreadsheet data for their bespoke analysis.

NHS Digital are also publishing the data in spreadsheet format on their calculator webpage. Pharmacy level SCR statistics by LPC area 2MB excel spreadsheet.

NHS Digital update a live map of those community pharmacies which have gone live with SCR. A number of organisations and people are involved with the implementation and technical oversight of the SCR. NHS Digital manage the national infrastructure for a variety of NHS IT projects including the SCR.

NHS England are responsible for undertaking a range of tasks that support pharmacies in accessing and using national NHS IT applications.

Retrieved 21 April Chemist and Druggist. Retrieved 13 October Leeds University Student Medical Service. Retrieved 17 March National Health Service. Adoption and non-adoption of a shared electronic summary care record in England: A mixed-method case study. London: University College London.

Retail Week. Retrieved 22 August Retrieved 16 January Retrieved 15 February Computer Weekly. Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 March The Register.

The Guardian. Retrieved 16 October Bar code medication administration. Epocrates Lexicomp Medscape Micromedex. Bestbets CommonGround EuResist. Cybermed Florida Probe. Apache cTAKES AHLTA athenaClinicals Centricity EMR Certify HealthLogix Cerner EHR COSTAR Datix EMIAS EMIS Web EpicCare EMR GaiaEHR GNUmed GPASS HOSxP INPS Vision Kareo EHR Microtest Open Evolution MTBC WebEHR2.

Read code SNOMED CT MEDCIN LOINC UCUM RxNorm. Cerner CoPath ELab Epic Beaker LabKey Server MEDITECH STARLIMS webLIMS.

Scr - A web based application which allows health and care professionals to view clinical and demographic information in a patient's Summary Care Record (SCR) A Summary Care Record is an electronic patient record, a summary of National Health Service patient data held on a central database covering England, part of the NHS National Programme for IT A school's Single Central Record (SCR), also known as a Single Central Register, is a vital tool for safeguarding students and ensuring regulatory compliance Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) means of converting nitrogen oxides, also referred to as NO x with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen (N

Access to data is available to NHS personnel anywhere in England, but only if they have had the correct access rights on their smartcard approved by senior management [ citation needed ].

Pharmacists in five regions were given read-only access in an NHS England pilot in October so they could verify and compare a patient's medicines during medicine use reviews.

In his announcement on 10 October , the Health Secretary implied that its scope would in future be restricted to these three items, stating but that it would 'hold only the essential medical information needed in an emergency — that is medication, allergen and [drug] reactions'.

It was originally intended that the database system would be upgraded in the future to add: [7]. However, following the Government announcement in October this is no longer envisaged.

Initial plans were that patients' records would be automatically be uploaded, without seeking patient consent. As a result of pressure from privacy campaigners, the British Medical Association BMA , the Ethics Committee of the Royal College of General Practitioners , and a report by the Department of Health's 'patients tsar' Harry Cayton the Report of the Ministerial Taskforce on the Summary Care Record [10] , the Government agreed that patients would be able to opt out of the Summary Care Record.

After further pressure, it was decided that patients would be contacted before records were uploaded to provide them with the opportunity to opt out. Unless the patient does explicitly opt-out within the specified period after being notified 12 weeks as of April , their details will be uploaded.

Once entered and viewed, records cannot be fully deleted. In response to a freedom of information request, the Department of Health revealed that, as at 24 April , , patients' clinical records had been updated to form Summary Care Records.

The Department was unable to provide information on how many of these related to children. Problems with the opting out scheme were reported by the independent evaluation, published By the end of five strategic health authorities - NHS North West , NHS North East , NHS Yorkshire and the Humber , NHS London and NHS East of England — had announced that they would begin notifying patients and uploading records during The Department of Health agreed to make funding available to them within the financial year for public information campaigns.

On 16 April the Department of Health suspended the implementation of Summary Care Records in the areas leading the roll-out, following calls to do so by the British Medical Association. In information on long-term health conditions, medical history and immunisations was available, and according to NHS Digital , this reduced the burden on the health service during winter.

A concern that has been raised is that surveys have shown that most patients know nothing of the SCR scheme even if they have received leaflets, so that when people receive a package on the SCR it goes straight in the bin as junk mail.

In March the British Medical Association asked the British Government to suspend the roll-out of the database as it was an "imperfect system" being rushed into service prematurely, [24] amid accusations that the system is insecure and that data has been uploaded without giving patients the opportunity to opt out.

The system has also been criticized for its inability to delete a patient record if a patient decides to withdraw from the system once their record has been created AND viewed. This has been stated to be due to the cost of completely deleting all information: "complete removal would require the hardware holding records to be completely sanitised.

This is a process that destroys all data held, for example on a server or hard drive, and not just a particular record" [26] and that in any case the record needs to be retained for legal reasons [26] as "The issue of audit and the medico-legal evidential significance of the SCR will be extremely important and it would be inappropriate to provide tools that could completely remove a record, even if this were feasible.

SystmOne and other GP systems provide much more detailed information than the Summary Care Record. The implementation of SystmOne Prison across the prison estate "should be taken as a sign that a more widespread system is easily achievable". Contents move to sidebar hide.

Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Download QR code Wikidata item.

Download as PDF Printable version. Data stored about patients by the National Health Service in England. Retrieved 2 April Pharmaceutical Journal. Retrieved 21 April Chemist and Druggist. Retrieved 13 October Leeds University Student Medical Service. Retrieved 17 March The second webinar, hosted by the National Pharmacy Association NPA , is also available on-demand here.

NHS Digital explained how SCR can help improve the day to day running of a pharmacy and shared examples of life-saving interventions that could not have happened without it. An on-demand recording of the webinar is available to watch at: cpe. To view the recording, you will need to register or input the email address you registered with previously.

Note: Before April face-to-face training was necessary but this is no longer required. All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who will access the SCR must have completed the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education online SCR training and assessment module prior to accessing the SCR.

The Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education CPPE has also launched an e-learning programme on the use of Summary Care Records in community pharmacy intended for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pre-registration trainees who are about to begin using the SCR.

Whilst this can be completed at any time and provides excellent information on SCR in general , the best time for it to be completed is close to the time when your pharmacy will be going live and starting to access to SCR e.

just before attending the face-to face event so that SCR can begin to be used immediately following the event. This will allow the Registration Authority on behalf of NHS Digital to see that you have passed the assessment and then allow you access to SCRs on your Smartcard. Using SCR. To practise and test usage: enter test example dummy patient numbers such as: ; ; ; ; or NHS number is used where known, some pharmacy teams obtain this using their EPS module or PMR, and paste this into the SCR application.

Pharmacy teams report that the SCR can be used as an alternative to contacting the GP practice in some scenarios. SCR may also be used by contractors who do not currently have access to more detailed electronic health record systems such as their Local Health and Care Record LHCR system.

LHCR records include more information from the GP record compared to SCR. SCR medicines information may also be provided within the existing pharmacy clinical system if the pharmacy supplier has added this type of integration.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society RPS has published a one-page factsheet which explains those scenarios in which to use the SCR or another electronic health record e. the LHCR if you have access to it. The decision as to when to use SCR or another electronic health record is a professional one.

Other: Check eligibility for other pharmacy services e. The EPS Tracker allows this functionality, but the SCR currently does not. In some scenarios Tracker and SCR are used together in unison. Pharmacy staff which have Smartcards with only the FFFFF multi-site code, and SCR usage rights associated with their FFFFF general code, will be asked to select which pharmacy they are working in.

The SCR usage will be counted as an SCR access for the selected site. Are pre-registration pharmacists and pharmacy technicians able to access SCR? Two agreed professionals regulated by General Pharmaceutical Council GPhC can access SCR: pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

Pre-registration trainees can do the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education CPPE training in preparation for qualification. The suggestion is that trainees do this close to the time that they are to qualify so that the learning is maximised.

System suppliers can integrate the use of SCR information so that SCR information can be accessed more quickly and easily for when required.

Pharmacists and technicians can access vital patient information quickly through the Summary Care Record SCR 1-click feature that is available within the PharmOutcomes and Sonar systems. This can help SCR to be used as part of providing pharmacy services such as NUMSAS and the Digital Minor Illness Referral Service.

Community Pharmacy England and the Community Pharmacy IT Group have encouraged all PMR suppliers to similarly implement SCR 1-click functionality into their software. Learn more at: the PharmOutcomes SCR 1-click video guide.

Visit the Sonar Informatics website for more information about their system. EPS and Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework CPCF system suppliers or system users may inform Community Pharmacy England about progress:.

System Supplier status updates: If you are a pharmacy system supplier that is developing or currently supplying an SCR enabled PMR System to the English market and would like your name added to this list please contact Community Pharmacy England. If you are aware that details above have changed please let us know.

EPS and CPCF IT Suppliers needing to speak with NHS England about integration options may contact Summary Care Record SCR and NHSE TD live services team: liveservices. operations nhs. Consent model. The consent framework was established during when pharmacy teams began to make use of SCR and was agreed by NHS Digital, Community Pharmacy England and others at that time as a starting point consent model.

The framework may be updated later as SCR usage becomes more common. Verbal confirmation is generally the best way to obatin consent, although some contractors may opt for written confirmation especially where the permission is ongoing. There is a sample form for recording this further below.

All patients in England have been communicated to with regards to having an SCR; they have the ability to opt-in or opt-out at any time. If a patient wishes to opt-out of having an SCR altogether as opposed to just not letting you view it then they should be advised to contact their GP practice who will record this preference.

This will assist the work of the SCR Governance Person see relevant section of this webpage investigating the legitimacy of emergency accesses. Children can have an SCR, and in instances where the child understands what is being asked of them,. permission to access SCR is their decision.

Refer to GPhC guidance on consent. Consent is often best to obtain verbally because in many case pharmacy teams report that patient already have access to this information to support their dispensing work. However, there is a template:.

NHS Digital sample form PDF. My pharmacy serves a large care home. How can the patients provide their consent to SCR access or could this be done by care home staff? The RPS advise that the process for obtaining consent to be used is for:. What if I believe that accessing the SCR for a Care Home patient is needed, but I cannot obtain consent?

There is a consent model as explained above. In emergency situations where this model is not applicable, pharmacy may consider emergency access described earlier.

How long should I keep an SCR consent form that has been signed by the patient? This may involve SOPs. Written consent is not required but it can be obtained.

It is for a contractor to judge how long forms should be kept for, balancing the need for an audit trail against the fifth Data Protection principle of not keeping information longer than necessary.

Obtaining informed consent is necessary. Governance person and auditing. SCR usage is encouraged where the pharmacist or technician determines it useful and with consent where required. A person for each pharmacy will be able to view alerts about SCR activity, and take action to investigate only where needed.

Read more below if you will be carrying out this role or assigning it persons within your pharmacy. Privacy alert notifications if you have NHSmail can provide prompts for the SCRGP to investigate SCR access and to check that the accesses have been appropriate.

Use of the Alert Viewer tool is also an option. The SCRGP will review the pattern of privacy alerts at regular intervals to spot anomalies. Where the access is legitimate than the privacy alert is closed and no further action is required.

In the event that any illegitimate access is confirmed during the investigative process, local guidelines will apply. This can include disciplinary action, which could include ending a contract, firing an employee or bringing criminal charges. The number of individuals undertaking the role of the SCRGP will vary amongst different community pharmacy organisations.

Organisations may take into account the frequency of usage, number of staff accessing, and the number of branches live with SCR, when assigning the SCRGP role s. SCRGPs are responsible for checking appropriate use across the organisation. How much time is required to undertake the SCRGP role?

How many alerts require checking? There is no mandated number of privacy alerts which require investigation. One pharmacy team may decide to take a few minutes each week for checks, another pharmacy team may use more time, but check each quarter.

The regularity of the checks may be reviewed and adjusted as processes become embedded into practice, or in the event of evidence of inappropriate usage. Who can be a SCRGP in community pharmacy?

Every pharmacy has a nominated SCRGP prior to accessing SCRCR. The designated SCRGPs ideally should not have access to SCR for the pharmacy branch they work in. However, this may not be feasible in small pharmacies, and pharmacy professionals with access to SCR may also have the SCRGP role.

Read more at: SCRGP guidance, user guides and training materials NHS Digital. Patient communications. The pharmacy privacy notice may explain that pharmacy professionals will access records such as SCR and Shared Care Records. We align with NHS protocols for use of records.

We may also ask you if, whilst you remain under our care, our pharmacy professionals can consult relevant records. If you allow us to see those health records this will help to ensure that relevant medical information is visible to our professionals.

A template privacy notice can be found at: cpe. For locally produced SCR communication materials, pharmacies need to take care to ensure compliance with the NHS Brand guidelines if planning to use the NHS logo. Patient access to SCR info. Increasingly patients will also be able to access SCR and other health information e.

from their Shared Care Record within the NHS App , if GP practices have enabled NHS App features. To use the calculator:. The calculator states the date of the data being used. SCR usage data in raw spreadsheet format will continue to be published for those that need to use this spreadsheet data for their bespoke analysis.

NHS Digital are also publishing the data in spreadsheet format on their calculator webpage. Pharmacy level SCR statistics by LPC area 2MB excel spreadsheet.

NHS Digital update a live map of those community pharmacies which have gone live with SCR. A number of organisations and people are involved with the implementation and technical oversight of the SCR. NHS Digital manage the national infrastructure for a variety of NHS IT projects including the SCR.

NHS England are responsible for undertaking a range of tasks that support pharmacies in accessing and using national NHS IT applications. NHS England, through its local teams may either provide support functions itself or make arrangements for commissioning support units CSUs or any other IT provider to deliver them.

GP IT services will be managed by clinical commissioning groups CCGs on behalf of NHS England. A CCG may choose to provide support functions to GP practices itself or make arrangements to commission support from CSUs or another IT provider — whilst it is possible that in some areas, NHS England and CCGs will commission the same CSU to provide SCR support for pharmacies and GPs respectively, this may not always be the case.

When SCR is down, or there is a failure with Smartcard access then an alternative to its use is contact with the GP practice as would have been the case prior to the pharmacy being live with SCR.

Sign-up to receive Spine alerts so that you will be notified if NHS IT components fail which prevent SCR access. For more on SCR and NHS IT business continuity issues read here. Community Pharmacy England recommends pharmacy staff use NHS IT business continuity tools such as:.

Note that system Spine alerts differ to SCR privacy alerts. Pharmacy team members may also contact Community Pharmacy England: it cpe. uk to comment on a technical issue being escalated to NHS Digital or to feedback about the SCR.

Clip from the full webinar about scope for regular usage:. COVID 19 SNOMED CT Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine — Clinical Terms were added to SCR Additional Information dataset to capture suspected or confirmed COVID 19 status from GP systems.

If GP practices use these codes on their clinical systems, this should feed across into SCR Additional Information. Read more at: NHS Digital website. Future developments. NHS Digital have previously said they will welcome ideas relating to Smartcards or access control which are:. For instance one of the projects being looked at includes exploring giving more health and care workers quick and secure access to healthcare information and systems from tablets and mobile devices with and without Smartcards.

They also appreciate feedback regarding the Care Identity Service. To submit ideas email cisuat nhs.

Please cc Community Pharmacy England: it cpe. From 1 April , the terms of service began to require NHS pharmacists who have access to SCR to access this if they consider, in their clinical judgment that it is in the best interests of the patient to do so.

If an NHS pharmacist does access the SCR then this must be in accordance with The NHS Care Record Guarantee guidance. Community Pharmacy England is sometimes asked whether contractors must access SCR and when. If so, then your access of SCR must be in accordance with The NHS Care Record Guarantee guidance available here.

Pharmacy contractors with access to more detailed records such as Local Health and Carer Records LHCRs may make a determination that access to the LHCR means an additional access to SCR would not be necessary.

SCRs can only be accessed by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, and this regulatory change does not amend that.

Most contractors have previously ensured their pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have access to SCR, as this was originally a requirement of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme. Situations where consistent and reliable access to SCR may be outside the control of the contractor could include the SCR system being down at a national level and internet connection problems or power supply issues which the contractor has reported and their provider is seeking to fix.

A failure to ensure a new pharmacist or pharmacy technician member of staff or a locum has a working NHS Smartcard which allows access to SCR would be a circumstance within the control of the contractor.

Pharmacy contractors with access to a more detailed record system such as their Local Health and Carer Record LHCR and access to SCR maintain access to SCR. SCR could be used as a backup in the event of an outage with the LHCR system.

The National Pharmacy Association has provided to NHS Digital the following statement:. Numark Ltd has provided to NHS Digital the following statement:.

As such, our policy will provide cover to pharmacists and technicians utilising and operating within approved guidelines and continuing to act with due regard to patient safety, care and consent. The General Pharmaceutical Council released a statement regarding liability:.

We believe that access to records will increase dialogue and communication and improve collaboration with other healthcare professionals. Whilst this is not a new area for some of the profession, for example those working in hospitals or those who work as prescribers, we recognise that this is a developing area for community pharmacy.

Pharmacy professionals who can access patient medical records must ensure that they apply the principles and requirements of conduct, ethics and performance to any additional information that they can access as result of these changes.

Under the first principle in those standards, concerning governance, standard 1. Within some areas of England, pharmacy contractors may be accessing Local Health and Care Records LHCRs.

For example the Dorset Care Record can be accessed by pharmacy contractors. Contractors may opt to access a LHCR record as an alternative to SCR access for relevant scenarios. However, even for contractors which opt to use LHCR as much as possible instead of SCR, SCR is a useful back-up e. in case the LHCR system experiences a technical outage.

Consistent access to SCR is required as described above. As these events finished in mid-February, a new process will be announced in the coming months for those who have not been to an event and plan to go live with SCR. Community Pharmacy England will issue news once the new process is confirmed.

There is a checklist of items to complete at cpe. Also read more on the NHS Digital implementation guidance document. As a relief pharmacist within a multiple organisation who is the person that should provide my face-to-face training briefing event and how should I get my Smartcard SCR-enabled?

Your pharmacy superintendent will be able to advise on how your organisation is going live with SCR and how you can get your Smartcard activated for SCR.

Smartcards require adjustment to enable SCR — although this should be able to be done remotely. What is the process for locum staff with the 5F Smartcard wishing to gain SCR access onto that Smartcard? What if there is delay? There will be a process for locum users to be able to access SCR.

The locum Smartcard 5F may be used, frequently this may be provided where the staff member works at 5 or more pharmacies at short notice. In addition locum staff can then also add many regular premises to their Smartcard so that they can log-in using those rather than the generic F code.

Where is the SCR Acceptable Use Agreement AUA for me to sign? What are the steps needed to sign this? You may contact your SCR Implementation Manager for further advice based on where you are located contact information at end of this document. Can SCR be accessed from any standalone computer using a Smartcard reader?

SCR can be accessed on a pharmacy PMR system that is on the N3 network e. pharmacy computer in the pharmacy. It cannot be accessed from home on a laptop.

It can only be accessed on the N3 network with access via a Smartcard. If you have another PMR system terminal in another location in your pharmacy and if it is connected to N3 network and has a Smartcard reader, you can access SCR. Only Pharmacy technicians that are registered with General Pharmaceutical Council GPhC can access SCR.

Initially, only the regulated roles by GPhC e. pharmacist and pharmacy technician can access SCR. The SCR team is exploring how other types of pharmacy team members could have access to SCR e.

pre-reg, dispenser. All registered technicians that require access to SCR must complete the CPPE SCR eLearning module. You can use these test patient NHS numbers to practice SCR access and become familiar with the process: , , , What is the website address that we need to use to access SCR?

Will our chosen pharmacy system supplier have compatibility with SCR? Your pharmacy system supplier needs to allow access to Internet Explorer on web browser for SCR access see cpe.

Is there a step-by-step guide on using SCR and finding the necessary information on the system? If I have a query with a repeat prescription patient, given the patient will not be on-site, can I phone the patient to gain consent?

SCR can only be accessed if you have consent from the patient e. in person or over the phone. But for repeat patients you can have a one-off consent conversation which provides access consent for 12 months.

You should record this permission in PMR patient notes field for the patient. For information on emergency access see the question immediately below. Some pharmacies use SCR frequently each day.

The person auditing usage may check a proportion and that there is a patient, but should not need to check the clinical determination. Summary Care Records are created and maintained by GP practices. Records are then maintained automatically, whenever there is a relevant change to the patients practice record and the user has logged on with their smartcard.

GP practices also have the capability to access and view SCRs for any non-registered patients including emergency and temporary patients. As soon as a practice starts creating SCRs they are considered to be live with SCR.

Any patient that is either seen at the practice, or whose information on their local record is updated, will have their SCR updated through the creation of a GP Summary Update. How is the SCR updated?

Is there a requirement for GP practices to update the SCR? Practices were required to implement this requirement as soon as possible after 1 April and should, by 30 September , have published a statement of intent at the practice premises and on the website where applicable to achieve the requirement by 31 March The requirement is on the basis of the current definition of the SCR i.

the core SCR record contains medications, allergies and adverse reactions and is uploaded on the basis of implied patient consent. Additional information can only be uploaded with explicit patient consent and should be information required to support patient care in an emergency or urgent situation.

The SPL was a record of vulnerable patients thought to be at high risk of complications from coronavirus COVID An updated NHS SPL was generated weekly by NHS Digital, incorporating additional patient data provided by acute trusts, GP practices and other data sources.

This enabled community pharmacy teams using the SCRa application to see an alert when viewing the SCR of such a patient. The Shielded Patient Flag went live from April Following the government announcement in September regarding the end of national shielding in England, the SPL for England closed and changes to patient risk status stopped being applied.

Information contained in the SPL was last updated at the end of September As of November , NHS Digital planned to undertake a managed closure of the SPL during late and early and planned to issue further communications later.

Following the end of shielding, NHS Digital has been instructed by Department of Health and Social Care and Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation JCVI to change the high-risk flags in medical records, associated with previously clinically extremely vulnerable CEV patients, to a moderate or low-risk flag.

This is part of a managed closure of the List. As part of this, an engagement exercise took place with those who had used SPF to fully understand any continuing or additional use cases of the SPL.

Video