What is a summary care record?

A summary care record is a ‘read only’ electronic patient summary that provides key clinical information about a patient. The information available in a SCR is sourced from a patient’s GP record and updated whenever there is a relevant change. All patients in England will have a SCR unless they choose to opt out by signing the appropriate form. Patients can opt in and opt out of the process at any time.

What does a SCR contain?

The following information is included in a SCR: Name, address, date of birth and NHS number of the patient. Also:

• All known allergies
• All known adverse drug reactions
• All medicines in the following groups:
      • Acute medicines (12 months history)
      • Current repeat medicines (18 months history)
      • Discontinued repeat medicines (six months history).

Additional information

Patients can consent to including additional information in their SCR. This is particularly useful for people with complex or long-term conditions, or patients reaching the end of life. Once a patient consents, this can be added by the GP by simply changing the consent status on the clinical system. There are currently 2.43 million SCRs with additional information (equivalent to around 4 per cent of the population) with numbers growing at 30,000 per week.

Additional information can include:

• Diagnosis/details of long-term conditions
• Specific communication needs
• Immunisations
• Details of carer
• Care preferences.