Pharmacist read write access to patient records

[Pharmacy in Practice]

This is an area where you can discuss thoughts and ideas about how we achieve read/write access to the patient record. We will capture conversations and categorise them so that we don’t repeat them where possible and keep moving things forward. Your thoughts and opinions will inform peers but also help us collate and give your feedback directly to political leaders both within and outwith the profession.

[Pharmacy in Practice]

Update.

Sandesh Gulhane asked a number of parliamentary questions, which received answers.

To ask the Scottish Government what its policy goals are for pharmacists working in the community in relation to being able to access full clinical records for patients in their care to ensure safe prescribing, and when it expects these goals to be met.

Answer: The Scottish Government is committed to collaborate with key partners across the NHS in Scotland to ensure that relevant information, with the appropriate safeguards in place, is available to all healthcare professionals, including community pharmacists, when and where they need it.

As community pharmacists expand their clinical role, there is an increasing need for them to have read/write access to clinical records to ensure that they can safely assess and agree a clinical management plan for a person and any associated actions or treatments can be viewed by other healthcare professionals involved in a person’s care, without any unnecessary delay.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer has commissioned work to explore how read/write access to clinical records can be delivered incrementally.

To ask the Scottish Government what the current arrangements are to allow pharmacists working in the community to access their patients’ clinical records; which records they can see, and whether they can amend records to include consultations and items prescribed by the pharmacist.

Answer: Community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians gained access to the Emergency Care Summary (ECS) on 2 October 2023. The ECS provides information on recent acute and repeat prescriptions and allergies. They also have access to the Key Information Summary (KIS) where available, which provides information about a person’s health issues, a carer’s name and contact details, preferences on how a person would like to be cared for, the treatment they would like and where they would like to be cared for.

In addition, several health boards are providing community pharmacists access to their clinical portal which provides additional clinical information. Clinical portals support Health Boards to allow healthcare professionals to access information about an individual, including in some cases those from other Health Boards when required, with their permission.

Community pharmacists can create, read and edit Pharmacy Care Records (PCRs) to record details of consultations they have undertaken (for example Pharmacy First consultations) as well as details of any items that have been prescribed and/or dispensed in their community pharmacy. The PCR also allows them to create a structured report which can be sent to any other healthcare organisation.

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason pharmacists working in communities reportedly do not have full access to clinical records for people in their care.

Answer: Community pharmacists currently have access to the Emergency Care Summary (ECS) which provides information on recent acute and repeat prescriptions and allergies and the Key Information Summary (KIS) where available, which provides information about a person’s health issues, a carer’s name and contact details, preferences on how a person would like to be cared for, the treatment they would like and where they would like to be cared for. In addition, several health boards are providing community pharmacists access to their clinical portal which provides additional clinical information.

There are several barriers that currently make full access to clinical records difficult including the interoperability of the different IT systems used across the NHS and providing assurances on data protection and information governance requirements.

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to review the current reported restrictions on pharmacists working in the community having access to full clinical records for patients in their care to ensure safe prescribing.

Answer: The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer has commissioned work to explore how the required level of access to clinical records by community pharmacists can be delivered.

[Pharmacy in Practice]

In England BMA raise concerns re GP responsibility of pharmacists writing in the patient record.

https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/2025-26-contract/gps-could-be-liable-for-third-party-errors-in-patient-records-bma-warns/

[Caroline Skea]

One of the problems here is that we don’t in fact have a *National* Health Service. It’s a regional health service subdivided further into boards. Each board works with different technologies, formularies are different, communication methods are different board to board and so communication between boards is also awkward. This is highlighted when patients need to go to other HBs for treatment. My case as an example: the Edinburgh Heart Centre is where patients from Borders, Lothians AND Fife have to attend for an angiogram. My local hospital claimed not to know that I should be called for follow-up CT scans because Edinburgh hadn’t communicated this directly to them and they couldn’t see the notes in Edinburgh. Surely, for the safety of all patients in Scotland, NHS Scotland should have a consistent network across all boards instead of being a patchwork mish-mash of systems? This should include GP practices and community pharmacies. This would also smooth the transition (or completely remove the issues!) when patients move house and change to a new GP practice and pharmacy.

[Pharmacy in Practice]

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: 22 May 2025
Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 30 May 2025
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether legislation will be required to deliver an integrated social care and health record, as referenced in its Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2024-25.
Answer
The Scottish Government are committed to delivering a digital health and care record and can confirm that legislation is not required to create such a record. However, Part 2 of the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill, if passed, will create the enabling conditions for success of a digital health and care record by improving information sharing and usage between individuals and organisations within the health and social care system. The Scottish Government is listening to the views of MSPs presented at Stage 2 of the parliamentary process and considering what amendments may be useful in delivering a record that improves outcomes for people in Scotland.

[Pharmacy in Practice]

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
WRITTEN ANSWER
19 June 2025
Index Heading: Health and Social Care
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress is being made to ensure that independent prescriber community pharmacists have appropriate read and write access to GP patient records in order to support safe and effective prescribing, and whether it will provide a timeline for when full access is expected to be in place.

S6W-38600
Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to collaborate with key partners across the NHS in Scotland to ensure that relevant information, with the appropriate safeguards in place, is available to all healthcare professionals, including community pharmacists, when and where they need it.

As community pharmacists expand their clinical role, there is an increasing need for them to have read/write access to clinical records to ensure that they can safely assess and agree a clinical management plan for a person and any associated actions or treatments can be viewed by other healthcare professionals involved in a person’s care, without any unnecessary delay.

Community pharmacists currently have access to the Emergency Care Summary (ECS) which provides information on recent acute and repeat prescriptions and allergies and the Key Information Summary (KIS) where available, which provides information about a person’s health issues, a carer’s name and contact details, preferences on how a person would like to be cared for, the treatment they would like and where they would like to be cared for.

In addition, several health boards are providing community pharmacists access to their clinical portal which provides additional clinical information, although the level of access varies from Health Board to Health Board. Clinical portals support Health Boards to allow healthcare professionals to access information about an individual, including in some cases those from other Health Boards when required, with their permission.

There are several barriers that currently make full access to clinical records difficult including the interoperability of the different IT systems used across the NHS and providing assurances on data protection and information governance requirements.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer is exploring how read/write access to clinical records can be delivered incrementally.

[Author]

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