A new review of international evidence and best practice by HIQA has concluded that using a central secure record of people’s medical history can help to improve patient care and safety by giving healthcare professionals timely access to relevant patient information to guide care and treatment, such as in an emergency department or a pharmacy.

HIQA looked at the evolution of ‘summary care records’ in other countries. The review considered summary care records in the UK (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales), Australia, New Zealand and The Netherlands, all regions being strong leaders in delivering eHealth initiatives.

HIQA’s Acting Director of Health Information Dr Kevin O’Carroll explained: “A summary care record is usually created automatically from existing records. It is usually held in a central national location, accessed on a secure network, and it usually contains key elements such a patient’s name, address, age, allergies, current medications and diagnoses.”

“We recognize the importance of adopting summary care records and the potential they have to increase the quality and safety of health and social care in Ireland. While research in the UK has shown implementationof a nationally shared electronic summary record is a highlycomplex challenge, most individuals and clinicians in the regions covered by this HIQA review are positive about the concept of being able to view a secure summary of key medical information.”

In each country reviewed, common information that was included in the summary care records included patients details, medications and allergies. Also, the source of information that was used to generate the summary care records came mainly from primary care, specifically from family doctors.

Kevin O’Carroll concluded: “This review can help to inform how a national summary care record could be developed in Ireland and will help inform implementation in this area. Areas such as governance, evaluation of their use and appropriate patient permission models to share information will need to be considered.”

“A national summary care record can lead to many benefits for both individuals and clinicians. This international review showed improved patient experience, patient safety and the effectiveness of patient care. The quality of care that patients receive can be improved by timely access to relevant records.”

Ends

Further Information: 

Suzanne O’Brien, Communications and Complaints Manager, HIQA

01 814 7488 / 087 624 1216 sobrien@hiqa.ie

Notes to the Editor: 

A summary care record is defined as a structured summary of key medical information on individuals, held centrally on a national database that is only accessible over a secure network from anywhere a patient seeks treatment, such as a hospital emergency department or a pharmacy.