14 January 2016

From next month our partner NHS organisations and local GP practices will begin to share their electronic patient records with each other, providing clinicians with faster and more secure access to patient information.

The Local Care Record will allow staff directly involved in a patient’s care to share records electronically with each other. Staff will be able to view all relevant information more easily before making clinical decisions, making treatment safer and quicker. It will also avoid patients having repeat tests done unnecessarily.

The process will start by connecting a small number of GP practices in Lambeth and Southwark with Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts. These early adopter GP sites will be supporting live piloting over the next few weeks by starting to view and share patient information during consultations and appointments. They will provide valuable feedback on the usability, performance and benefits of the system which will support wider adoption during February, March and April. To date 75% of the GP practices in Southwark and Lambeth have now signed the Data Sharing Agreement which will allow them to access the Local Care Record.