How electronic records can transform community care

How electronic records can transform community care


A growing number of areas are setting up shared systems, ensuring professionals have the right information at their fingertips

GPs hold overviews of their patients’ healthcare, while hospitals and mental health providers have detailed information on specific treatment. But community healthcare, which helps to join up primary and secondary care, often suffers from lacking access to information from other parts of the NHS.

Health boards in Wales and Scotland provide all NHS services in their areas, and Cardiff and Vale NHS health board has issued its community healthcare staff with laptops, allowing them to access patient records. But in England, care is split between clinical commissioning groups for primary care, trusts for acute care and a range of trusts and social enterprises for community care, all with separate records. 

Guardian
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