A new landmark agreement between Jersey’s General Practitioners and Health and Community Services (HCS) allows patient records to be viewed and shared electronically for the first time.
In an announcement that will surprise many people, the Jersey Summary Care Record (JSCR) – a patient’s electronic record containing up-to-date information from the patient’s GP record – is now accessible to acute clinicians in the Jersey General Hospital. It will be a surprise, because many people assumed that this was already possible.
Hospital clinicians have electronic access to core information held within the Primary Care record of patients, via a portal called EMIS, which will provide safer care for patients and access to information that speeds-up decision making.
It will enable health and care professionals in the Emergency Department and the Emergency Assessment Unit, amongst other acute settings, to have better medical information when they are treating patients at the point of care.
The Jersey Summary Care Record contains summary patient information concerning medications and any allergies or reactions to medication in the past, as well as information relating to any medical based decisions such as a patient’s advance directive detailing future wishes for their care.
To protect patient privacy:
- only registered and regulated healthcare professionals – such as doctors, nurses, paramedics, and pharmacists – will have access to a patient’s Jersey Summary Care Record.
- before accessing the record, healthcare staff will ask a patient’s permission to view it, unless it is a medical emergency and the patient is unable to give permission and, in such circumstances, a ‘best interest decision’ will be made.
- an opt-out option is also available
Bryony Perchard, General Practitioner, said: “Patients have often been surprised that the information in their summary medical record has not been readily available to Hospital departments, especially in urgent care settings such as Emergency Department, Emergency Assessment Unit, Intensive Treatment Unit and hospital pharmacy.
“The advent of the Jersey Summary Care Record is a landmark agreement to break down barriers in the sharing of information between health providers to improve and provide safer care for our patients in a seamless and timely way.
“It has been a long process to ensure that patients’ data is secure, protected but shared in an appropriate way to safeguard their health, well-being and enable our secondary care colleagues to deliver safer and appropriate care at what is often very stressful times for patients.
“GPs in Jersey welcome this initiative to help deliver faster and safer care to all our patients at difficult times. GPs see this as just the start of inter-connected digital health systems for patients while respecting privacy but ensuring optimal health care delivery and communication between healthcare providers.”
Dr Petra Schinle, EAU Consultant, said: “The previous paper-based system meant clinicians and GPs often experienced delays in receiving important information. This new electronic Jersey Summary Care Record gives health and care professionals, away from your usual GP practice, access to information to provide you with safer care, reduce the risk of prescribing errors and improve your patient experience.”
Dr Andrew Mitchell, Cardiologist and Chief Clinical Information Officer, said: “This is the next step in our vision to create an inter-connected digital health and care system for Jersey. In 2017, Digital Jersey, Health and Community Services, and the Primary Care Body launched the Digital Health Strategy, which outlined the vision for a digitally-enabled and connected health system. Its aim was to ensure that data is used routinely by care professionals, specialists and system leaders for intelligence-led insights which positively influence the decisions they take on a day-to-day basis, for example, to improve the safety of medicine administration.”
Professor John McInerney, the Caldicott Guardian responsible for protecting the confidentiality of people’s health and care information, said: “By utilising all eight of the Caldicott Principles, clinicians across the Island can now access vital life-saving information about patients 24/7 and 365 days a year, whilst ensuring that the sensitive and confidential nature of this patient information is maintained at all times. This long-awaited collaboration between patients, primary care colleagues and HCS is an absolute game-changer in enhancing patient safety and enhance involvement in their own care.”
