Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of giving pharmacists access to patient records to reduce the demand for GP appointments.

No assessment has been made on access to patient records in relation to demand for general practitioner (GP) appointments.

However, in some areas medical records are already shared between professionals to support locally commissioned services. Pharmacists have access to a patient’s summary care record (SCR) and where the patient has consented, the SCR allows access to much of the patient’s primary care record. The SCR already supports the newly commissioned Community Pharmacy Consultation Service and a range of other services and advice offered in community pharmacy. These services are designed to make pharmacies the first port of call for minor illness and health advice and to reduce pressure on other parts of the National Health Service, including GPs.

In other areas, work is progressing to improve access to patient records, including increased interoperability between pharmacy and GP systems.