to be appalled that the NHS is to give patient data to high street pharmascists

[mistymeanour]

Happened to see this today www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/11790711/Boots-Tesco-and-Superdrug-to-get-access-to-NHS-medical-records.html

Apparently based on a study of 15 patients they are going ahead with giving the summary data on all NHS records to high street pharmacies such as Boots and Lloyd's etc. I am appalled - I don't want shop assistants having access to my data or otherpeople and various firms. I feel this is a complete breach of patient trust. We were not consulted. I filed a refusal form with my GP for the previous Tory push to give drug companies and insurance firms data but this has just been announced and is to roll out next month with no warning!

Apparently the summary data contans details of meds you have been prescribed but I know a medical summariser and the summary includes details of your conditionsand treatment. What if you don't want someone to know about a rape and abortion, or depression and mental illness you had meds for etc. Will people be only able to use the NHs in return for all their data? What ever happenedto confidentiality?

So somebody goes to see the chemist with a minor ailment pharmacist says oh i will just check your records before i give you x y z is that ok ? And you think its wrong

I think the tinfoil-hat lot have probably never had a long-term illness.

not all surgeries have an on-site pharmacy. Those that don't, co-operate with the town pharmacies to fulfill prescriptions.

large-scale data sharing might just produce better treatments. If you ever get ill, you'll appreciate that.

I have long term, chronic illness and am not happy about this, so wouldn't consent.

Having my doctor see my records, who I have a trusting on- going relationship with, is totally different to a stranger even if they are a pharmacist. Medical records are highly confidential, I don't want mine uploaded to a big server when our governments manage to lose personal data multiple times.

Just say you don't want your records sharing if you don't want them to be shared. It's quite simple and not something to get really wound up about. Personally I'd rather other health experts could see my summary records (which is all that is shared - not everything ever recorded) so that if I get rushed to a&we for example And am unconscious the professionals there can find out that I have asthma so then don't give me drugs to make it worse

Tiptops, what do you think your pharmacist will have access to? They aren't going to have your medical records.

Your summary care record will have your name, nhs number and basic details for ID, the medications you currently take and any allergies. Everything but the allergies, they already have from your prescription and any previous prescriptions you have had filled at that pharmacy. They won't have access to anything else, if that is what you are worried about.

Wise words from our Pharmacy Leaders:

www.pharmacyvoice.com/press/pharmacy-voice-respond-to-the-daily-telegraph-article-tesco-can-see-your-me

My pharmacy (within Asda) have multiple young locum pharmacists working there.

I consistently go there as my medication is hard to obtain and the pharmacy are reliable in obtaining it.

Many times I have been to the pharmacy and seen a locum look puzzled at the medication I take as I don't look obviously 'unwell'. So many of them are curious and try to enquire further.

I dont feed their nosiness. Its none of their business. They don't need information on my condition to understand if the medications I take interact.

I don't want any old person having access to my records. Not many people have the maturity to understand what I have been through. Pharmacists dispense medication. They are trained in understanding how medication works. They are not trained in how to deal with vulnerable people. They are not doctors. They are not nurse's.

What has the age got to do with it havemercy? Is a newly qualified nurse, doctor, vet etc less professional because of their age?

I enjoy talking to my patients - I often learn things that can contribute to my ongoing CPD requirements and help me expand my knowledge.

And of course we need knowledge of conditions to understand why a person takes a medicine - it isn't just about interactions, but also about pre-cautions for certain illness or absolute contraindications. And finally we are trained to deal with patients - vulnerable or otherwise.

Penny Thank you for un-hiding the thread and posting everything I wanted to.

It's sheer madness that hospital records, GP records and pharmacies aren't already linked up and shared. The efficiency of the nhs would be hugely improved if they were.

And for what it's worth, I'd trust a pharmacist over a GP any day.

youarekiddingme my local Tesco are exactly the same as this.

I had the same thing with Boots. The default deal with my GP surgery is you put in a (paper) request, then pick up a paper prescription. Went there most recently to be told, "Oh, it's gone automatically to Boots in XX"--which was where I'd 'cashed' my previous one. GP's reception aren't generally very helpful, so I decided to take it up with Boots rather than them how this would've been arranged.

Boots staff claimed to be mystified how this had happened. Well, seemed fairly obvious to me: Boots already offer a repeat prescription service, my drug and GP details are on the paper prescription, so someone at Boots had decided to set it up without my permission. Boots staff tried to blame my GP surgery, despite (AIUI) the surgery never being notified where a prescription is cashed: even to the extent of throwing out that the surgery must know where I work (they don't, and it's a small town many miles away) and have chosen to nominate a random Boots there . Why would we set you up without permission, asked the Boots staff, we have better things to do--well yes, except that clearly if you offer the repeat prescription service, it's not out of pure altruism: even if no direct benefit from the prescription itself, you get another customer thru the door

I have no issues with Boots service (and AFAIK the pharmacist themselves may not be implicated), but 1) there are good practical reasons why I don't have a nominated pharmacy and 2) nominating themselves is a fucking liberty. The upshot is they've now lost my custom.

I have had fantastic &amazing experiences with pharmacists.

I have also had really shitty experiences. This tended to be with the inexperienced locums (young) at Asda, where I was asked in full view of everyone why I took the prescription medication that I took. It had nothing to do with them. It was disturbing and intrusive. I had the option of complaining, but decided that I didn't want to take it further than an informal complaint as I didn't want to jeopardise somebody's career.

It tames time to build up rapport with any healthcare provider. I have nothing against pharmacists. I utilise both their knowledge and services extensively. I know many of them on a personal level.

If this comes into effect then I shall have to change to a smaller more personalised pharmacy (where they might not be able to get the life saving medication that I need).

I'm so glad my illness and medication benefits your cpd requirements Penny

And by the way penny there is a world of difference between a doctor/nurse and a pharmacist.

So don't be so patronising.

I am not worried about pharmacists seeing my record.

I am worried about it being available to the Boots and Tesco Marketing department.

Not bashing pharmacists, or distrustful of them.

but I do definitely NOT trust Tesco and Boots with my private information (and how they'd use it)

CPD means learning, reflecting and developing - this can then be put in to practice to help others havemercy. Fortunately most of my patients value my input and we have fantastic relationships, and those that don't - well it's their loss not mine.

Oh and by the way I work for a small, independent with the personal touch. I still know that the multiples won't be able to access the data in the way you fear (the article above from PV, PSNC and RPSGB explains it in simple language that I am sure you will understand if you bother to read it - that goes for you to BabyGanoush - alternatively you can just carry on making up things that just won't happen).

And this is why I hid the thread initially - the misinformation is shocking.

penny I hope you realise that people give their personal opinions on this forum. You don't speak for the whole profession just as I don't speak (write!) for anyone other than myself. I don't want my pharmacy to have information beyond what they have already.

If I do not want my data shared with an organisation, that is my choice. Why do you take it so personally. You are not important to me.

I have had fantastic experiences of pharmacists and I have had awful experiences. I do not regard you, personally, to belong to either of those categories as like I said upthread you are nobody to me

"explains it in simple language that I am sure you will understand"

Yes penny, I need the simple language

Well then you just don't give permission havemercy - it really is that simple.

The reality is that SCR simplifies the process for us, which means we can provide you with a better standard of care promptly.

Our alternative is that we have to contact a GP, consultant etc to confirm medication when we are unsure of the suitability (this happens several times a day in a busy pharmacy). They tell us what we need to know, often after a wait of several hours. Sometimes they confirm what they have written, but sometimes there is a change of medication or dose. If SCR alleviates some of these issues I will be more than happy - there is nothing worse than having to delay treatment because you are waiting for a call back.

I've been a pharmacist for several and I am personally very pleased that access to SCR is being rolled out nationally. In my time as a pharmacist I have dealt with one heart attack, an anaphylactic reaction and a stroke in patients who had come into the pharmacy for advice. For me, deciding the best course of action for those patients would have been aided by having access to an (abbreviated) form of their records. An example being that if I saw a patient already had a history of taking blood pressure and cholesterol medicines I would think a heart problem more likely than a chest infection if the patient came in with chest pain. If a patient is on holiday and don't normally get their prescriptions from
the pharmacy then it's a godsend. Ditto when patients are confused on admission to hospital and we urgently need information.

The records have allergies listed and a list of medicines. There's no records of conversations between you and your GP/nurse. In addition to the confidentiality clause we have to sign, we have undertaken further training on accessing these records. At this moment there's some debate about how we will gain consent to view records- is verbal consent sufficient? Personally I would like to see written consent required to ensure a clear audit trail.

I totally understand anxieties about marketing etc however the industry is very tightly regulated in that respect, the date legally cannot be used for marketing. What I would say is if you are uncomfortable then do opt out or vote with your feet. Personally I don't like the target driven ethos of large chains so take my prescriptions to independent pharmacies instead.

I think sometimes we pharmacists do feel bashed, we get a lot of comments about being "poor mans doctors" or "shopkeepers". We undergo a hell of a lot of education to get to where we are. We are the ones the medics call when they have problems with medicines. We are worth more than people think.

Someone explain... suppose I go to Tesco for meds for (insert any) chronic condition.

How is Tesco marketing dept going to do something coercive to me with that information?

Send me coupons for Tena pads because of my prolapse? Comedy movies on DVD for my depression? low-sugar jam samples for diabetes? I mean realistically, what are they going to do with my information that could be upsetting?

Summary Care Record only shows recent medication and allergies. The pharmacist will have to ask you if they can view it and access to it is audited. Patients will have to opt in to having long term conditions etc viewable on their summary care record. It's a good idea, I don't know why anyone would want to opt out.

I understand what people are saying about Pharmacists and I totally respect that. HOWEVER if they are busy with queues of people there is nothing to stop them giving 'Gladys who has been with me for 20 years and knows more then I do' access to their smart cards and passwords. Yes I KNOW they are professionals and I KNOW there are consequences if caught, but people are too trusting and naïve to think that this will never ever happen, and of course before long Gladys is busy so gives the details to Susan who is new, the audit trail will only show whose card was used, not who actually inserted the card into the computer and typed in the password unless there is a camera attached to the computer

I have opted out of SCRs so it doesn't really bother me, but what DOES bother me is the perception that professionals like pharmacists no matter how long they train or what qualifications they have are somehow Gods who hover above us mere mortals and wouldn't do anything to harm us or put our confidentiality at risk, that's not true there will be lazy, incompetent pharmacists who will cut corners just like any other profession, so its right that people should be very concerned, so until my Pharmacist can only access medical records by the use of a dna sample or fingerprint I am not going to give him my complete and total trust just because he is a 'professional'

What utter bollocks Odslu.

Pharmacists are highly trained professionals who probably know more about medications and contra indications than a GP ever will. Personally I am very happy that a Pharmacist can check my prescription against my medical records - indeed I am quite shocked that they do not have access to this already.

Why are some people so paranoid about potentially life saving data being available to people who need it - IMPO ALL relevant health professionals should have immediate access to my medical records at the touch of a button - happy that there is an opt out for anyone who is paranoid but with technology available today NHS should no longer be in dark ages when it comes to sharing vital health information. Incidentally my DF was staying with me and taken into hospital as an emergency - almost died because hospital could not get urgent access to records relating to open heart surgery (in another UK hospital) a few weeks previously and emergency was as a result of delayed complications of this surgery.