Summary Care Records (SCR)

Your Summary Care Record is a short summary of your GP medical records. It tells other health and care staff who care for you about the medicines you take and your allergies. This means they can give you better care if you need health care away from your usual doctor’s surgery:

  • In an emergency
  • When you’re on holiday
  • When your surgery is closed
  • At out-patient clinics
  • When you visit a pharmacy

Ask your doctor to include additional information on your SCR

You can add more information to your SCR by asking your doctor. They can add extra details from your medical notes, including:

  • Health problems like dementia or diabetes
  • Details of your carer
  • Your treatment preferences
  • Communication needs, for example, if you have hearing difficulties or need an interpreter

This will help medical staff care for you properly, and respect your choices when you need care away from the practice. This is because having more information on your SCR means they will have a better understanding of your needs and preferences.

When you are treated away from the practice, the health care staff there can’t see your GP medical records. Looking at your SCR can speed up your care and make sure you are given the right medicines and treatment.

Security and the SCR

Data within the SCR is protected by secure technology. Users must have a smartcard with the correct codes set. Each use is recorded.

Staff will ask your permission to look at your SCR (except in an emergency where you are unconscious, for example) and only staff with the right levels of security clearance can access the system, so your information is secure.

You can ask to see the record of who has looked at your SCR, from the viewing organisation. This is called a ‘Subject Access Request’.

Patient data is protected by strict information governance rules and procedures. Each organisation using the SCR has at least one privacy officer who is responsible for monitoring access and can generate audits and reports.

Opting out

If you are registered with a GP practice in England your SCR is created automatically, unless you have opted out. 98% of practices are now using the system.

SCRs improve care, but if you don’t want to have one you can opt-out. Tell your GP or fill in an SCR opt-out form and hand it to a member of our Reception team.