This guide has been produced by the PMO team to help staff with any questions they might have about the Dorset Care Record. It is available also in word format. For further information please contact our Communications and Engagement Manager Tony McDougal – tony.mcdougal@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk (Tel: 01305 224831)
Background
The Dorset Care Record is an electronic record linking health and social care information from Dorset General Practices, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Dorset Council, Dorset County Hospital, Dorset HealthCare, Dorset CCG, Poole Hospital and the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals to improve care in Dorset.
Access
How do I get access to the DCR?
There are more than 7,000 licences across the Partnership available for health and social care professionals that provide direct care to citizens. Staff need to have their access request authorised by their organisation and complete DCR training. Training is available as e-learning to make it more accessible to all DCR partners across Dorset.
How does my organisation sort out whether I should have access?
Each partner has their own process:
Dorset HealthCare – You will be contacted by your IT department if you are eligible
Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital/Poole Hospital – You can request access by contacting your IT training department. Due to COVID-19, you should request your accounts to dcrsystemadmin@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Dorset County Hospital – please contact your IT department
Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council – please request access from your Mosaic IT support team
Dorset Council – You should go to the Dorset Council self-service portal link here and your request will need to be approved by a manager or authorised person. For managers, you can request access on behalf of your staff using this link here
If you have any queries regarding obtaining access please contact our System Manager – dcrsystemadmin@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Training
What sort of training do I need to do?
To make learning accessible to the large number of DCR users across the county, we have created e-learning modules which you can access anywhere you have internet access. Each partner has their own generic login for Dorset Learning Online
When you apply for access to DCR you will be emailed with login details for your organisation. If you already have access to Learning Online (as a member of Dorset Council) you can use your personal login.
There are now a number of learning modules available and we would encourage you to look at them all.
The core learning modules are:
- An introduction to the Dorset Care Record
- DCR Information Sharing and Security (mandatory module)
- DCR Navigation
You will need to pass the mandatory module assessment and have your account request approved before we can set up your account to access DCR.
The additional modules available cover:
- Allergies
- Radiology, Pathology and Referrals
- Maternity Pathway for Maternity Admin
- Maternity Pathway for Midwives
- Discharge Medications
- Clinical Correspondence – currently being updated
Where can I find the training?
The training is held on Dorset Council’s Learning on Line website. You will need to do the following:
- Log in to Learning on Line with details sent to you by the PMO
- Type in “DCR” into the search bar in the top right corner
- Click on the module that comes up and scroll down until you see the “Information Sharing and Security” module
- Clock on the link to the slides and go through this
- At the end of the slides you will see a link to the short assessment at the end
- Once you have passed this, you will get an email sent and will be then able to create an account.
Can I have some supported e-learning sessions?
Yes. As well as e-learning we also organise facilitated e-learning sessions to give staff the opportunity to come away from their desks and dedicate time to undertake the e-learning, working through training at their own pace. You can find out more Supported e-learning sessions
Is there any more information I need about training?
We have provided a range of additional resources. These include a Quick Start Guide with more information around logging in and passwords and navigating the screen.
There is also information on DCR Information Sharing and Discussion to View summary, which documents changes to DCR consent.
And there is also an update on Sensitive Records
What’s on the DCR and what’s coming up soon?
What is currently available?
As of Summer 2020, information currently available includes:
- Demographic data (from the three acute hospitals RBCH, PH and DCH) and from our two local authorities (DC and BCP)
- GP records from all Dorset surgeries
- Appointments (RBCH, PH and DCH)
- Alerts (DCH)
- Radiology (RBHC, PH and DCH)
- Pathology (DCH)
- Referrals (DCH)
- Discharge medications and clinical correspondence (DCH)
How can I get more involved?
We are always in need of testers for the Dorset Care Record. While we have dedicated members of our own team carrying out testing, it is really important to have input from medical and social care professionals. It should take a total to 2-3 hours spread across a couple of days, up to three times a year. If you’d like to know more see our Testing page.
What further information will be available on the DCR later this year?
We envisage the following to be added to the DCR in 2020/21:
- Pathology reports (RBCH and PH)
- Demographics, encounters and referrals (DHC)
- Alerts (DHC, RBCH and PH)
- Allergies, correspondence, medications and discharge summaries (RBCH and PH)
- Social work and occupational therapy (DC and BCP)
- Mental health and physical health services (DHC)
Information comes directly from the acute hospitals and GP surgeries in real time so should be the most up to date available. For all other information, where possible this will be real time but if not, at the least, will be updated overnight except for one BCP feed which is updated weekly.
How secure is the DCR?
The DCR solution is provided by global healthcare company Orion Health, which looks after a number of other care records across the UK. All data is run in a secure datacentre in the UK, encrypted from database to browser.
There are a range of safeguards in place including:
- Access control, authentication and management of users
- Password, account and privacy policies
- Password encryption
- Session management and activity timeout
- Audit logs
- Patient privacy and levels of consent
- Controlled access limited to approved IP addresses
All access to information is via a highly secure access portal limited to approved NHS and local authority health and social care professionals.
Can I see information from Yeovil, Salisbury and Southampton Hospitals?
No. We are not consuming information from the three hospitals. We have provided DCR access to Yeovil District Hospital. We have always said that we wanted to provide feeds from the DCR to Yeovil. Between 30-40% of YDH patients come from north Dorset. In the light of COVID-19, YDH reached out to the DCR, saying it would be extremely useful to have shared record information from GPs in Dorset. We have agreed to provide licences for up to 150 YDH staff working in the hospital’s Emergency Department and other key areas of the hospital dealing with the virus. There are plans in the future to include Salisbury and Southampton hospitals as we know many Dorset residents go to other large hospitals outside Dorset to receive treatment.
Why are we working with community pharmacies?
Pharmacists working in community pharmacies have an important role to play in ensuring there is safe use of medicines, particularly after discharge from hospital. Access to the DCR will enable them to quickly check if medicines have changed or stopped and help prevent harm.
Will we be working with Role Based Access Control examples?
Yes, it is likely that we will and this is currently under investigation. We are looking at what roles are available in the system, ie opticians, dentists, care homes etc and will update this section in due course.
Information for members of the public queries
What do I do if a member of the public wants to opt out of the system?
You should direct them to the public website where they will find four ways to opt out
What happens if a member of the public asks to see their medical record?
If someone asks for a Subject Access Request they need to contact the individual organisations such as the GP surgery or hospital. They should ask to speak to a data protection officer from that organisation. A subject access request in most cases is free.
Someone wants to know who has accessed their DCR record. What should I do?
If a member of the public asks this, they should contact our Privacy Officer for a Subject Access Request on 0345 200 0026 or dcrprivacyofficer@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Using the DCR
Why can I not see a DCR record for a person?
There may be two possible reasons for this. Firstly, a patient may have opted out of the DCR. Where a person has opted out, they will not appear when you search for that individual. Secondly, if a person has not had any contact with one of the acute hospitals, social care or mental health services then they will not yet have a record.
Can I see the records of a deceased person?
Yes – you will need to change your search filters to include deceased patients.
If information is incorrect, can I change it on the DCR?
No, you will need to update this through the source system; for example, the hospital patient administration system or RiO. If your source system is correct but still appearing wrong then it is pulling the information from another system and you will need to email the System Manager at dcrsystemmanager@dorsetcc.gov.uk
How is data matched – how do I know if the address is the correct one?
The DCR will match the systems together to find the “single best record”. All the fields and systems have a weighting against them which helps them to determine which is the best record. This is usually the one most recently accessed but not necessarily. This should avoid duplicate records. The DCR is the first shared health and social care records in England to work through the complexities of handling and sharing sensitive records from NHS Digital’s Personal Demographic Service as marked on the NHS Spine. These restricted records are used to protect the location of vulnerable patients in high risk categories, such as adoption and witness protection.
Help and Support
Who do I contact for support?
Please click the link here to find contact details for your IT helpdesk along with other DCR professionals such as the Systems Manager. If you have an out of hours or systems issue contact your IT helpdesk and they will be reported back to the project team if needed.
What happens if I lose my password?
If you need to have your password reset you should email dcrsystemadmin@dorsetcc.gov.uk
What happens if I do not use my account? Does it get revoked?
If you have not logged in to your account in 90 days, it will automatically become deactivated. You will need to email dcrsystemadmin@dorsetcc.gov.uk who will be able to reactivate it for you.
How can I provide feedback about the DCR?
We are always keen to receive feedback to improve the system further. Please email us at dcrsystemadmin@dorstcc.gov.uk or call our helpline number on 0345 200 0026.
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