When Fiona White qualified four years ago as a medicines management technician, she was constantly ringing GP surgeries and asking staff to fax through often hand-written information.
Now she is a regular and consistent Dorset Care Record user and loves its easy access and intuitive nature.
Fiona has been working at Poole Hospital since 2015. The role complements the hospital pharmacists but is different. Fiona is involved in supplying medication to patients while they are in hospital, in preparation for their discharge; counselling patients on their past and current medication; carrying out technical checks and liaising with members of the multidisciplinary team to ensure a safe and efficient service.
Fiona started using the Dorset Care Record (DCR) last year and compares it to the Summary Care Record (SCR) currently available at University Hospitals Dorset (UHD).
“There are a couple of fundamental differences. The DCR doesn’t require an ID card and is easy to access on all PC terminals.
“And secondly, the SCR specifically requests that I have to ask the patient whether they are happy for me to access their record every time. That is really impractical if the patient is, for example, unconscious or in theatre.”
Currently working at weekends and Mondays, Fiona uses the DCR regularly: “I did about 20 patient histories yesterday. Most of the time it works really well – sometimes there are hiccups – if for example patients are from Hampshire I don’t always get all the information.
Fiona added that one of the other key benefits was being able to access medication histories without calling GP surgeries.
“Looking back, we are in a million times better position now than a few years ago when we were phoning GPs and asking them to send information via faxes. The DCR now forms an integral part of our reconciliation process for all new admissions. It provides a quicker access to medication history and I am more likely to receive accurate prescribing and fewer errors.”
In the future, it would be lovely to get the Medications Viewer up and running, so that current medications from all care settings are integrated.
“At present, we can only really use GP summaries, which were already available through SCR. Clearer identification on repeat dispensing dates would also be nice,” she added.
With the Wessex Care Records working to provide a One Medication Record for Dorset – enhanced interoperability – meaning that she will be able to see Hampshire patient GP details and care packages from the local authorities entering into the DCR, there are hopes that Fiona won’t have to wait too long for that ambition to be realised.
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