The Dorset Care Record (DCR) has now been viewed more than 1.5 million times by health and care staff, helping them provide faster, safer, and more effective care across the county.
This is a major milestone in the development of the Dorset Care Record, which was introduced in April 2018 to enhance communication between care professionals across Dorset.
November’s figures were the highest so far with 92,624 patient records accessed and 87,952 logins, representing an 8% monthly rise. Over the last 12 months, there has been a 66% rise in use of the DCR.
As a single and secure view of a person’s health and care information, the DCR lets trained health and care professionals see important patient details about them when and where they need them. This includes information about allergies and medications, discharges, test results and pathology and radiology results and plans for their ongoing care.
We have trained more than 5,300 staff to use DCR and we are continuing to work with different health and care providers so that even more can access it to benefit their patients.
The record is used by our original partners including staff at Dorset’s acute hospitals – University Hospitals Dorset and Dorset County Hospital; community and mental health professionals at Dorset HealthCare; social care providers at Dorset Council and Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Councils and GPs working for NHS Dorset.
Since our launch, several other partners have also been granted read-only access to the DCR, including community pharmacies, Yeovil Hospital, Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership, Help and Care and Ringwood GP practice. We are also working with two hospices, Joseph Manning and Weldmar, who provide end of live care.
Peter Gill, Senior Reporting Officer for the DCR and director of informatics at UHD, said: “Uptake of the DCR has grown substantially over the past year and I hear first-hand, from clinical colleagues, the huge positive difference it is making. By having immediate access to vital information, it gives a more rounded picture of a patient’s heath, enabling informed decisions to be made at the right time and in the right place.”
The DCR is currently working with partners, including local authorities, to get additional information, including alerts, care packages, referrals, and relationships into the shared care record
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