Clinical Safety Issue - Current Repeat Medications Not Displaying Correctly on Summary Care Record (SCR) - England Only

Cegedim Healthcare Solutions has been made aware of an issue where repeat medications are being displayed incorrectly in a patient's Summary Care Record (SCR) when viewed in the National Care Records Service (NCRS). Namely, that information for a given repeat medication item is being displayed under a different repeat medication item in the patient's list of current repeat medications. This is because such information that should be split across five display columns, is being aggregated into a single display field. The following screenshot shows an example of how this information is being displayed in a patient’s SCR and causing the issue.

By a clinician viewing information being presented incorrectly for a repeat medication item in a patient's SCR as if it belongs to a different repeat medication item they have been prescribed, this presents a clinical safety risk with potential for patients to have their health or wellbeing adversely affected. By a viewing clinician misinterpreting this information, this may have implications for patient care, including that a patient may not receive appropriate treatment / therapy as a result of a clinician’s inappropriate decision-making informed and based upon their misunderstanding and / or confusion regarding the incorrect repeat medication information being displayed in their SCR. 

As mitigation, we are currently working alongside with NHS England to determine the root cause of this issue and establish a fix that will prevent any further occurrences. In the meantime, we would ask that SCR users / viewers are mindful of the potential for misinterpretation and confusion in this area when viewing a patient's current repeat medications displayed in their SCR.

Thank you for your attention to this.

If you require any further information, please contact the Cegedim UK Clinical Safety Team at clinical.safety@visionhealth.co.uk.