Recording medicines prescribed elsewhere into the GP practice record

The Summary Care Record (SCR) is an electronic record of important patient information created from GP medical records. It can be seen and used by authorised staff in other areas of the health and care system who are involved in the patient’s direct care. Therefore, the GP medical records must be up to date so that the SCR can provide a full picture of the patient to be able to treat them safely.

Not all medications are prescribed by a GP at a GP practice. Other care settings, for example Accident and Emergency departments, community pharmacies, paramedics and dentists can also prescribe medication to patients, including repeat medication. If these medications are not recorded back into the GP practice record, it could result in healthcare professionals not having enough information to make an informed clinical decision about a patient’s care.

How to record medicines prescribed elsewhere into the GP practice record

When GP practices receive a patient’s discharge note from an alternative care setting, information on any prescribed medications should be added to their GP practice record. Here are the high-level instructions on how to do this.

EMIS Web – enter the drug details as normal on the ‘add a drug’ screen, ensuring that either ‘acute’ or ‘repeat’ is selected as appropriate and then select ‘issue’. You can then change where or how the medication has been prescribed. Once this has been done, follow the steps to approve and complete.

SystmOne – enter the name of the medication you are entering as normal in the ‘drug and appliance’ window and select the formulation of the drug you require. You can then choose the source of the medication and the quantity / dose. Once this has been done, follow the steps to save.