The Dorset Care Record has added radiology and pathology results and referral information.
The latest records to come on stream cover radiology results from Dorset County Hospital (DCHFT), Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals (RBCH) and Poole Hospital (PHFT), as well as pathology reports and referrals from Dorset County Hospital.
Encounter information – covering information on inpatient, outpatient and admissions from RBCH and PHFT has also been added. This information now provides details on appointments, visits and hospital stays, helping GPs, community health and social care professionals, who will be able to see records updated in real time.
Peter Gill, Director of informatics at Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and DCR senior responsible owner, said: “This is a significant milestone for the Dorset Care Record and will ensure that people will receive coordinated and safer care as well as enabling health and social care professionals to better understand the needs of patients across the county.”
Ben Chennell, Weymouth GP and DCR chairman, added: “This will improve the care we can provide patients enabling access to results from across Dorset for the first time. This should save valuable time when looking after patients and prevent duplication of investigations.”
The Dorset Care Record holds demographic data from the county’s three acute hospitals, including name, date of birth, address, next of kin, NHS number and ethnicity. It also contains GP records covering diagnosis, events, examinations, investigations, medication and allergies, procedures and risks. Information on inpatient, outpatient and admissions from Dorset County Hospital was also added earlier this summer.
Work has also begun on developing the Dorset Care Record Citizen Portal, which will in time enable people to check their own records.
Two pilot groups – expectant mothers and certain cancer patients – have been chosen for the pilot of the Citizen Portal and are being developed in partnership with provider Orion Health. They have been chosen due to the frequent interaction and high level of correspondence between patients and clinicians. It will empower patients within the groups and enable them to have early access to their individual records relevant to their care being provide, replacing large volumes of paperwork, and is due for completion by early next year.
