Early in 2014, the UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt signalled his support for giving community pharmacists in England access to the summary care record (SCR) - an electronic summary of a patient's medical record. News soon followed of a pilot scheme run by NHS England giving community pharmacists in 100 pharmacies in five areas of England access to the SCR. A separate pilot scheme, with ￡1.8m provided by the Prime Minister's challenge fund, will give pharmacists access to medical records to treat common conditions, such as eye infections or upper respiratory tract infections. In November, it was confirmed that patients would gain access to their health records, alongside access by all healthcare providers. But warning shots have been fired by lawyer Noel Wardle, a partner at Charles Russell Speechlys, who says that access to patient information could open up pharmacists to legal challenges.
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