GPC Wales has approved an access request from Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) to the Welsh GP Record (WGPR) in additional modules of the Choose Pharmacy application.
Choose Pharmacy is a DHCW application that supports all community pharmacists providing clinical services in Wales, recording consultations, sharing information with relevant healthcare professionals, and generating claims for payment. The Choose Pharmacy application is currently live in 705 sites (98% of all pharmacies) across Wales.
As NHS Wales moves to operationalise the Welsh Government strategy ‘A Healthier Wales’ and increase provision of care closer to home, the increasing range of NHS clinical services delivered by community pharmacists require access to the content of the WGPR to support safe and effective clinical decision making and promote patient safety.
Choose Pharmacy access to WGPR functionality will enable community pharmacy users to have read only access to the WGPR including the ability to import information in a read only format. WGPR access is restricted to appropriately accredited community pharmacy users with all access monitored by Health Boards via the National Intelligent Integrated Audit Solution (NIIAS).
The WGPR is already embedded within the Choose Pharmacy Emergency Medicine Supply (EMS) and Independent Prescribers’ Service (IPS) modules. Community pharmacy users can only access WGPR information for a patient whilst providing a service to that patient.
Approval from GPC Wales now means Choose Pharmacy can be developed to include WGPR access in all current and future modules, with the nature of access subject to consideration by the Choose Pharmacy Clinical Reference Group (CRG) based on clinical need and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Access will be approved by the Community Pharmacy Digital Programme Board.
“GPCW believes that sharing clinical information with others directly involved in patient care is very much in our patients’ best interests. We are reassured that the National Intelligent Integrated Audit Solution (NIIAS) will be active in the Choose Pharmacy module and that it affords data protection to patients. We are ultimately responsible as data controllers and doctors for the confidentiality and safety of GP system data. NIIAS ensures compliance with the principles of GDPR and information governance”
- Dr Phil White, Chair of GPC Wales.
Suzanne Scott-Thomas, Community Pharmacy Digital Applications Programme Board Chair, commented:
“Our appreciation goes to GPC Wales for continuing to support Community Pharmacy efforts in providing safe and effective services for patients, and for approving digital enhancements to the Choose Pharmacy system which support clinical decision making by our Community Pharmacists”.
Welcoming the agreement Andrew Evans, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Welsh Government said:
“The agreement between GPC Wales and Digital Health and Care Wales represents a significant step forward in access to the information pharmacists working in the community need to provide the highest standards of pharmaceutical care. Wider access to the Welsh GP record for community pharmacy recognises the increasingly clinical contribution that community pharmacists can make in improving the health of citizens in Wales.”