Lessons learned from implementation of nationally shared electronic patient records in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Abstract

Electronic access to a summary of key details from a patient’s medical record from wherever they are being treated is a goal of many health systems. England, Scotland and Wales addressed this by developing the Summary Care Record, Emergency Care Summary and Individual Health Record respectively; Northern Ireland adopted Scotland’s technology. Whilst all four schemes shared a similar vision, they differed widely in their strategy, budget, implementation plan, approach to clinical and public engagement and approach to evaluation and learning. We compare the four countries’ experiences and draw lessons from the mixed fortunes of these programmes to date