EXCLUSIVE

Pharmacy needs to "market" the benefits of sharing patient data and ease fears of it being misused, as the information could prove vital for predicting future health trends, Celesio UK managing director Cormac Tobin has warned.

Pharmacy had failed to properly explain why data sharing was essential for the sector to analyse increasing demand for certain medicines and services, said Mr Tobin, who took the helm of Lloydspharmacy's parent company last year.

Patients were still worried that if they shared their data they would receive a "constant barrage" of phone calls from companies trying to sell them other products, Mr Tobin told C+D in an exclusive interveiw on Thursday (February 13).

"I get more phone calls selling me things in this country than anywhere else in the world, so I understand this [desire for] data protection," said Cormac Tobin, managing director of Lloydspharmacy parent company Celesio UK	More on sharing of patient data MP's move to delay patient records access a 'blow' to pharmacy Homes leafleted to encourage patients to share medical records Put pressure on NHS England for medical records access
	The government needed to restore confidence in how it would use this data, Mr Tobin said. And it had to be "very careful" not to sell this data to private companies or it could face a "massive kick back" from the public, he said.

"I get more phone calls selling me things in this country than anywhere else in the world and I don't know how my number got in their hands. So I understand this [desire for] data protection," he added.

Stephan Borchert, Celesio's chief marketing officer, said his company needed to work with pharmacists to examine how data could be better used in the health system.

"[Pharmacists] don't have the resources or finances, so we have to join forces to embark on this journey, which will dramatically revolutionise the healthcare system," he told C+D.

"We can't continue the way we [are], having almost no transparency on preventative and compliance systems," he added.

When US healthcare giant McKesson announced it would be buying Celesio last year, McKesson chairman and chief executive John Hammergren suggested increased transparency of patient data between healthcare providers was "one of the big strategies" the company could bring to Europe.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt announced pharmacists would get access to electronic patient records in November and has since named it as a priority. But his plans faced opposition from Labour MP Roger Godsiff, who last month called for shared record access across the NHS to be delayed "indefinitely" while patient groups were consulted.

Do you think pharmacy could do more to explain the benefits of sharing data? Comment below or email us at [email protected] You can also find C+D on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook