Despite 79% of pharmacies in England having completed face-to-face training sessions on SCR, only 27% (3,083) of pharmacies have actually accessed the system, NHS Digital confirmed to C+D last week (August 4).

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) called on the remaining 21% of pharmacies to claim the £200-worth of training before March 2017 – when the funding offer will expire.

PSNC recommended that "frequent use" of the record as soon as a pharmacy is granted access helps it to "become embedded into standard procedures".

Pharmacies in Sheffield and branches of Day Lewis across the country were the first to benefit from the nationwide rollout of SCR, which aims to give all pharmacists an electronic summary of key patient information (including medicines, allergies and adverse reactions).

"No delays" to training

Rollout of the mandatory SCR training was due to finish in May, with the North Midlands the last region to get be granted access to it. NHS Digital stressed to C+D last week that “there have been no delays” to the training schedule.

The next stage of its plans is to "increase implementation" of the patient record among "live sites", it told C+D.

The organisation has received feedback that “pharmacists are looking forward to the enhanced version of SCR, in particular being able to check patients' flu and travel vaccination histories, it added.

PSNC has published an implementation checklist to help pharmacy teams get started with SCR, and stressed it is “eager” to see increased usage of the records system.