Quality Payments: Are you using the SCR calculator ahead of the November review point?
November 15, 2017
Community pharmacy contractors are reminded that the Summary Care Record (SCR) usage calculator tool, as referenced in NHS England’s quality criteria guidance and guidance for the November 2017 declaration, is available to use ahead of the November 2017 review point of the Quality Payments Scheme.
The calculator is designed to assist contractors in monitoring their SCR usage to meet the SCR quality criterion, which requires contractors to be able to demonstrate on the day of the review (24th November 2017):
- a total increase in access to SCR from period 1 to period 2 as defined below; or
- to have accessed the SCR 100 times or more in both period 1 and period 2.
The calculator shows the number of times a contractor has accessed the SCR in period 1 and current usage in period 2. It also calculates the difference in usage between the two periods so contractors can see how many times they will need to access the SCR in period 2 to increase their usage, to enable them to meet the SCR quality criterion at the November review point.
If contractors have accessed the SCR 100 times or more in both period 1 and period 2, for example 108 times in period and 104 times in period 2 they will meet the SCR quality criterion whether there has been an increase in usage or not. The calculator should be used to confirm the number of times the contractor has accessed the SCR to ensure they have accessed the SCR 100 times in period 1 and 100 times in period 2.
Resources
The following resources provide guidance and examples for pharmacy professionals on when they could consider accessing a patient’s SCR (with the patient’s consent), which may assist contractors with increasing their SCR usage ahead of the November review point:
- PSNC on-demand SCR webinar – Getting started and using efficiently;
- NHS Digital – Benefits and uses of SCR in community pharmacy;
- Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) workshop – SCRs making the most of them: Workshop are being held across the country on various dates over the next few months; and
- National Pharmacy Association on-demand webinar – Breaking down the barriers.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I need to access the SCR 100 times or more in period 1 and period 2 or just 100 times over the two periods to meet the quality criterion without increasing SCR usage?
- Contractors would need to access the SCR 100 times or more in both period 1 and period 2, for example, 108 times in period 1 and 104 times in period 2 to meet the quality criterion without increasing SCR usage.
- How often is the SCR calculator updated?
- The SCR calculator is updated weekly on Thursdays (with the previous week’s viewing figures).
- How can I practice using SCR so that I can learn how to use it quickly for patients under my care?
- You can practice using SCR by using the test patient NHS numbers that NHS Digital has provided; this will allow you to access example records and help you become more familiar with the process. Details of the test NHS numbers plus further information on this process can be found on the Using the SCR application page on the PSNC website.
- Does the SCR usage calculator tool include test patients when it calculates the number of times a pharmacy has viewed the SCR in period 1 and period 2?
- Yes. The SCR usage calculator tool is not able to differentiate between test patients and real patients therefore both are included in the calculation of how many times a pharmacy has accessed the SCR.
More frequently asked questions (FAQs) on Quality Payments can be found on the Quality Payments – FAQs page of the PSNC website.