National Shared Care Record (NSCR) - a new way to share patient information

The NSCR will give healthcare staff secure, read-only access to key health information. This includes records from hospitals, GPs and community services.

It’s designed to support continuity of care, especially when a person is receiving care from several services or moves between services.

For example, a hospital doctor will be able to look up a patient’s recent medicines and test results, no matter where in Ireland they were done. This will help them make decisions more quickly. While providing follow-up care at home, a public health nurse will then be able to see a summary of that patient’s hospital stay as well as any follow up activity.

In future, patients will be able to view their own information through the HSE app. Carers or family members may also have access, where consent is given.

Why a shared care record matters

A NSCR helps staff and patients stay better informed at every stage of a care delivery.

For patients and service users, this means:

• there will be less of a need to repeat your medical history at every appointment
• more consistent care across hospitals, GPs and community services
• you will have digital access to your records and be more involved in your care
• your information can be shared safely and securely, with your consent

For staff, this means:

• faster access to trusted patient information
• less time spent chasing records or repeating tests
• safer decisions and and improved capacity to support people with multiple and complex needs
• a clearer, more complete picture to plan and deliver care

What we're working on now

The NSCR has been approved, and a delivery partner has been selected. In early 2025 work started on designing the system and preparing for its first rollout. This included building a secure digital platform that can bring together data from different systems and display it clearly.

The development of tools and processes that will allow more data and services to be added over time is also in progress.

What’s next for NSCR

The first roll-out of the National Shared Care Record will be at the end of 2025. This will be within the Waterford and Wexford integrated healthcare area. It will go live with a limited number of healthcare staff as registered users. This first launch will help us to learn what works. It will also show us how we can improve before it is introduced across the rest of the Dublin South-East Regional Health area and then nationally.

The first version will:

• show a simple, read-only summary of key health information
• include details like reimbursed medications and selected test results
• be used by registered healthcare staff working within Waterford, Wexford integrated healthcare area only
• support the addition of more data sources over time.

The NSCR must work well for service users, patients, carers and staff across the country. What we learn from this first launch will shape future development.

Contact

For more information about the NSCR, email our team