HSE National Shared Care Record

The National Shared Care Record (NSCR) is a secure clinical system that gives authorised healthcare staff read-only access to key patient information from various sources.

These include:

• hospitals
• primary care
• community services
• eventually, voluntary and private healthcare providers

It aims to improve clinical decision-making by ensuring staff have access to trusted information at the point of care.

The NSCR reduces the time spent searching for records or repeating tests. It also shows more about a person's overall health. This helps staff plan and deliver safer and more efficient care.

How the NSCR was developed

Following HSE board approval in early 2025, work began on designing the NSCR and planning its implementation. For its first release, this included building a secure digital platform that brought together seven datasets from different clinical systems. This work required collaboration across technical, project and clinical teams.

It was first released in November 2025 to staff in Integrated Healthcare Area Waterford Wexford (IHA WW). They tested the system and provided feedback as it became part of their daily clinical workflows.

Now, in its second release, the NSCR provides authorised healthcare staff access to:

• Primary Care Reimbursement Scheme medications
• GP requested laboratory results
• GP requested radiology results
• GP general referrals
• chronic disease management details
• discharge summaries
• statutory hospital appointments and inpatient and day case waiting lists
• Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE) procedure details
• National Immunisation Office vaccination records

Who can access the NSCR

The NSCR is available to authorised and trained healthcare staff. All access requests follow HSE policy and data protection laws, in line with the NSCR rollout plan.

At the moment, only HSE staff on the HEALTHIRL network who have completed a one-hour e-learning training module can access the system. This module is delivered on HSeLanD.

Why the NSCR matters

As the NSCR grows, it will bring benefits to patients, staff and the wider health service. Important metrics are being tracked to understand the impact the NSCR will have over time.

These benefits include:

• improve time released to care, allowing healthcare staff to spend more time on higher value tasks or for self-care
• reduce administrative burden, streamlining workflows and minimising time spent on lower-value tasks
• improved clinical decision-making to support the delivery of safe patient care,
• better management of patients with complex needs
• improve patient and clinician experience
• help hospitals keep running if their systems aren't working, so patients still get care
• make sure patients get good care even when doctors can't access their usual systems

Overall, the NSCR aims to make healthcare delivery safer, more efficient and more patient-centred, while supporting staff and strengthening system resilience.

We make sure that all patient data is secure.

National Shared Care Record: Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)

What’s next for the NSCR

The NSCR keeps being developed and improved. The information available will expand over time as more healthcare data becomes digitilised.

Planned releases in 2026 will expand access to new targeted information. This is subject to agreement and may change.

This includes:

• statutory and voluntary hospital outpatient waiting lists
• voluntary and community inpatient, day-case waiting lists, as well as appointments
• GP specialist referrals
• telehealth appointments
• self-declared patient information from the HSE Health app
• community appointments and waiting lists
• additional laboratory results
• outpatient letters
• T-Pro
• BreastCheck appointments
• GP-sourced medication information
• details of attendance, discharges and transfers as well as emergency department events
• further datasets subject to agreements

It is important to note that the NSCR is not an electronic health record. The NSCR is designed as a support tool to aid clinical decision-making. It should always be used alongside professional clinical judgment.

How is it being rolled out

Staff members across IHA WW currently have access to the NSCR. Nationwide rollout, together with regional teams, will start in early summer 2026.

The initial focus will support access to healthcare staff working as part of the:

• Enhanced Community Care programmes
• National Ambulance Service

We are seeking expressions of interest from additional services or user groups who could benefit. Access to the NSCR is coordinated through regional offices. If you wish to nominate your service, please email our team. We will connect you with your relevant regional office.

The NSCR will continue to evolve based on user feedback, ensuring it meets the needs of patients, carers and healthcare staff across the country

NSCR Discovery

Contact

For more information about the NSCR, email our team.

Email: nscr@hse.ie