Despite an extensive public information campaign only three in ten people living in the areas piloting the NHS Summary Care Record (SCR) have heard about the programme, according to a study published on bmj.com today.

Several areas in England (of which three were studied) have been piloting the SCR, an electronic summary of a patient’s medical record accessible to NHS staff via the internet, and HealthSpace, an internet based personal health organiser from which patients can view their own SCR.

The English government is about to roll out the programme nationwide. Patients who do not want an SCR have to actively opt out. The programme has proved controversial with a range of alleged benefits and drawbacks, from better clinical care and fewer medical errors to high costs and threats to confidentiality.

Researchers from University College London set out to document the views of patients and the public towards the SCR in three pilot areas. Focusing particularly on people with low health literacy, potentially stigmatising conditions, or those with difficulty accessing healthcare, they carried out 103 interviews with people who had recently used the health service in their area, and held seven focus groups with people recruited from voluntary sector organisations.

They found that even though nearly all of the local population had received a letter informing them about the SCR being introduced in their area, most were not actually aware of either the SCR or HealthSpace. Many wrongly believed that electronic records were already shared between health professionals.