The Care Information Exchange story

The Care Information Exchange involves health and social care organisations across North West London.

In 2014, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust started looking at how to give its patients and their GPs access to the records that it holds about them.

The team quickly realised that this would be really good for patients, but it could be so much better. What about the information held by other hospitals, mental health and social care? Wouldn’t patients also want to see this information? And wouldn’t they expect their health and care professionals to be able to see it?

Now health and social care organisations across North-West London are working together on the Care Information Exchange with the ambition to give patients access to records that they can share with their health and care professionals to give better care. The initial funding for the project was provided by Imperial Health Charity.

The IT system at the heart of the Care Information Exchange is supplied by Patients Know Best. The Care Information Exchange puts individuals in control of who sees their records.

By February 2021, there were over 100,000 registered users of the Care Information Exchange and Patients Know Best was selected to continue providing the service for North West London for another three years.

In April 2023, we reached the milestone of 500,000 patients with access to records from all four acute NHS trusts in North West London.

 

You can create an NHS login and register for the Care Information Exchange now if you are treated at any of the hospitals in these North West London NHS trusts: Chelsea and Westminster, The Hillingdon Hospitals, Imperial College Healthcare and London North West University Healthcare. The Care Information service is powered by Patients Know Best.

NHS Login is a national service for you to securely access digital health and care services with one username and password. To get an NHS login, you will need an email address, a mobile phone number and a way to prove your identity – such as a passport, a driving licence, or a European identity card.

You can also use the NHS app to access your Care Information Exchange record if your GP practice is in a North West London or North East London borough.