What it means for you

Build an online record of your health that will be there for you to access anytime and wherever you are. And you can choose to share it with your health and care professionals, your relatives or your carers.

Here are some examples of how patients and professionals are benefiting from access to the Care Information Exchange.

David uses the Care Information Exchange to keep his type 1 diabetes under control.

The Care Information Exchange helped Linda get home from hospital early.

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. 

 

Consultant respiratory physician Melissa Wickremasinghe explains how the Care Information Exchange improves patient care and patient experience.

Dr James Jensen-Martin is a GP at the Sterndale Surgery in Hammersmith. Dr Jensen Martin describes how instant access to information via the Care Information Exchange makes it easier to care for patients with complex needs. This dramatically reduces the workloads for reception teams, the patient and clinicians.

Dr Nigel de Kare-Silver is a GP at the Gladstone Medical Centre in Neasden. The Care Information Exchange helps him to reduce patients’ anxiety and to take the next steps in their care more quickly.

 

Peace of mind

Give access to your record on the Care Information Exchange to any health or care professional who needs to see it.

Many people have had the experience of needing to tell their history each time they go to a new health or care professional. Or of having to update one doctor on the result of a visit to another doctor. The Care Information Exchange can remove some of this burden from you by making that information available to your health and care professionals on your Care Information Exchange record.

Convenience

Manage your healthcare from the comfort of your own home.

Having access to your information about your health and care can make you feel more involved and more in control. The Care Information Exchange can give you a library of advice materials such as leaflets, audio files and videos provided by your professionals. And you can record your own measurements and observations on your health.

Time-saving

Reduce the time you need to spend attending routine medical appointments that can be done more efficiently remotely or online.

If your doctor can monitor your health from the measurements and observations you have recorded on the Care Information Exchange, they may not need to call you in for a routine appointment. The Care Information Exchange also offers the potential for direct messaging or even video conferencing with professionals involved in your care.

Everyone on the same page

Give all the professionals involved in your care a better, more rounded view of your medical history, and improve your health as a result.

Currently, health and care professionals have access to information about you held by their own organisation, but often not to your records held by other organisations. For example, a consultant working in a hospital may not be able to see the information that your GP holds about you. The Care Information Exchange can get over this by putting more of your information in one place. The aim of sharing this knowledge is to improve your care and experience of care, helping you to avoid unnecessary appointments and tests.