Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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426. To ask the Minister for Health for an update on the implementation of a "Shared Care Record" aimed at combining patient data across all elements of health services, as well as access to a patient app for accessing records; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60615/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The National Shared Care Record (NSCR) is a cornerstone of the Government’s Digital for Care strategy, designed to create a single, integrated digital health record for every citizen. This transformative initiative is being delivered by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in alignment with Sláintecare principles, ensuring better continuity of care, enhanced patient safety, and improved access to health information across all services.

Following a competitive procurement process, The Health Service Executive (HSE) completed the procurement for the National Shared Care Record (NSCR) technology platform and associated services earlier this year. The NSCR programme has now been mobilized, with the contract for building the NSCR being awarded in Q2 2025.

The NSCR will give clinicians a unified view of patient records aggregated from multiple systems, while enabling patients and carers to access clinical details to support informed decision-making. By consolidating existing digital data for key categories that underpin integrated care, the NSCR will improve safety, reduce duplication, and free up time for direct patient care.

The programme is now mobilised, with development underway. A pilot deployment in Waterford/Wexford is planned for Q4 2025, allowing clinicians and patients to access shared records and test integration with current systems. Insights from this pilot will shape subsequent phases, with a staged national roll-out in 2026 and 2027.

Complementing this, the HSE Health App, launched in February 2025, already provides access to appointments, vaccination records, medical cards, and other services. Future releases will add new functionality and integrate with the NSCR, giving patients secure, consolidated access to their health information in one place.

Both the NSCR and HSE Health App are being developed in full compliance with GDPR and aligned with the emerging European Health Data Space (EHDS) framework. This ensures lawful, transparent, and secure data processing, robust consent management, and interoperability standards to support cross-border healthcare where needed.

The Department of Health and HSE remain committed to these initiatives as part of the broader Digital for Care strategy—driving improvements in patient safety, access, and experience, while reducing administrative burden, supporting clinical decision-making, and enabling better use of data for population health and service planning.