Table 3 Key Information Summary (KIS)

The KIS (Key Information Summary) is a new IT development in NHS Scotland pioneering a shared medical record between healthcare professionals. It allows selected parts of the GP electronic patient record to be shared with other parts of the NHS, using a template within the GP clinical system, and is more efficient and safe than previous paper-based and email-based methods. The level of detail contained on a KIS will depend on the complexity of the patient’s clinical condition, and it is designed to be added to as the patient’s clinical condition progresses. It was introduced in Scotland in 2013, and is an extension to the ECS (Emergency Care Summary). The KIS can contain Read Coded data and free-text. Changesto the KIS entered by the patient’s General Practice are updated to the central KIS every two hours. The central KIS can be accessed by Out of Hours, and some other services e.g. Accident & Emergency, Acute Receiving Unit, and Scottish Ambulance Service. Although other services can read a KIS, only General Practices can (at the time of the project) add information into a KIS.

For more information, see http://www.nisg.scot.nhs.uk/why-nisg/our-services/project-management/key-information-summary-kis