The Department initially commissioned an independent evaluation of the summary care record early adopter programme. This work, carried out by a team at University College London (UCL), ran between May 2007 and April 2008. It resulted in two published reports, the Summary Care Record Independent Evaluation, and Evaluation of Data Quality Standards within the Summary Care Record. Both reports have been published and are available at:
www.ucl.ac.uk/dome/openlearning/research
Further research has been commissioned from UCL, to assess the implementation and impact of the summary care record and HealthSpace, and to illuminate ongoing learning and lessons as summary care records begin to be implemented more widely. The outcome of this work is currently undergoing quality assurance and peer review and is due for publication later this year.
The cost of the commissioned work is £272,200 for the first study and £723,400 for the current study, a total of £995,600.