Physical and mental healthcare interact in complex and significant ways, and yet traditionally the NHS has treated the two as separate issues. Physical and mental healthcare interact in complex and significant ways, and yet traditionally the NHS has treated the two as separate issues. Can digital shared records help address this unhelpful separation and improve patient care? Jennifer Trueland investigates.As a psychiatrist, Ayesha Rahim has trained for years to develop an expertise in mental illness and one of the key lessons is that it doesnt exist in isolation.A persons physical and mental health are inextricably linked but this is not always reflected in how services are designed or, crucially, in the way that information flows between different parts of the health and care economy.People dont exist in silos but care often exists in silos, says Rahim, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Having access to information means that you can make better clinical decisions.When talking about mental health services, it has almost become axiomatic to describe them as Cinderella. Chronically underfunded and still beset by stigma, even the budget announcement of a minimum 2 billion cash boost is unlikely to turn the mental health pumpkin into a carriage and send it to the ball.

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