Back in 1997 our predecessors in the CSSA Healthcare Group decided to note down a number of recommendations to improve the state of IT in the NHS that industry had come up with over the years and submit to the NHS Executive. I have pasted these below, and must admit I’m a bit concerned that pretty much every single one is as relevant and urgent today as they were 14 years ago. At least we have been consistent in our recommendations, from the NHS Innovation Review response we submitted this week, to our telehealth paper, Information Revolution response and face-to-face when we meet with our stakeholders we keep pushing the key action points.

In 1997 our Healthcare Group recommended ten key action points to the NHS Executive:

In 1997 our Healthcare Group recommended ten key action points to the NHS Executive:

1. Engage the key stakeholders pro-actively in the development and implementation of the IM&T strategy for the NHS by establishing regular high level forums and focus group research.

- We still need pro-active engagement at the high strategic level and on more specific issues

2. Implement an ‘electronic medical record’ which supports the delivery of seamless care in a variety of settings and by different organisations, thereby integrating the contributions of the NHS, Social Services and other agencies.

- Well, we’re quite not there yet, but there is some progress made, outside and within NPfIT

3. Address as a matter of urgency, the security and confidentiality issues and any subsequently required legalisation to support implementation of the ‘electronic medical record’

- the NHS needs to learn to work on how to best share information without breaking confidentiality or assurance, currently the NHS focusses to much on keeping barrieris up rather than look at how to work on overcoming them

4. Publish a long term investment strategy to facilitate a longer term view of investment by both user organisations and suppliers so that new and highly beneficial technologies may be phased in effectively

- NPfIT turned into a long term investment programme, but one that unfortuenately locked out many innovative solutions due to its central, standardised and controlled implementation

5. Focus on the effective use of standards to ensure that international ones meet NHS requirements rather than devising local standards which add to costs and complexity

- Intellect still argues for the NHS to use more international standards, but more importantly that they are not created in ivory towers without the NHS and idnustry’s input and acceptance

6. Focus the procurement process on to achieving better value for money by redirecting resources at improved outcomes for patients through successful implementation

- procurement has long been an issue in the public sector, too much focus has been on specifying the requirements and comparing apples with pears and then going what appears to be the cheapest solution with a very rigid contract that forbids any flexibility in delivery. This is no longer sustainable, and the Cabinet Office are at last starting to look at how to deal with the problem

7. Urgently re-organise the Information Management Group (IMG) so that:

a. it operates at a strategic level;
b. it has a focus on a maximum of five national strategic projects;
c. the role of the centre (IMG) is to set targets, to then monitor and measure their achievement within the wider NHS;
d. it works more closely with the industry, in order to create a track record of success that can be marketed and recognised within the wider NHS.
e. implementation is not carried out by IMG, it does not and cannot have, the appropriate skills and experience
f. it is reduced in size

- substitute IMG with CfH, Informatics Directorate or whatever the new organisation will be called.

8. Provide strategic direction to the NHS in the form of a ‘roadmap’ showing how to best use IM&T to shape the health services for the future

- I do believe that is what the forthcoming NHS Information Strategy and subsequent Technology Strategy should do, we just hope it focusses on the right things (outlined in our responses above)

9. Institute a comprehensive and co-ordinated programme of training that includes all those working in health so that real advantage can be taken from the investment already made in IT

- this is still urgently needed, especially since the local NHS has been handed back responsibilities to source and manage ICT. Intellect volunteered a number of industry leaders to run masterclasses with colleagues in NHS East Midlands looking at areas such as commercial awareness, leadership, professionalisation, and outsourcing etc. More is needed though, especially educating the front-line on the benefits of ICT. The EHI CCIO campaign is a well worth initiative that has Intellect’s support.

10. Plan for an increasing number of informed patients with greater access to healthcare information who will pro-actively demand the best service

- again reiterated in the Information Revolution, however it is a challenge to overcome the cultural issues attached to the health service in England

Are the reforms, demographic pressures, and financial state of the NHS the reigth levers to tip us over to a true information revolution? Let me know your thoughts.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 2nd, 2011 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Public Affairs, Public Sector, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.