Of course we would welcome this.  But… caveats below.

Jeremy Hunt’s announcement to make £260m available ‘to improve patient safety’ through technology solutions like ePrescribing does show  government is serious in delivering policy commitments from the Power of Information published last year and subsequent announcements.

We identified ePrescribing and accessing and capturing information at the point of care as digital health solutions the NHS should focus on in our ‘Digitising the NHS by 2018‘ report from March this year.   But we do want to emphasise that ePrescribing is part of a wider Medicines Management Strategy and needs to be aligned with Trusts EPR strategies – simply bolting on ePrescribing with barcode patient identification is the tip of the iceberg and will not fulfil the highlighted patient safety and financial benefits unless considered as part of the wider Medicines Management and EPR strategies.

No point debating whether £260m is enough money – not for what we ultimately want to achieve across the health system, but it can kick start and  help provide the stimulus needed to get us going.  Interestingly though, will ongoing procurements be able to tap into fund or is it for new projects only?  And is this fund separate from the £140m set aside for nurses in reducing paperwork and using technology (which we have heard very little about since announcement)?

Whatever the answer to the above questions, to ensure the £260m fund has the maximum impact we recommend any NHS trust thinking of applying to:

1. Understand what you want the outcomes of the solution(s) to be – not just what the solution should be – and how it fits with wider strategy and operations and is supported by users.
2. Properly look at what the market has to offer to meet your requirements and desired outcomes – share your ambitions and get honest answers back and start developing partnerships.
3. Ensure the solution integrates with other systems and joins up information – no more siloed systems that stand in the way of joined up information and care delivery.

Though we wait to find out more on the details of the fund, we recommend the Department of Health and NHS England not to be too prescriptive and rigid in awarding the funds to trusts.  Individual NHS organisations are best placed to identify the needs they have and what outcomes they want. Trusts need to demonstrate a good understanding of how their proposed solution will address their problem and deliver outcomes that improve patient care and safety, and efficiency.  The role of the centre is to promote common standards and provide support for trusts to meet their goals.

We’ll provide clarity and insight once we know more and people figure out who’s responsible for what.  Commentators are already seeing different views being taken by DH and NHS England.

Technorati Tags: Department of Health, digital health, EPR, ePrescribing, health IT, intellect, NHS England, NHS IT, Tech UK

A colleague of mine recently had to see a GP to have her knee checked.  She called the GP, got lucky, there was a slot free next week.  I would be more convenient and cheaper if she could just book it online. What happened next however should not happen in 2013, not as a default at least.

At the GP practice she underwent a paper based consultation. The GP filled out a piece of paper that he would post to the Physiotherapists. The Physiotherapists would then review and post a letter to my colleague to set up an appointment. When she asked what the likely timescale would be, the GP looked at her and smiled. He didn’t know.

This fairly straightforward transactional process is dealt with online, in seconds, in the rest of our country today. In the NHS it can take months. Is that not odd?  If you think about it, the NHS deals with over 1 million patients every 36 hours, over 250 million interactions a year. Is a paper and postage system that can take months the most effective way of providing care today? (more…)

Technorati Tags: digital health, health IT, Information Revolution, intellect, NHS England, NHS IT, paperless nhs, Power of Information

To: all secondary care providers

From: Intellect, the trade association for the UK technology industry

Re: How to avoid ‘serious repercussions’ from NHS Commissioning Board

Dear secondary care provider

In December 2012 you were challenged by the NHS Commissioning Board (NHSCB). The challenge (p10) is for all “secondary care providers to be able to account for the outcomes of all patients they treat and to adopt modern, safe standards of electronic record keeping by 2014/15.” Followed by a list of information standards you need to collect and report on.  And if you can’t meet this challenge “then there will be some very serious repercussions” according to Tim Kelsey (see HSJ story).

This letter will first of all help you avoid these serious repercussions. But secondly, and more importantly, this letter will help you achieve beneficial business and clinical outcomes when adopting digital solutions, and how to go about doing so.

Intellect would like to offer you some sound advice.  This advice won’t cost you anything more than following best practice. The links in the letter details how Intellect puts this advice in to practice.

1. Take stock of what you have already

What systems do you have, what do they do, and how do you currently stack up to the above challenge and requirements, are they delivering benefits and are you measuring it?

2. Evaluate what you think you need

Do you need a full new system or a mix of best of breeds, some integration solutions, perhaps a portal?  

3. Engage with the market

Before you make a final decision on what you need, talk to Intellect. We have over 300 suppliers who operate in the health and care market.  We can help you understand what the market has to offer, and with all of our members’ combined expertise we can offer you some great industry insight and advice and help set up market engagement exercises.

4. Business case and requirements development

When you understand what the market has to offer in this space, you need to build on your business case and requirements spec. Again Intellect can help you. We have helped over 23 trusts in NHS South do exactly this through collaborative workshops and advising them on everything from business case and requirements development, sourcing strategies to benefits realisation. The SRO has been very pleased with the outcome and wants all of NHS to adopt this practice.

5. Procurement strategy

Developing a procurement strategy is essential for success.  Intellect has set out some good procurement principles for the NHS to follow.  These are all based on established best practice and are designed to help you and the suppliers use the procurement exercise to get to the best solution at the best price for the best deployment.  It should be a positive process, not an adversarial one.

Intellect’s aim is to support the development of an open and vibrant market in health and care data, information services and technology, for the benefit of service users and the public. This requires both the suppliers and customers to work together from start to end. Intellect is one channel you can take advantage of in achieving your goals.  I hope you do.

Please do get in touch if you want assistance and to find out more of how Intellect can help you. Intellect is a not-for-profit and technology neutral organisation.

Sincerely

Jon Lindberg

Head of Healthcare Programme, Intellect UK

Jon.lindberg@intellectuk.org

Technorati Tags: digital services, health IT, Intellect Healthcare, NHS IT, NHSCB, procurement

It’s no secret.  We have  hammered home our message all year as many have witnessed on a number of occasions.  And many have taken on-board our message as well. Intellect wants an open market that can deliver the Power of Information strategy; with our response to the strategy outlining the framework for implementation; and our response to the DH’s Procurement Review suggesting how we turn an otherwise adversarial process into a constructive catalyst for delivering the outcomes the NHS and patients want.

Simples, right?

Well we have all the backing we could want from an enthusiastic Secretary of State and a visionary National Director for Patients and Information at the Commissioning Board. We have a strong NHS mandate and information strategy. We have a strong partnership with the DH and Commissioning Board to deliver on this.  We’re not lacking in policy, strategy and will.

Who can forget the ‘paperless NHS by 2015’ announcement – that turned heads in the conference room in October. Plus DH would like to see 100,000 patients benefiting from telehealth by the end of next year. And there is £100 million available for nurses to invest in new technology to support front-line care in addition to the £2.2 million Information Sharing Challenge Fund that was 200% popular. Health IT or digital health services has never been as high on the agenda since…

If this doesn’t get you excited then I don’t know what would.

Actually I do. (more…)

Technorati Tags: DH, intellect, joint plan DH and Intellect, NHS CB, NHS IT, NHS mandate, open to export, Power of Information, UKTI

I have to say I was surprised the NHS mandate, the document setting out the ambitions for the health service for the next two years, was so information technology focused.

Here’s a short summary of what it says:

“In a digital age, it is crucial that the NHS not only operates at the limits of medical science, but also increasingly at the forefront of new technologies. The Board’s objective is to achieve a significant increase in the use of technology to help people manage their health and care.”

Plus these very positive bullet points:

• by 2015 everyone will be able to access GP records, book GP appointments, order repeat prescription & talk to GP online
• implementation & linking EHR in all H&C settings & work to set national information standards to support integration
• significant progress made for 3 million people with LTCs being able to benefit from telehealth & telecare by 2017
• NHS CB to lead major improvements in NHS procurement = more open & fair, & allows providers of all sizes to contribute and to innovate
•  NHS to contribute to the growth of the economy by adopting & spreading new tech & promote exports

Technorati Tags: DH, intellect, joint plan DH and Intellect, NHS CB, NHS IT, NHS mandate, Power of Information

Last week Intellect was invited to the ‘North east clinical health information forum annual conference’ up in sunny Sedgefield to run two workshops with 150+ NHS staff.  The first we ran aimed to get the views from front-line clinicians on how they perceive and use technology.  We were both fortunate and unfortunate that the attendees were all converted believers in technology.  Fortunate because they could share their passion, struggles and ideas for how technology could help clinicians and carers provide better care.  Unfortunate because we didn’t hear from those who are not yet converted and their reasons.

Nonetheless, we got great feedback and a lively discussion with the delegates.  There were a few key topics that popped-up over and over again.  Topics that we at Intellect have also identified need resolving for the frontline to make more effective use of technology. Here they are: (more…)

Technorati Tags: health IT, Intellect Healthcare, NHS information strategy, NHS IT, the power of information

“How will patients get access to all their information online, sighs doctors, when we can barely get into our own computers?”

No, this is not a quote from an article in Pulse, nor from a English doctor in a hospital near you, unless you live in Sweden and read this.  This is a quote from an article in the latest issue of Sjukhuslakaren (the hospital doctor) featuring the state of eHealth in Sweden (more of this further down).

I spent most part of this week in beautiful Copenhagen, Denmark where European leaders, vendors and health professionals gathered for the eHealth week to share experience and views on where eHealth is going in Europe. Denmark put on a good show, boasting its success over the Patient Index, joined up systems etc.  But behind the scenes another view of reality was talked about: (more…)

Technorati Tags: eHealth, eHealth week, health IT, Swedish eHealth, WoHIT

All avid 3million lives supporters

Last night I attended a reception at the Institute of Directors following the December publication of the government’s life science strategy and its ‘Innovation, health and wealth’ report.  In attendance we had the Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley, Under Secretary of State for Health Earl Howe, Universities and Science Minister David Willets and the NHS Chief Executive Sir David Nicholson.  It was a fairly informal gathering with key people from the NHS, DH and industry mingling around slapping each other on the back for a job well done on getting so many stakeholders agree on a collaborate way forward to ensure the NHS continues to lead on innovation and quality.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: 3million lives, Future Forum, health IT, information for health, Innovation, Intellect Healthcare Programme, joint plan DH and Intellect, NHS, Telehealth

Innovation, Health and Wealth - government's way forward

“We can be proud of our past – but we cannot be complacent about our future. The industry is changing; not just year by year, but month by month. We must ensure that the UK stays ahead…  – we’ve got to change radically – the way we innovate, the way we collaborate, the way we open up the NHS.”

These are the words of Prime Minister David Cameron, who yesterday announced a series of initiatives to respond to the changing nature of healthcare and the health and life science industries. The Department of Health launched the ‘Innovation, Health and Wealth: accelerating adoption and diffusion in the NHS’.

Complementing these reports DH also published the headline findings from the Whole Systems Demonstrator trial, the largest randomised control trial of telehealth and telecare in the UK, and indeed the world.

On the back of these headline findings David Cameron launched a campaign to roll out telehealth across the nation. He told the Independent:

(more…)

Technorati Tags: 3 Million Lives, Digital by Default, health IT, Innovation Health and Wealth, intellect, Intellect Healthcare Programme, NHS, NHS Innovation Review, procurement, Telehealth

Today, the National Audit Office (NAO) published its report on how the NHS, supported by the Department of Health, plans to deliver efficiency savings of up to £20 billion by 2014-15.  It’s a quite useful report clarifying a lot of questions that have been on people’s minds:

• how savings targets have been set across individual trusts and other health bodies;
• how those bodies plan to secure the necessary savings locally;
• how the Department and NHS plan to monitor progress; and
• how innovative practice is being shared.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: Department of Health, Efficiency savings, health IT, intellect, NHS, QIPP