Outdated and obstructive NHS IT systems will become a thing
of the past, Health and Social Care Secretary has said as he launches
his technology vision in The Future of
Healthcare.
This vision transforms NHS technology to allow appropriate
access to real-time data. This will underpin the digital
services and data innovations needed.
The vision outlines plans to introduce minimum technical
standards that digital services and IT systems in the NHS
will have to meet. Having these open standards in place
means systems will be able to talk to each other securely
and ensure they are upgradable.
Any system that fails to meet these standards will be
phased out. The government will look to end contracts with
providers who do not understand these principles for the
health and care sector.
Outside those standards, all trusts and clinical
commissioning groups (CCGs) will have freedom to buy what
they need. This should encourage competition on user
experience and better tools for everyone.
The changes will secure a brighter future for the health
and social care system and are central to unlocking the
potential of innovative technologies to support care.
The government wants to hear from staff, technology experts
and suppliers to make sure the standards are the best
choices for our users and can help improve outcomes in
every area of the health and care system.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
The tech revolution is coming to the NHS. These robust
standards will ensure that every part of the NHS can use
the best technology to improve patient safety, reduce
delays and speed up appointments.
A modern technical architecture for the health and care
service has huge potential to deliver better services and
to unlock our innovations. We want this approach to
empower the country’s best innovators – inside and
outside the NHS – and we want to hear from staff, experts
and suppliers to ensure our standards will deliver the
most advanced health and care service in the world.
Dr Simon Eccles, Chief Clinical Information Officer for
Health and Care, NHS England, said:
Investing in excellent digital systems means patients can
access the best and safest treatment pathways available,
as swiftly as possible at the best value for taxpayers.
This, combined with our plan to use technology to improve
existing treatments and join up information across the
NHS, will set the health service in England on track to
be the world-leader in innovative health care.
Sarah Wilkinson, Chief Executive at NHS Digital, said:
Greater standardisation of data, infrastructure,
platforms and APIs will create a health and care system
that is more joined-up, and as a result safer and more
efficient. Connected systems ensure that clinicians have
immediate access to all relevant and appropriate patient
data from all care providers and settings, and ensure
that data is communicated between systems with absolute
fidelity, eliminating misinformation and
misunderstandings. In addition, we will increasingly be
able to provide citizens and patients with direct and
immediate access to their medical records.
Everyone understands the value of this work but progress
in recent years has been limited. Today, responding to a
direct challenge from the Secretary of State to transform
the fortunes of this work, we are injecting a new level
of energy and commitment. NHS Digital is providing a new
clear framework to simplify the guidance on those
standards that matter most. We are going to build the
detailed guidance on these standards in partnership with
technologists across the system and with industry
partners.
We recognise that the implementation journey is complex.
Through consultation we will seek to understand in detail
what the challenges are for different parties and
throughout implementation we will focus on providing
clear specifications, detailed guidance and extensive
support. Our goal is to ensure successful implementation
through engagement and facilitation, ensuring that
changes that are mandated are reasonable and achievable.
This work matters too much for any of us to shy away from
the challenge.
