This week the NHS Future Forum published its latest report spurring on headlines from the tabloids such as ‘NHS staff lacking compassion and ability to do their job’ and ‘doctors and nurses told to slim so patients listen.’

But for those IT and NHS professionals waiting for the long over due Information Strategy there were few headlines that could provide even a little direction on where their efforts should best be placed. In summary the report on information, needed…more information.

The report, much of what was leaked before Christmas, provided little that was new.

The key recommendations of the report around information were:

Patient ownership of data – a requirement for patients to be able to access their records online by 2015 and for the British Medical Association, Royal College of General Practitioners, NHS Commissioning Board and patient organisations to help to deliver a plan to roll this out, which includes an ethical and concrete consent process.

Data sharing - A move away from the National Programme for IT to interoperability and a call for the Information Strategy to clearly set out what is expected for providers of NHS services as well as a deadline.

• For contractual agreements to be put in place so ensure that the entire NHS has systems that allow full electronic data sharing against set standards.
• For hospital discharge summaries to be made available to the GP and patient at the point of discharge, and GP referral letters to be made available at the point of referral.
• For the universal adoption of the NHS number at the point of data capture across health and social care by 2013.

Information governance – The Government should commission a review of the current information governance rules and of their application, to report during 2012 to ensure appropriate balance between the protection of patient information and the use and sharing of information.

Using data to drive quality - A clinician who is responsible for organising data should be identified within every NHS and social care organisation.

Transparency - The need for a clear deadline for all information about clinical outcomes is put in the public domain and the need for the Information Strategy to emphasis the importance of patient‐generated comments through social media and for the NHS to use these to improve services.

Although there is little that is new, there are a couple of interesting points. Firstly, that the medical bodies will be asked to consult on the plan to allow patients to access their records online. However, there is no mention of suppliers/providers of the technology. The lack of communication between the technology world and the clinical world was one that led some of the major failures under NPfIT, could this be at risk of happening again?

A number of additional deadlines are set out, such as the adoption of the NHS number by 2013 (which was introduced 15 years ago) and for information about clinical outcomes to be placed in the public domain, but there is little information on the mechanisms that will drive these deadlines.

Perhaps more interestingly is the call for an emphasis on social media to improve services. While an innovative and forward thinking idea, this in itself needs an entire document and a huge amount of education aimed at the industry and NHS, considering only around half of NHS organisations actively use Twitter, for example.

The recommendations appear to provide a vague brief to build on and leave questions that it seems can only be answered by the Information Strategy, which will allegedly arrive in the spring.

Sarah Bruce, Marketing Manager One Health Alliance, Communications and Digital Media Consultant Highland Marketing

Last week, as Big Ben chimed out midnight and the fireworks erupted around the London Eye spectacularly, my mind went back to the chimes of Big Ben welcoming the Millennium.

We all waited with bated breath to see whether every computer in the land would come to a standstill as predicted. Intensive care units doubled their staff, emergency services were at the ready and many government departments and local authorities had contingency plans dusted off and ready to mobilise.

Due to a lot of planning and a huge investment in IT (an opportunity to replace elderly PCs) thankfully the Millennium had little impact. Twelve years on and dramatic changes in technology have occurred with the introduction of the ‘iPhone era’ where information, such as our friends’ relationship status to the latest headlines, is delivered to us in real-time through the internet, social media and mobile technology.

The ‘iPhone culture’ means that we can get instantaneous information about almost anything, like from Trip Advisor on how good a holiday destination might be and on trains, buses and planes, through to traffic congestion reports. But sadly we still can’t get information about which surgeon and or hospital has, for example, the best outcome for joint replacements.

The reality is that we behave as if the same technology we use within our everyday life is as equally pervasive within our healthcare. However, there is a silo infrastructure, which we have been unable to join up in any meaningful way despite the fact that it would release massive savings and enable real choice through patient involvement. Embracing such technology could not only support the ‘information revolution’ but create an ‘information evolution.’

What is questionable is the unidentified cost for becoming ‘E-dependent’, particularly in a world where technology projects costs are 60-70% infrastructure and support costs.

Budgets are being cut as users, in both the public and private sectors, demand more for less. Periods of rapid change in the way both enterprises and consumers use technology create not only huge threats for those wedded to old models, but also huge opportunities for new ventures and existing businesses capable of capitalising on the new trends.

As we reorganise and restructure the NHS, we must look at new ways to reduce costs, such as moving to Software as a Service (similar to the Pay as you Go tariff on a mobile phone). In addition, the NHS is increasingly seeing more organisations embracing shared services, outsourcing and even cloud computing. Interestingly the NHS has more shared service contracts than any other government department covering finance, HR and clinical functions. Could this be just what the newly formed Clinical Commissioning Groups might need?

2011 brought a lot of uncertainty, predominantly due to changes to the National Programme for IT, the continuously disputed Health and Social Care Bill and the absence of an Information Strategy. Let’s hope that 2012 brings more clarity so that organisations can work to bring in today’s technology into tomorrow’s NHS.

Exciting times ahead I believe and of course we have both the Jubilee and the Olympics to look forward too.

Jeremy Nettle,
Chair of Intellect Healthcare Group