Transforming the NHS using technology

The 10-Year Health Plan signalled substantial changes to the NHS, not least one of the key proposals is moving care from analogue to digital and pursuing innovation. The ambition is to create a more technologically advanced health and social care system. There are many different elements which might be included and are named in the 10-Year Plan, such as electronic patient records, digital social care records, hardware and software, interoperability, cyber security, processing power, cloud storage, connectivity and Wi-Fi.1 We know there is much work to do on many of these. Many Trusts still use fax machines and pagers and send letters to patients for appointments. It is estimated that clinicians spend 13.5 million hours wasted on inadequate or malfunctioning technology.

The way in which IT has generally developed in the NHS is that different departments, hospitals or specialties have purchased their own chosen software and developed or commissioned the writing of the software to support the care area. The fact that this data is not made available to interested parties locally means there is much duplication or paper copies distributed — i.e. there is a total lack of interoperability. This too wastes much time, energy and cost. Putting this problem to rights needs technical ability, up-to-date hardware, training and leadership. In addition, the pathways or workflows often need to be adjusted to work with the new technology and this is a step that is often omitted.

From a patient's perspective, it is essential that access to the technology in the community is easy and written in good, clear English. There are many ambitions for the NHS App to provide specific information, connection to services and a means by which patients can be empowered and take more control over their own health. Access must be straight forward, otherwise many individuals will not change their habits, and the efficiencies will not occur. Digital inclusion is vital to ensure that the uptake of effective technologies does not increase existing health inequalities. It is therefore essential that the design of some systems is undertaken by patients, carers and clinicians working together to embed each of their insights to ensure relevance and trust.