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The future of healthcare technology is already in our hands


The vision of a paperless NHS has been well documented, and the obstacles clearly defined. We are already moving beyond this aspiration, with best practice now evident across parts of the healthcare service. New technology is being pioneered in informatics today, bringing together disparate data sources to make healthcare improvement and access to research faster, easier and more secure.

Local power

Based in Greater Manchester, I have spent much of my career helping to drive informatics innovation. This ecosystem continues to grow and transform healthcare services, with recent announcements around the Northern Powerhouse and Devo Manc promising even greater control. Decision-making and implementation on the ground is key, even for centralised targets such as a wholly digital NHS.

Creating access for people to participate in research that is of particular relevance to them is an important upshot of digital records. We need more of these opportunities, and must ensure local GPs retain control of their patients’ data. Greater Manchester is already moving to roll out technology that facilitates more successful research and I am determined that this moves beyond that ecosystem to benefit the whole of the UK.

A paperless NHS that cannot communicate between organisations and systems will not fulfil our vision. The huge variation within the NHS must be met with interoperable software and tools; we have technology with this capability. The system behind the celebrated Salford Lung Study brings together information from the full range of healthcare services; participants in the trial can be monitored remotely every time they access primary care, secondary care, and community pharmacy services. The solutions to our problems already exist.

Core respect

We need to address concerns around privacy, trust, and control of data. Patients and the public have been rightfully wary of schemes which do not meet the highest standards around collection and processing of their records.

We have systems which hold this respect at their core. Data is held within the NHS secure N3 network, and researchers accessing data through innovations like FARSITE see only pseudonymised records. Developing e-consent will be another step towards the seamless integration of technology and responsible data management.

The e-health industry must step up to recognise and implement best practice with smarter technology, stronger processes, and more robust governance. NorthWest EHealth has been certified by ISO standards 27001 and 9001, and its products have information governance approval, from the MHRA to individual practices.

Beyond paperless

There must be use for a paperless NHS beyond the extensive efficiency gains. For healthcare partners to accelerate their work to digitise records, we must demonstrate the tangible benefits to patient care, research participation, and the role of the UK as a world leader in healthcare informatics. 

If the NHS is to become truly digitally mature, we must apply the best available technology to use these records. It’s one of the thorniest issues around ‘big data’, and the furore that goes with it; we have access to more information than ever before, but the deluge of information is not valuable in and of itself. Rather, it is the insights that come from analysis and application that allow clinicians and commissioners to make more intelligent decisions about the care they deliver and invest in, and to create strategy that will have the best possible outcomes for local populations.

Once again, we have this capability. Technology and the expertise to apply it exists: these are 21st century realities, not blueprints for the future. Developing a paperless system by 2020 is an ambitious target, but necessity is driving us to meet it. Appropriate standards, technology and expertise are now evident in many areas across the country.

We can become an intelligence-led healthcare system. NorthWest EHealth is part of the shift towards truly useful data, and a digital NHS that is about far more than the absence of paper. The more widely organisations and partnerships make use of existing technology, the sooner we can move towards a paperless health service that is both efficient and effective.

A copy of this article appears in the briefing document from the Westminster Health Forum: The Future for Health Technologies. It was submitted by Professor Martin Gibson in response to the discussion raised at the conference.


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