EHI Live: NHS on verge of 'information revolution'Wednesday 9th November 2011 By Steve Dew-Jones Tim Straughan, Chief Executive of the NHS Information Centre, believes the NHS is on the verge of an information revolution. Speaking at the EHI Live conference in Birmingham on Monday, Straughan claimed that much of the technology is already in place, but that a spark is needed to get the revolution rolling. "We can't afford for this [revolution] not to happen," he said. "Technology has moved on enormously the cost is now relatively cheap and quick to set up but we just need to find a way to liberate that cost." The major blockade preventing Straughan's 'revolution' from taking off, he believes, is the sensitive nature of health information. Patients expect the same level of technology to be available at hospitals as they have become used to at home, but all too often their experiences do not match their expectations. The healthcare industry is one of the only industries where this remains the case and Straughan pins the blame on the problem of sensitive data. "Health data is much more sensitive than the data in other industries," he said. "But we have to find a way round this block." Your comments (terms and conditions apply): The health space is converging with social care and being compounded by the entry of more private sector service providers... Oh and do not forget the already extremely well established primary care informatics operational set up and suppliers -- professional health informatics staff to handle the sensitive data, systems that are underpinned by common standards (not standardised solutions) and recognition of the scale of the existing and emerging stakeholders could hopefully result in successful outcomes if the blockage of no over-arching strategy is removed! - Dr Jean Roberts, UK Council for Health Informatics Professions Feedback Have your say... |
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