By Steve Ranger, 15 December 2006 12:45
NEWS
Major changes must be made to the £12bn NHS technology programme - including a shift in focus away from "monolithic" IT systems - if it is to be relevant to health workers.
A report from the British Computer Society (BCS) warns that there needs to be "major emphasis" on standards to enable systems to interoperate effectively, rather than focusing on a few monolithic systems.
The report by the BCS Health Informatics Forum Strategic Panel said the NHS IT strategy should be evolutionary, building on what presently works, rather than revolutionary.
silicon.com Public Sector
Get the latest public sector news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the PS newsletter today!
Dr Glyn Hayes, chair of the BCS panel, warned that instead of the "current monolithic systems" being built, the NHS needs a "range and choice" of more innovative systems using national standards to deliver functionality in whatever way suits the users.
And there should be a focus on local implementations in hospitals and doctors' practices to encourage clinical involvement and give quicker benefits, the report said.
There are "major issues" about the sharing of electronic patient data which need to be resolved, the report warned, and said these must not be hijacked by technical issues. Informed patient consent should be paramount, the report said.
"IT enables change, is sometimes a catalyst for change, but it is not an end in itself. This misconception has been a prime cause of large scale IT project failure since computers first became common place," said Hayes in a statement.
Hayes said this problems has been heightened by the "top-down nature" of the NHS National Programme for IT as well as the "the patchy reflection of NHS requirements in the procurements in 2002" and "the subsequent changes in those requirements to meet the Government's NHS reform programme".
An NHS Connecting for Health spokeswoman said the agency would consider the recommendations of the BCS report and added: "The National Programme for IT Local Ownership Programme, which has been considering the direction of the National Programme in the light of the National Audit Office report of June 2006, addresses a number of the points raised by the BCS."
Comments
There is 1 comment. Join the discussion
1. Alvin Ernest
Further to my comments regarding the article "Corporations slash IT spending plans" this is a major case in point!
Large monolithic systems are doomed to failure... however a large collection of "task-sized" systems linked together to cater for specific trust requirements is the blueprint for the future.
Moreover, that approach provides flexibility for different trust to pursue different strategies... thereby creating a healthy and innovative NHS...
What is needed is for the NHS to work to define the multitude of "task-sized" systems it requires... in order to create a general menu; individual trusts can submit tasks they believe should be included in the general menu; this should be done on a continuous basis, all "task-sized" systems should be implemented using separate software... and can be outsourced to benefit from wider EoS. Individual trusts should then be allowed to select form the general menu to cater for their needs...
The "glue" linking these "task-size" systems together should be driven by individual CIOs in each trust... This liberates individual to pursue innovative and individual startegies...