Source: NHS National Information Board
Publication format: PDF
Date of publication: November 2014
Summary of driver:
Better use of data and technology has the power to improve health, transform the quality and reduce the cost of health and care services.
It can:
- give patients and citizens more control over their health and wellbeing
- empower carers
- reduce the administrative burden for care professionals
- support the development of new medicines and treatments
This document is a framework for action that will support frontline staff, patients and citizens to take better advantage of the digital opportunity, and the newly created National Information Board (representing a number of national bodies) will report annually on progress made against the priorities. The ambition is to make the NHS a digital pioneer.
All NHS funded care services are expected to have digital and interoperable systems that remove the limitations of paper records by 2020.
Technology will play a vital role in helping contribute to the £22 billion in efficiency savings needed to sustain the NHS, as set out in the NHS Five Year Forward View.
Key features of driver:
Some of the specific priorities are:
- Online access to personal GP records by 2015
- Online access to all personal health and social care records by 2018, including the ability for patients to add their own comments.
- National digital standard for people at the end of life – building on the success of Co-ordinate My Care in London – so their care preferences are respected.
- Digitisation of the Personal Child Health Record (the red book) to offer new mothers personalised mobile care records for their child
- NHS ‘kitemarks’ for trusted smartphone apps which will help patients access services and take more control of their health and wellbeing
- Patients will only have to tell their story once – with consent, care records will be available electronically across the health system by 2018 for urgent care services and 2020 for all services – improving coordination of care, particularly for those with complex conditions
- ensuring the NHS remains a leader in fight against disease and as a hub for genomics research
- developing innovative personalised medicines so treatment is right first time
Primary audience: All NHS organisations
Impact on library policy/practice:
The report does not mention library and knowledge services, and is mainly concerned with data about patients.
However, there are a few areas that may impact on us:
- Healthcare workers will be expected to use mobile devices much more in future, and library staff may be able to provide some support and training on using these.
- In 2015 NHS England will develop proposals for Code 4 Health, a programme to support health and care professionals to develop apps and other digital services. Library staff could get involved to write their own apps, or support health and care staff to do so.
- Health Education England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre are introducing a new knowledge and skills framework in 2016 that will embrace digital technology. Library services may be able to demonstrate how our services, particularly training, can contribute to staff meeting the requirements.
- There are proposals to create a federation of health informatics professionals. Some librarians are already members of UKCHIP, which will become part of this, and CILIP are also represented. This could be an opportunity to demonstrate the role that library and knowledge have in health informatics.
- Digital services are to be delivered in line with the Government Service Design Manual, and this may impact on future library website or e-resource developments, or indeed on the way library services operate as ‘digital by default’ becomes more widespread.
Date last updated: Dec 2014
Due for review: Dec 2015
Group member responsible: JC
Tagged: informatics, Information for patients, Patient data, Technology