IT gurus attempt to win doctors' hearts and minds
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《英国医生杂志》
Technical difficulties have contributed to delays in the NHS electronic booking project in England. But lack of support from GPs is also an issue. What is happening with the entire national information technology programme, which is essential for the new look NHS?
It has been a difficult month for the national IT programme for the NHS, launched in 2002. The National Audit Office, in its first investigation into the ongoing programme, found that technical difficulties had contributed to delays in one key element, the electronic booking project, an essential part of the government's ambitions to extend patients' choice in the NHS ( BMJ 2005;330: 166, 22 Jan). Mean-while, a long running dispute with the largest supplier of GPs' computers continued to escalate.
Against that background, the IT programme is preparing a publicity campaign to win hearts and minds as the process begins of installing a new system for electronic care records, underpinning the electronic booking system, across England.
The NHS care records service will change current record systems by putting more than 50 million records on a digital database, allowing information to be shared safely across the NHS. For the first time there will be a central record of a patient's care, which will include information such as whether a patient has diabetes or a drug allergy.
Last week the IT programme published its first "deployment schedule," indicating when individual trusts will receive standardised systems to produce these care records, procured under contracts worth more than ￡6bn ($11.3bn; 8.7bn). The national programme also confirmed that it had retained a leading public relations firm, Porter Novelli, to promote the records service to clinicians and patients. Trade journals reported the year long contract with the firm as being worth more than ￡1m; a spokesperson for the programme said it was worth "a substantial six figure sum."
One of the big issues for doctors and patients alike is the security and confidentiality of data. Hopes are rising that a formula can be found to settle what is the biggest controversy facing the programme. A meeting of the Care Records Development Board last week agreed the wording of an "opt out" clause, together with a "care records guarantee" for patients.(Michael Cross)
It has been a difficult month for the national IT programme for the NHS, launched in 2002. The National Audit Office, in its first investigation into the ongoing programme, found that technical difficulties had contributed to delays in one key element, the electronic booking project, an essential part of the government's ambitions to extend patients' choice in the NHS ( BMJ 2005;330: 166, 22 Jan). Mean-while, a long running dispute with the largest supplier of GPs' computers continued to escalate.
Against that background, the IT programme is preparing a publicity campaign to win hearts and minds as the process begins of installing a new system for electronic care records, underpinning the electronic booking system, across England.
The NHS care records service will change current record systems by putting more than 50 million records on a digital database, allowing information to be shared safely across the NHS. For the first time there will be a central record of a patient's care, which will include information such as whether a patient has diabetes or a drug allergy.
Last week the IT programme published its first "deployment schedule," indicating when individual trusts will receive standardised systems to produce these care records, procured under contracts worth more than ￡6bn ($11.3bn; 8.7bn). The national programme also confirmed that it had retained a leading public relations firm, Porter Novelli, to promote the records service to clinicians and patients. Trade journals reported the year long contract with the firm as being worth more than ￡1m; a spokesperson for the programme said it was worth "a substantial six figure sum."
One of the big issues for doctors and patients alike is the security and confidentiality of data. Hopes are rising that a formula can be found to settle what is the biggest controversy facing the programme. A meeting of the Care Records Development Board last week agreed the wording of an "opt out" clause, together with a "care records guarantee" for patients.(Michael Cross)