21 May 2009
The NHS Information Centre – which handles health information from all frontline services centrally – is improving the quality and delivery of its data.
The organisation is using supplier SAS to integrate data held on disparate systems to automate the way information is managed and sent to trusts around the country.
Tim Straughan, the NHS Information Centre (IC) chief executive, said health services worldwide face three main challenges.
"Firstly, improving the quality of care to meet the expectations of patients; secondly coping with economic downturn; and thirdly - the NHS IC’s focus - having access to information and using it effectively to address the first two, " he said.
"The NHS IC recognises the need to make better use of information across the board to meet these challenges."
Improving the quality of the data will also help with the accuracy of analysis performed on it, which is key to better national-level decision making.
"To fully understand the effectiveness and efficiency of the NHS in providing high quality services we need to draw the data from different organisations, manage it correctly and analyse it," said Brian Derry, executive director of information services at the NHS IC.
It's refreshing to read that the benefits of the NHS Information Centre and its data delivery services are being recognised. All too often, the quality of data services the NHS provides are overshadowed by negative press, which often fails to highlight the benefits of integrated data.
The UK health system faces many challenges as it strives to improve patient care and manage expectations, especially during a period of economic difficulties when public budgets are being cut. The reduction in investment will have an increasingly detrimental impact on the modernisation of healthcare technology at a time when streamlining healthcare systems has become evermore pressing. If we intend to meet the challenges presented by the UK healthcare services head on, then investment within technology systems must not be placed on the back burner.
As Brian Derry importantly points out, the data produced by NHS trusts must be aggregated and analysed to have a clear appreciation of how our health system is functioning, only then can we ensure the NHS is fighting fit.
Posted by: Tim Sheppard, Healthcare Regional Director Europe, Perot Systems 01 Jun 2009
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