Scotland opts for national electronic health records

The Scottish Executive has announced that they are to follow the recommendations of the Kerr Report and implement a national system of electronic health records, together with telecare throughout the country.

The Executive’s plans for modernising NHS Scotland, entitled ‘Delivering for Health’ details plans for the implementation of a national IT system, including the plans for electronic patient records, and is a response to May’s Kerr report, which was carried out by a team lead by Professor David Kerr, Head of Review of NHS Scotland.

The budget for e-health this year is £35.3m, increasing over the next three years to £100.3m in 2007-8, part of which will go towards the establishment of a Scottish Centre for Telehealth.

Health Minister Andy Kerr said ‘Delivering for Health’ would focus on preventative rather than reactive care: "This is a fundamental shift in the way we want our NHS to work. As good as the work is that goes on in our hospitals, we have to try to help people avoid having to use those services.

"I want to see healthcare that gets out into communities and into workplaces, knocking on doors and talking to people, to identify who it at risk… and helping them take action early."

The ‘Delivering for Health’ strategy, published a week ahead of schedule, says that it will focus on electronic health records as a core feature to delivering this proactive kind of care: "A comprehensive health information system built around an Electronic Health Record is vital to achieve the shift away from reactive, crisis-management, acute-oriented care towards anticipatory, preventative and continuous care."

Although the Kerr Report recommends that an electronic health record be in place within three years, Delivering for Health states that deployment of the new system will start in 2007 and be completed in 2010. Procurement will be completed by June 2007.

The Scottish Centre for Telehealth will help to evaluate telemedicine projects and pilots and aim to develop standard solutions for implementation. It will be based in NHS Grampian.

Dr Peter Terry, chairman of the BMA in Scotland, said of the plans for the implementation of an electronic patient record: "This is one of the most ambitious and positive challenges for the Executive and if achieved, it could deliver huge benefits for patients and the NHS as a whole.

"We know that the public supports the introduction of a central health records system, however it is vital that they are widely consulted about these proposals before they are finalised."