NHS Digital CEO says healthcare is ‘entering the self-service era’
The chief executive of NHS Digital has told attendees of the UK Health Show that ‘we are entering the era of self service and mobility of data’.
Speaking earlier today – day one of the event at London’s ExCeL centre – Sarah Wilkinson said one of NHS Digital’s main current focuses is the NHS App, which is due to be launched nationally in December.
She suggested that healthcare was beginning the age of self-service, with the NHS App helping to support this shift.
The app, which is being developed by NHS Digital, will allow patients to “view aspects of their GP records”, though practitioners will be able to “permit” what they can see, Wilkinson explained.
The former CIO of the Home Office said: “The NHS App is about putting the patient in control of their data, their condition and their care.”
Wilkinson also referenced the NHS App Library and the accreditation process.
The library, which is currently in its beta phase, has been designed to bring together a number of tested digital health tools in one place.
Wilkinson said NHS Digital was “working to identify the best apps in the market”.
She added the aim was to give patients the guarantee that, when they download something from the library, they know “it’s good”.
Addressing the challenges facing NHS Digital, Wilkinson said it was not the technology, as the UK is “blessed” with a digital ecosystem that moves so quickly it is “making us dizzy”.
Instead, Wilkinson said she believed the biggest challenge was “the quality of data itself”.
“One area where we must make progress in the next few years is data standards,” she added.
Wilkinson suggested that secretary of state for health and social care, Matt Hancock, was someone who understood this fully.
“Matt actually gets standards and interoperability,” she said.
Wilkinson said she was pleased Jeremy Hunt’s successor had “made it his mission” to help improve data standards.
Bringing her keynote speech to an end, Wilkinson told attendees to “hold tight”.
“This is an incredible time to be working in this field,” she concluded.
6 Comments
As a 60+ year old I am all for getting and giving useful and relevant information about my health on line. Recently I received hospital treatment abroad; with a clinical background, I wanted some advice about ongoing self care on my return to the UK. To my surprise and disappointment the most relevant information I could find was not on an NHS site but on Wikipedia! And there was no simple way to drop an electronic note to my GP about what had happened; what meds I’d been prescribed; and whether any follow up was advised.
The quality of health data across the national health service has become so uneven it is a national disgrace. To get it back to something that is close to level is going to take a herculean effort from the IT suppliers. Globally the business of health is massive and is increasing all the time and the UK needs to recognize this and fully support IT suppliers who work and toil in the health domain.
The biggest challenge is not data standards, for any of the patient facing services apps the biggest barrier is GP surgeries actually adopting them and making appointments available. Without that, NHS app and the other apps that already exist doing pretty much what it does are going to fail. (is Digital Health going to run an investigative article into the waste of tax payer money building this when it’s already funded other apps through GPSoC?)
The app doesn’t deliver health care, it ensures that patients can see their own data about the care and support they receive. You can see where your parcel is on an app from Amazon, sounds like a good idea to know where your next NHS appointment is up to.
Self service health care? These people are completely detached from humanity. It’s about looking after people, not abandoning them even more. They need guidance, reassurance, and company rather than a blue screen.
Self service health care… What’s next; self service policing?
Please tell the CQC this.
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