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Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health
The UK Secretary of State for Health has set out plans to drive the digital healthcare sector into the mainstream.
The first step is to give patients online access to their GP records, viewed through approved apps and digital platforms, by 2015.
Beyond this, the strategy aims for data held by hospitals, community, mental health and social care services to be made digitally available by 2018.
The Department of Health will also establish a national digital standard for people at the end of life – building on the success of Co-ordinate My Care in London – meaning that care preferences are respected. The digitisation of the Personal Child Health Record (the red book) will offer new mothers personalised mobile care records for their child.
Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt said: “I want the NHS to be a world class showcase of what innovation can achieve. Today’s plan sets out how we can give patients 21st century, personalised healthcare.”
Tim Kelsey, National Informatics Director, said: “New mothers will now be able to carry their red book around with them on their smart phone and tablet as the NHS moves towards offering digital Personal Child Health Records. This will put an end to worrying about leaving your child’s information at home when going for a review, vaccination, or emergency treatment.”
The framework sets out how real time data will be available to paramedics, doctors and nurses, ensuring patients receive safe and effective at the point of care. All NHS funded care services are expected to have digital and interoperable systems that remove the limitations of paper records and slow bureaucratic systems by 2020.
The plans include:
- NHS ‘kitemarks’ for trusted smartphone apps which will help patients access services and take more control of their health and wellbeing in 2015
- patients to be able to access their own GP record from spring 2015, and will have full access to care records by 2017 - patients will be able to record their own comments
- 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
- introducing a digital ‘red book’ in 2016 – helping parents to manage their child’s early health records
- maintaining a hub for genomics research
- developing personalised medicines so treatment is right first time
In terms of the financial benefits, the government forecasts that digital healthcare could save £22 in efficiency savings.