Channel welcomes government's NHS IT review

Panel to investigate ways technology can improve the NHS

The government has launched an investigation into how the NHS can be further improved by IT, a move which has been welcomed by health-focused channel partners.

The "Making IT Work: harnessing the power of health IT to improve care in England" review is being led by IT expert professor Bob Wachter and a panel of IT and health specialists.

The investigation will look at ways IT has worked well in the NHS, as well as areas which would be better improved through technology. The NHS is in the midst of plans to become paperless by 2020, and the review will look at different ways to reach the target. The review's findings will be reported to the government in June.

The move has been welcomed by channel partners.

Trustmarque's chief executive Scott Haddow said shining the spotlight on tech in any area of the public sector is good news for suppliers.

"Any investment in technology and transformational services to help the public sector has to be good, and we [have] a significant public sector and health business," he said. "We welcome it. Any help at all would be extremely helpful and there are a number of areas particularly that would benefit [from increased investment]."

Reseller Imerja's commercial director Mark Evans said a cultural shift would help the NHS make better use of IT.

"As a supplier, I would like to see [the government] remove the barriers to entry," he said. "The NHS, historically, has a justified but very robust and drawn-out process of testing and adoption. But technology moves much quicker than that. [The NHS] needs a mind set to move much quicker on ideas which are successful."

The panel of experts investigating includes Harvard professor John Halamka; chief executive of Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, David Dalton; and Ann Slee, e-prescribing lead for digital medicine at NHS England.

Professor Wachter, who is leading the panel, said:

"It's essential that information technology across the NHS works well and can perform the tasks needed to deliver high-quality, safe, and efficient care," he said. "I am looking forward to finding out about some of the great work taking place across the NHS and highlighting areas for improvement."