Is It Possible for the NHS to Become Fully Digital?

Abstract

This chapter will offer an illustrative case study of how digital technology is now being more widely used to make the National Health Service (NHS) of the UK more efficient and more cost effective, leading to better quality of patient care and services. Increasing the use of digital technology is an integral part of the Five-Year Forward View, which is the NHS’ five-year improvement plan to 2020, led by its Chief Executive, Simon Stevens. Specifically, this chapter will focus on the Digital Maturity Assessment (DMA), a national tool to benchmark 250 NHS acute, mental health, and community providers across England with the aim of achieving a fully paper-free health service by 2020. The DMA is a voluntary self-assessment and includes questions on: (1) Readiness (strategic alignment; leadership; resourcing; governance and information governance); (2) Capability (records, assessments, and plans; transfers of care; orders and results management; medicines management and optimization; decision support; remote and assistive care; asset and resource optimization and standards); and (3) Enabling Infrastructure. The tool is intended to highlight where investment in technology has enabled patient outcomes to improve as well as demonstrate improved capabilities and value for money spent over time. This chapter will also review a number of key NHS policy decisions and discuss whether these are sufficient to enable the NHS to fully embrace digital technology and create a safe and sustainable health service with patients’ themselves as its champions.