A.Rehman Qazi
Seminar 5
IS in Healthcare: The Case of the English NHS
This document presents extracts from policy documents and articles concerning the role of IT in the English National Health Service (NHS) in the last decade. Read this document and then discuss the following questions in your groups. In your responses make use of the ideas and concepts discussed in the lecture(s). Each group will then provide its response leading to a class wide discussion.
Questions: 1. Why was the use of IT in the NHS limited in the past? 2. What was the vision behind the use of IT in 2002? 3. How would this vision be materialised? Describe the intended IT architecture of the NHS. 4. What role did the private sector play in the 2002 IT strategy? Identify the risks of the procurement options, as outlined in paragraph 3.6. 5. In 2010 the new government proposed a different IT strategy. Why was this change initiated? 6. Reflect on the 2002 and 2010 NHS IT strategies. What is their relation? What does this say about public policy? 7. Critically discuss the way in which patients are being described in the newest IT vision ‘Liberating the NHS’? Is this image of the patient feasible? Is it desirable?
I. Department of Health (2002) Delivering 21st Century IT Support for the NHS - National Strategic Programme, London[1]
2 VISION
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Historically, the NHS has not used or developed IT as a strategic asset in delivering and managing healthcare. While there were good, usually local, IT initiatives sponsored by enthusiastic visionaries, these were outweighed by the overall lack of funding and development priority given to IT at all levels. Good experiences were not captured, and successful implementations were not scaled from their local beginnings to NHS-wide application.
2.1.2 In 1998, the NHS recognised that IT had a major role to play in healthcare, and Information for Health (IFH) defined the strategic approach for the use of IT. Since
IS in Healthcare: The Case of the English NHS
This document presents extracts from policy documents and articles concerning the role of IT in the English National Health Service (NHS) in the last decade. Read this document and then discuss the following questions in your groups. In your responses make use of the ideas and concepts discussed in the lecture(s). Each group will then provide its response leading to a class wide discussion.
Questions: 1. Why was the use of IT in the NHS limited in the past? 2. What was the vision behind the use of IT in 2002? 3. How would this vision be materialised? Describe the intended IT architecture of the NHS. 4. What role did the private sector play in the 2002 IT strategy? Identify the risks of the procurement options, as outlined in paragraph 3.6. 5. In 2010 the new government proposed a different IT strategy. Why was this change initiated? 6. Reflect on the 2002 and 2010 NHS IT strategies. What is their relation? What does this say about public policy? 7. Critically discuss the way in which patients are being described in the newest IT vision ‘Liberating the NHS’? Is this image of the patient feasible? Is it desirable?
I. Department of Health (2002) Delivering 21st Century IT Support for the NHS - National Strategic Programme, London[1]
2 VISION
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 Historically, the NHS has not used or developed IT as a strategic asset in delivering and managing healthcare. While there were good, usually local, IT initiatives sponsored by enthusiastic visionaries, these were outweighed by the overall lack of funding and development priority given to IT at all levels. Good experiences were not captured, and successful implementations were not scaled from their local beginnings to NHS-wide application.
2.1.2 In 1998, the NHS recognised that IT had a major role to play in healthcare, and Information for Health (IFH) defined the strategic approach for the use of IT. Since