Healthcare is a data-rich practice that requires a wealth of crucial information to inform treatment and research. Certainly, experimentation and data collection are fundamental to uncovering various long-term disorders’ biological and neurological underpinnings. However, this is only useful when it can be applied to the relevant subset of patient demographics.

A healthcare system that is unable to find and procure critical patient data is a system that is blind. Previous standards of patient recording could have ensured fluid data communication, which is a crucial component of data interoperability. Without this, medical practitioners across the country are blindsided and unable to personalize treatment due to the lack of historical health information.

This is one practical void the NHS and ICS systems display within their information-sharing technologies, many of which have not received a relevant digital upgrade.

“It’s archaic, slow, fragile and not streamlined”, reported Doctor Nadia Masood when questioned on the state of the NHS’ digital infrastructure.

Throughout the 42 ICSs in England, crucial patient data is being collected, but in many sectors, it finds itself collecting dust in its respective storage system. Because of this, large swaths of the population, especially low-income groups, cannot receive the personalized care required to treat complex and long-term conditions.

As a result, patient data remains blocked within its locality, unable to enter a broader and more generalized infrastructure due to the apparent fragmentation within the NHS digital services. The lack of adequate infrastructure has engendered an apparent digital exclusion from different population groups. For example, a report by NHS digital in 2019 listed the groups of people more likely to be excluded by digital technology. These are:

• People in lower-income groups
• People without a job
• People in social housing
• Homeless people
• People living in rural areas
• People who do not speak English

However, hope is not lost, and this digital divide has been fully recognized by the government and the NHS services, who have come together to charter the NHS Long-Term Plan which seeks to address these inequalities by 2025. One strategy to achieve this is through the national standard of electronic health records(EHRs).

As a foreword to the Long-Term Plan rollout, Tim Ferris, National Director of Transformation, stated that they will be “putting digital technology to work for the people and their families – making more information accessible at their fingertips, enhancing access to services they need and giving they ore power and control over their own care”.

By 2025, Ferris states that all ICS systems will be fully equipped with the relevant digital infrastructure to send and receive fully-fledged EHRs across all localities. This leap in digital healthcare transformation equally extends to social care sectors, where 80 per cent of Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered providers will have digital social care record infrastructure by 2024. 

Furthermore, the department for Health and Social Care is also launching an initiative to make EHRs more readily available through the NHS app and other online services for medical providers to access. This will create significant leaps in bridging the digital divide between many marginalized groups which have remained previously excluded from this framework.

How will this reduce inequalities, you may ask?

Firstly, barriers and lack of access to personalized care will be effectively rendered obsolete. Through the Department of Health and Social Care’s initiative, all those possessing a mobile phone will have access to digital NHS services at the touch of a button. Here, patients can access their historic coded records and develop a heightened awareness of their underlying health needs.

Access to these records will increase:

• Patient autonomy and self-care capabilities
• Access healthcare services through mobile apps
• Increase data quality within patient health records
• Reduce the need to contact general practice to receive medical test results
• Reduce the cost of manually transferring patient data through automated systems

“Using digital has become essential in order to reduce health inequalities. By understanding the barriers to access and taking services to the people, we can engage and support them like never before”. Reported Helen Milner, chief executive of the Good Things Foundation

Ultimately, the government seek to create an outcome where all nation inhabitants possess fully fledged EHRs that are secure but accessible to the relevant parties to ensure fluid and efficient healthcare.

This outcome is significantly related to the reduction of health inequalities within the UK and will create a more inclusive environment for all once achieved. There are myriad benefits that will be produced from this newfound digital inclusion, and the work has only just begun.

Such an emphasis on digital health records is music to our ears here at HIC, where, for many years, members of our teams have worked on, developed, and implemented an array of electronic health records across a variety of healthcare sectors. We truly have been banging the EHR drum for over a decade now and are on hand to share our expertise as we support many more partners in transforming either current paper-based systems or digital transformation of existing and legacy systems that are ready to be brought into the 21^stCentury!

HIC is more than just a consultancy. We provide organisations with the know-how and tools to develop and implement digital health records. For more information or a conversation, please contact us today!