In a shock turn of events within the world of politics, the government has heaped praise upon its flagship National Programme for IT. According to health minister Ben Bradshaw, NPfIT has inspired other nations to consider similar programmes.
Bradshaw said: “Countries all over the world are considering this, including Barack Obama’s America, where people are looking to introduce a similar sort of national computer system into the American health care system as the one we have here.”
Equally surprising was the opposition promptly taking aim to shoot down such claims of success, accusing the government of failing to deliver, low take-up rates on Choose and Book, and moving the goalposts on national targets.
NPfIT has the potential to transform healthcare management, improving access to data and the sharing and exchanging of data, to help streamline healthcare delivery, and deliver cost and efficiency savings.
However, the self congratulatory tone of the government is somewhat premature. Progress is being made, but the one-size-fits-all approach does seem to be causing issues, with some Trusts opting to leave the national programme and adopt more flexible solutions from smaller, often more innovative suppliers.
NPfIT is undoubtedly bringing improvements to clinicians and to patients, through continued evolution and development – it will be interesting to see how and where it’s adopted overseas, as the government predicts.
