New guidelines outlined by the Health Secretary, Andy Burnham say that the Government is now offering people over the age of 40 a full health check every five years to confirm existing illnesses, as well as assess patients’ risk of suffering heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney conditions.

This new health ‘MOT’ is part of a package of NHS reforms and follows the Government’s announcement last week that patients in England will be guaranteed NHS treatment within 18 weeks, with the legal right to private care paid for by the state if the deadline is missed. 

The success of the 18-week referral to treatment programme seems to have set in motion the next step in the NHS’ proposal to deliver improved care to patients. Andy Burnham said: ” the proposals are part of a decisive shift, building on the NHS constitution, guaranteeing standards for patients and putting power in their hands.”

In many cases the success of healthcare organisations hitting the 18-week targets can be attributed to them using business intelligence solutions such as Ardentia’s to monitor and manage patients’ referral to treatment pathways, helping them get a good overview of where patients are on their pathways of care and keep on track with targets.

It’s great to see how business intelligence solutions are having a real impact on how NHS organisations work and in turn deliver patient care. And with stories like this on NHS reforms now starting to come through more frequently, it appears that business intelligence solutions are playing a key part in helping to transform the NHS.