UK health tech quango strikes Gould, reckons digital policy wonk has NHSX-factor to run org

The NHS has named the overlord of its digital health quango and talked up plans to put data specialists on cancer and mental health policy teams as tech support. The body, NHSX, was announced in February in a bid to create a centralised health tech force to unite disparate digital roles in NHS England and make decisions on …

[old_IT_guy]

Security first please.

"I will know I have succeeded if in two years we have reduced the crazy amount of time that clinicians spend inputting and accessing patient information, if we have given patients the tools so they can access information and services directly from their phones, and if we have started to build a system in which patient information can be securely accessed from wherever it is needed, ensuring safer and better care as patients move around the system, and saving patients from having to tell every doctor and nurse their story over and over again."

Surely finish building a system in which patient information can be securely accessed from wherever it is needed before giving it all to the slurpers via a "we must be seen to be trendy" app for mobiles...

[Doctor Syntax]

Re: Security first please.

Even better, build it so securely from scratch so it can't be accessed via a trendy app. Once it's accessed on the patient's phone there'll be a ravening horde of other apps trying to get it on behalf of FB, Google and whoever else wants a share.

Just say no.

[Anonymous Coward]

"...and saving patients from having to tell every doctor and nurse their story over and over again."

Fuck me sideways. Doctors and nurses intentionally ask you your story every time they see you so that they build a relationship with the patient and can monitor your responses to see how they change. Talking to your patients is care, not fucking overhead.

Matt Hancock talks a big game about the transformational powers of technology, but we all know he's just going to spend the next two years spaffing a hundred million quid on apps. Look on the bright side, NHSers - At least he's not trying to reorganise your commissioning structure again.

[Doctor Syntax]

Talking to patients might also elicit something that they didn't say or wasn't recorded last time.

And don't be too sure he won't reorganise the commissioning structure again, this time with an app.

[Chris G]

Salesmanship

Is he going to be required to source potential customers for all that rich, newly streamlined patient data before taking a seat on the board of one of them.

The NHS generally seem to be convinced that they can decide where patient's data should go, better than the patients can.