IEEE Spectrum: Secrets Behind the UK Electronic Health Record System Decision

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CONTRIBUTOR: Robert Charette

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Secrets Behind the UK Electronic Health Record System Decision

POSTED BY: Robert Charette // Tue, February 19, 2008

Tony Collins, over at ComputerWeekly, has written a fascinating story about the secret (until now) political decisions to create the UK National Program for IT (NPfIT), the UK's attempt at creating a national electronic health record (EHR) system, similar to what Sen. Hillary Clinton (my apologies for not using her proper title before) is currently advocating, and what President Bush wants in place by 2014.

In papers obtained by the UK Freedom of Information Act, it appears that former Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2002 wanted a full fledged EHR system by early in the year 2005, before the next general election he would have to call. Even an EHR system operational by the 2005 date was seen by Blair as taking too long!

It is apparent that the potential for improved patient health care that EHRs promise was cavalierly traded off for immediate political gain - not a big surprise, of course. The haste and lack of concern for the technological implications in which the NPfIT decision was made is still breath-taking, nevertheless.

Best guess is that it will be 2013 before NPfIT is fully up and running; however, doctors aren't particularly supportive of it; nine out of ten doctors don't believe that the UK government can protect patient data; many doctors and privacy advocates are suggesting patients opt of of it; and support contractors are thinking of pulling out.

As I have mentioned, politicians seem to believe that they are the most brilliant and clever IT system architects that exist.

TAGS: technology and society // NPfIT // NHS // electronic health records

Patrick Dixon 02.22.2008
There was a time when people like us left an English monarchy to establish a democratic republic. We wrote a Constitution that limited the powers of the newly formed federal government based on the principles of personal and economic liberty. What happened? If Britain wants to go the way of denying privacy in order to provide cradle-to-grave government paternalism, so be it. I pray that our nation follows the way of those who left Britain for liberty. Patrick Dixon.

J Buske 02.22.2008
This is just one more step to a global matrix where gov and private concerns know everything about US. The coming "realID" DL (our defacto passport) will be used to track and trace all of our activities. To supplement the income tax a national sales tax will be introduced you will need your ID to get a job, get health care, make a purchase, get on a train/plane and will be required to be produced on demand. The next step will be a RFID implant that is being rolled out to track food animals, pets and lost kids. The medical data base is just another element of this madness. See Movies "End Game", "Matrix", "enemy of the state", "Terror Storm". "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." Samuel Adams .

Gregg Marinelli 02.21.2008
For the US, the only one which is a good policy document (from an IT perspective) and is technology neutral and does not require capital outlay from the government is HR 2991 "The Independent Health Record Trust Act", authored by Rep. Dennis Moore of Kansas. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:h2991ih.txt.pdf More about HR 2991 here: http://healthrecordtrust.blogspot.com.

L Bottomley 02.21.2008
Why is Senator Clinton referred to as Hillary, while President Bush and Prime Minister Blair are give their full name and titles? This is inappropriate on a number of levels and not up to the standards I would expect from IEEE..