Much has been talked about with the Government’s NHS reforms but at the heart of it all, is a structural problem. Specifically that of inefficient knowledge sharing leading to delays and sometimes undesirable outcomes. The key inefficiency seems to be not just within departments but more importantly, between service providers and patients.

So how can the Government focus on communications between key service providers within the NHS system and their patients?

The NHS has been long criticised for being slow in adopting new technologies and as far back as 2005, the NHS was warned by the Health Select Committee that it is falling behind other countries and organizations in using of IT. The NHS is now running the largest non-military IT programme in the world and Richard Granger, Director general of NHS IT and CEO of NHS Connecting for Health (CfH), hits the nail on the head – “These IT systems and services are essential for creating the modern, safer, joined-up NHS to which we all aspire.”.

So what is the their mission? Put simply, it is to provide patients with more choice and control by designing a health service which is designed around the patient. To do this, they ought to provide health professionals and patients with better access to information and this in turn, will help health professionals deliver better patient care. Also, with the termination of NPfIT and change of the focus of the programme from a nationwide system to local trusts which can use their own tailored software, excellent opportunities for collaborative communication software exists.

This communication could easily spread between the NHS staff and patients. Mintel figures (2010) show that more than 70% of UK adults have access to high speed broadband, which is about 50% growth from 2004. With broadband prices becoming more competitive and access being widened, this growth is likely to continue. This would justify the use of cloud based communicative software in the public sector.

What benefits could such a system specifically deliver?

The system would provide clarity to the patient by providing information before and after each visit to the local GP. This information could be empowering patients by providing what they should be expecting at the GP or about alternative treatments available which give patients control over their treatments. The treatment progress for illnesses and other post-surgery treatment plans could be monitored electronically to provide support to actual physical consultations.

Here are some other uses for such electronic knowledge sharing between professionals and patients:

1. Required tasks and preparations prior to patient‟s visit could be identified and scheduled directly on to do lists of nurses or doctors. This is hoped to improve the efficiency of each visit and reduce the waiting time of the patient at the medical centre.

2. Questions and answers could occur between nurse and the patient using the messaging system of the software and comments could be added if seen necessary by the GP.

3. Electronic tests results, computer accessible x-ray scans and prescriptions could
be shared between the patient, the GP and the nurses, while keeping track of the older
prescriptions and test results. The shared prescriptions can also be used in conjunction with
other NHS services such as Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).

4. Patients’ information and medical history could be shared between different specialists and centre if required, providing clarity both for patients and health community staffs.

What about costs, risks and barriers to take-up for the system?

Well, the key to the success of such an initiative is that costs are managed and risks precisely outlined and mitigated but as cloud based services are relatively cost-effective compared to even a few years ago, the real risk or rather barriers comes in the form of provider take-up and patient take-up.

From the NHS side, the implementation of the programme into the system would require engagement of front-line staff and their co-operation with managers. At the moment, the silo culture within the organization would prevent managers and clinicians from collaborating but perhaps sharing what is deemed a success for both sides, could build momentum, morale and relationships. So any system, has to have a feedback loop built in which telegraphs positive momentum immediately.

The resistance from the patient side, could come from a traditional service problem. Patients have become used to face to face contact for all correspondence with health care professionals and this new way of working, might work better with younger patients who are always connected to the web. So the real issue actually comes with older patients or those who do not have broadband access (As the Mintel figures above show, only 30% of UK adults don’t have access to high speed broadband.). Getting around that might be too much of a hurdle and a roll-out to a specific demographic might therefore, be the best focus.

All in all, it sounds like an idea which could reduce inefficiencies in health care, as patients and service providers stay in regular contact, without the cost of as many face to face appointments or the risk of patients not turning up to follow-up appointments in person.