In an exclusive E-Health Insider has learned that the national programme for IT has successfully reached one of its key early milestones, with the first on-line patient appointments of the Choose and Book service made in early adopter sites. Despite well publicised delays to the ‘spine’ project, upon which electronic booking is dependent, the first successful online patient appointments using the Choose and Book service were made by early adopter sites either by or extremely close to the 30 June deadline. Though no official confirmation has been provided, EHI understands that the first online appointment booked was for a patient with a hernia. It is not thought that the patient was from one of the development teams that pulled out the stops to meet the June target. In addition the National Programme for IT has told EHI that the initial elements of the NHS Care Records Service (CRS) spine to support Choose and Book have been also been delivered, enabling GPs to book appointments into secondary care and produce electronic referral letters. Growing out from a handful of early adopter sites in the North East and London Choose and Book will continue to be rolled-out across further early adopter sites throughout summer 2004. According to the NPfIT Choose and Book will be implemented across England by the end of 2005. The NPfIT declined to provide details of which site the first electronic appointment booking occurred. “It would be unfair to submit them to the attention that a full media launch would entail." A full media launch is expected later this summer.
