EHI launched The Big EPR Debate two weeks ago, to give readers the chance to debate the next steps on getting electronic patient records in use in the NHS.
Time is tight to get it right this time. NHS England is due to issue guidance in June on the plans they are expected to have in place by April to start using electronic records.
And health secretary Jeremy Hunt wants a “paperless” NHS by 2018. Even so, we believe there is a small but real window of opportunity to influence the direction of travel; and readers seem to agree.
The first big debate stories attracted more than 150 comments, on everything from the need for the NHS to define the business case that IT is meant to support, to the need for NHS England to define what it means by electronic record or paperless.
EHI commenters have also called for the June guidance to focus on the outcomes that systems are meant to achieve, perhaps for a variety of users, and to lay out the steps that trusts might take on their route to EPR, without being overly prescriptive.
EHI is planning to formally feed these responses back to NHS England. To support this, we are launching a survey to support one area of the debate – that journey to EPR.
The survey asks what the key building blocks of an EPR should be, the routes that trusts can take to getting them in place, and what NHS England should – or should not do – to make sure they are put in place.
We hope that as many readers as possible take part in the survey, which includes plenty of additional space for further thoughts and comments.
All the responses will be treated in strict confidence, but as a thank-you for taking part there is an opportunity to enter a prize draw to win an iPad mini.
Meanwhile, if you have further thoughts on any of the topics in The Big EPR Debate, the comment button awaits…