Ministers have issued a warm message of support in response to the a new Vision and 12-point plan for chief clinical information officers, issued by the CCIO Leaders Network.
The Department of Health has asked for a meeting with CCIO leaders to discuss the plan, which recommends actions to accelerate the appointment and development of CCIOs and to give them greater responsibility for clinical data quality.
The day after the plan was published on Monday, a DH spokesperson said: “Ministers very much welcome the CCIO Leaders Network’s drive to engage professions in the need for information and IT as core elements in delivering safe, high-quality, person-focused health and social care.”
The spokesperson said local clinical leadership will be vital to ensure information underpins NHS modernisation.
“This is an important area of work for the department, and we are clear that with the clear move toward local decision-making in health and care IT systems, this kind of local professional leadership will be essential.”
The spokesperson added that such leadership needs to support innovative and integrated solutions and local decision-making “within a framework of national standards that ensure information can move freely, safely, and securely around the system."
The DH spokesperson recommended the CCIO Leaders Network also give attention to integrated health and social care.
“We would recommend that the network’s programme going forward gives serious consideration to integration across health and care services (not just within or between NHS services).”
Further attention was also urged on steps to place patients at the centre of decision-making.
“We would also recommend consideration be given to ensuring that patients and people are at the centre of local information and IT decisions (whilst, of course making sure systems ‘work’ for professional and other health and care staff).”
The plan has also been warmly welcomed by the Royal College of Physicians, a founding partner of the CCIO Leaders network, which issued a message of support.
"The importance of clinical leadership in transforming the information landscape of the NHS cannot be over-emphasised,” the statement says.
“This document sets out a bold vision for the future, and a pragmatic plan for delivery in England. It demonstrates the key role that CCIO’s in provider organisations must play in supporting this delivery, in partnership with, regulators and commissioners, and we strongly support it."
The Royal College of Opthalmologists also offered its support. “The network champions the need for improvements in health information to drive better patient care and service efficiency using systems created with the input of clinical users,” a college spokesperson said.