NHS England has released a new digital roadmap that sets out its national objectives and timelines for the deployment of key national patient digital services and platforms, including the new NHS website and mobile app.
The plan provides milestones on key projects and initiatives designed to accelerate the uptake of digital patient services. The roadmap covers 2018-19 by quarter and indicates planned delivery for 2019-20.
Called ‘Empower the person: roadmap for digital health and care service’, the roadmap includes high-profile projects such as launching a new national citizen ID service, relaunching the NHS website, making the NHS apps library nationally-available and pilots for an electronic personal child health record.
The long-awaited ‘Citizen ID’ project, will be piloted in alpha form in the Spring in a bid to make access to patient records and online health services easier. The full Citizen ID service is scheduled to follow in 2019-20.
Another milestone for this year is to have a single NHS app to signpost access all NHS services by the end of 2018, according to NHS England’s chief digital officer, Juliet Bauer.
“We’re building an open and connectable platform that will make it easy for innovative developers to plug their technology in to our single, joined up NHS app, and start making a difference to patients,” Bauer wrote in her blog.
Other priorities include relaunching the NHS website and Bauer also states NHS England is planning to publish personal health record guidelines for local organisations in Spring to ensure they are “as high quality and connectable as possible”.
Further NHS online pilots are due to launch in the summer, along with a new online diabetes education tool. Also due in the summer is a new API to open up access to NHS Choices, to a much wider range of third parties.
For the autumn, the full launch of the much-delayed and relaunched NHS Apps library is promised. As is the launch of NHS 111 online for urgent, but non-emergency, medical conditions.
Looking at what has already been achieved, the roadmap notes which projects are available to patients right now.
This includes piloting local care records and nationally launching the NHS Choices website.
Bauer added: “As our work progresses, the patient experience will become more personalised, with advice, support and care uniquely tailored to each person.
“Services will appear more joined up, and patients will not just understand how to navigate between them, but will be smoothly guided through one clear relationship with the NHS to get to the care they need.”
Another milestone is to have wi-fi in all secondary care and Digital Health News reported this week how 33 acute and mental health trusts have signed up to have NHS WiFi by March.