NHS 'should increase internet use'

24 October 2008 12:15am

A health think-tank called on the NHS to make more use of technology like email and the internet to revolutionise the way it communicates with patients.

The King's Fund said the NHS has been slow to utilise properly these kinds of technologies which are routinely used in other organisations.

It has published a report - Technology In The NHS - which outlines how patients could benefit in areas such as booking GP appointments, receiving routine test results, viewing medical records or even having online consultations.

The report sets out proposals for the next decade which envisage technology transforming the way patients interact with clinicians.

These propose the use of email to communicate with doctors and even video-conferencing for medical consultations and "virtual" visiting by friends and family.

Co-author Alasdair Liddell said: "Consumers are accustomed to using technology in their daily lives - 17 million people bank online and 55% of internet users book their holidays online. Yet new technologies, and even basic ones, are not embedded in the health service."

The King's Fund's director of policy, Anna Dixon, said: "There are information technologies in most homes and pockets that could transform health care and the way it is delivered.

"These are not futuristic, these are technologies we use day-to-day. But when it comes to our health care patients aren't even able to use basic technologies - whether its using email to book GP appointments or using the internet to view our medical records online.

"This has to change. The patient of the future, especially people with chronic illnesses like diabetes, will demand the use of technologies that make it much easier and more convenient for them to receive the care and treatment they need."

The report says access to general health information via the internet is beginning to change the balance of power between doctors and patients but notes how local health trusts could transform the way patients interact with the NHS by making greater use of new technologies.

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