Patients to see medical records on their phone
Health Secretary pledges revolution in care with app that can be used to book a GP and order prescriptions
NHS patients will be able to access their medical records and book a GP appointment on their smartphone by the end of 2018, Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, is to tell a medical conference tomorrow, announcing a “decade of patient power” that will transform how people receive care.
“People should be able to access their own medical records 24/7, show their full medical history to anyone they choose and book basic services like GP appointments,” he will say.
NHS patients will be able to access their medical records and book a GP appointment via their smartphone by the end of next year, the Health Secretary is to pledge. Jeremy Hunt will tell an NHS conference that the next 10 years will be “the decade of patient power” which transforms the way people receive their care.
“If the NHS is going to be the safest, highest quality healthcare system in the world we need to do technology better,” he is expected to tell the Health and Care Innovation Expo in Manchester.
He said the new standards would make the NHS a “world-beater” in caring for millions of patients with longterm conditions. “People should be able to access their own medical records 24/7, show their full medical history to anyone they choose and book basic services like GP appointments or repeat prescriptions online,” he will say.
Under the plans, all patients would be able to book a GP appointment, order a repeat prescription, access NHS 111 or their healthcare record by using one app. Mr Hunt set a deadline of the end of 2018 for this to be achieved.
Previous attempts to improve technology in the NHS have had limited success. In 2013 Mr Hunt promised to make the NHS paperless by 2018. But earlier this year he said: “I perhaps rather bravely said I wanted the NHS to be paperless by 2018 in my first few months as health secretary, and I am quite relieved that most people seem to have forgotten that I made that promise.” Instead he said the NHS would aim to reach this stage within five years.
In May, the health service was hit by the largest cyber attack in history, forcing hospitals to rely on pen and paper.
In 2011, the coalition scrapped Labour’s £12billion NHS IT programme, and last year ministers dropped an NHS care data plan, amid concerns about that patients had not been given enough information about how their records would be used. Health officials are now working on new proposals.
Tomorrow Mr Hunt is expected to say that the new timetable is demanding. “I do not underestimate the challenge of getting there – but if we do it will be the best possible 70th birthday present from the NHS to its patients,” he is due to say.
Dr Richard Vautrey, chairman of the British Medical Association GP committee said “GPS have been the leaders in developing and using electronic records and innovative digital technologies and are always looking for new ways to enhance and support patient care.”
He added: “However, new technologies that are created with the intention of improving access won’t solve the fundamental problem that there are simply not enough GP and nurse appointments available for patients, as there are not enough GPS and nurses available to offer them or meet the growing needs of our patients.”