The Big Consultation

Does anyone have any new ideas beyond tech and big data?

The Health Secretary launched a consultation on the government’s move to transform the NHS in England from ‘analogue to digital.’

As part of this consultation, Wes is unveiling plans for “patient passports,” which contain health data that GPs, hospitals, and ambulance services can swiftly access. 

TTE consider this one of those claims that need fact-checking. As an urgent care GP, CH can access your medical records through the NHS Spine. Its benefits include enabling critical services to provide frontline care by providing real-time patient data.’ 

To access these data, you need an NHS Care Smartcard that ensures secure access. You also need to ask the patient's permission, which you can bypass - with stated reasons - in an emergency. National Electronic Patient Record (EPR) coverage stood at 88% in 2022. With a £2 billion investment, the target is for 95% of trusts to have EPR by March 2025.  

As TTE sees it, the only difference between Wes’s big consult and what is currently available i…