Congratulations to our clients South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust for being named by EHealth Insider as part of the trends that will reshape NHS IT in 2013 and beyond. My Health Record and My Health Locker are both powered by Get Real Health’s InstantPHR.

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Patients rule, OK!

Putting patients at the centre of healthcare has long been a policy focus for the NHS, and this desirable move is finally being reflected in the development of health sector IT. The government’s commitment to give patients online access to their GP record and a range of associated digital services has been restated in the NHS Mandate and the planning guidance issued by the NHS Commissioning Board in December.

Unfortunately, enthusiasm among many GPs, particularly to the core record access element, is low. There are some significant concerns about the impact of record access on patients and the doctor patient relationship. There are also some tricky information governance issues and real concerns about the workload implications for GP practices, which are already under great pressure as a result of the NHS reforms.

Despite this, I’m convinced that the introduction of digital service will in time help control workload and improve patient engagement in their own health and care. Work-around GP record access is the most significant development, but the growing value of personal health records in specialist areas is showing what can be achieved. Important examples where there has been progress in 2012 include Renal Patient View, Patients Know Best, the My Health Locker development at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and the My Health Record project at Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.