Interoperability and the NHS

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We Should Talk

• Interoperability and the NHS

Martin Whittaker, Touchstone Consultancy
Ltd martin_at_touchstone.uk.com
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• IT, Telecoms, Electronics industries in UK
• Healthcare Group
• 260 suppliers to health and social care sector
• Works closely with Department of Health (DH)

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Interoperability is Good
Interoperability is Hard
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Healthcare Interoperability is Really Good
Healthcare Interoperability is Really Hard
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The story so far

• Interoperability is not new
• National Programme failed to deliver the Care
  Record Service
• Connect All rather than Replace All
• Back to basics
• Use interoperability that works
• Use proven standards rather than clever ones
• hence the CFH Interoperability Toolkit (ITK)

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ITK Principles

• Start with simple, proven interoperability
• Biggest gains are with local data
• (almost) Any interoperability is better than none

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ITK Levels

• Level 1 Plumbing
• Level 2 Send what ya got Word, pdf
• Level 3 Structure the envelope HL7/IHE
  Green CDA
• Level 4 Structure everything

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The Verdict

• Intellect welcomes ITK, but

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Areas for Improvement

• Strategy
• Engagement
• Education
• Openness
• Compliance

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The CFH ITK Accreditation Catalogue
(yes, all of it)
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ITK and Suppliers
Seen it all before
It will be too expensive...
Lack of ownership
Weve got a better one
We make money from bespoke interfaces
Unproven
Our customer is the Trust not CFH
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Strategy

• How safe a bet is ITK?
• Is ITK part of the NHS Information and Technology
  Strategies?
• Timescales

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Education

• The Trust is the customer
• Its not just an IT project
• What are the business needs?
• Medical Director improved patient care/safety?
• Finance Director financial savings?
• Etc
• Who can educate?

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Openness

• Everything must be public
• ITK User Forum
• Forget licence fees!
• Shared ownership fosters quick uptake
• Suppliers will reciprocate

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Compliance

• Can be
• Hard
• Difficult to pin down
• Expensive
• Negative
• Barrier to implementation

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Compliance

• Should add value
• eg IHE Connectathon
• Suppliers in same room
• Proving interoperability
• Certificate states what works

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Investment

• Sort out
• Strategy
• Engagement
• Education
• Openness
• Compliance
• and suppliers will invest

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We Should Talk

• Interoperability and the NHS
• Available from www.intellectuk.org/healthcare

Martin Whittaker, Touchstone Consultancy
Ltd martin_at_touchstone.uk.com 01256 765902