By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    An Expert’s Guide To Building and Improving Endurance
    June 30, 2022
    medical assistants
    What Do Medical Assistants Do On a Day to Day Basis?
    April 5, 2022
    superfoods to help with prostate health
    10 Healthy Foods That Can Help Protect Your Prostate
    August 29, 2022
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    healthcare cost crisis
    What If the Health Care Cost Crisis Solves Itself?
    May 11, 2013
    Do You Need Life Insurance? What Does It Cover?
    December 23, 2022
    HIE metal plans
    The Four “Metal Plans” of Health Insurance Exchanges
    May 28, 2013
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Health Information Technology: Whistling by the Graveyard
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Medical Records > Health Information Technology: Whistling by the Graveyard
Medical RecordsNews

Health Information Technology: Whistling by the Graveyard

JohnCGoodman
JohnCGoodman
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

The United Kingdom invested almost $20 billion in an ambitious Health Information Technology (HIT) initiative that has now been scrapped. But in the United States, the people working on our $20 billion program are confident that our investment will not be wasted. If I were getting a big piece of that $20 billion, I too would “express confidence” that the money I am getting will not be wasted. Nope. Not a chance. No waste here. Never happen.

The United Kingdom invested almost $20 billion in an ambitious Health Information Technology (HIT) initiative that has now been scrapped. But in the United States, the people working on our $20 billion program are confident that our investment will not be wasted. If I were getting a big piece of that $20 billion, I too would “express confidence” that the money I am getting will not be wasted. Nope. Not a chance. No waste here. Never happen.

An article in The Independent reports:

The nine-year-old NHS computer project – the biggest civilian IT scheme ever attempted – has been in disarray since it missed its first deadlines in 2007. The project has been beset by changing specifications, technical challenges and clashes with suppliers, which has left it years behind schedule and way over cost.

More Read

Image
Mayor Bloomberg Wants to Say Bye-bye to Big Gulp
Big Data = Big Brother? Leveraging Transaction Data for Better Healthcare
How is Gaming Changing the Landscape in Health Care? Part 1 | Fabio Gratton, Ignite Health
Are Digital Medical Records Harder to Protect?
Electronic Access Increases Test Ordering Behavior

Accenture, the largest contractor involved, walked out on contracts worth £2bn in 2006, writing off hundreds of millions of pounds in the process. Months earlier, the US supplier IDX, contracted to provide software in and around London, had also withdrawn from the project, making a $450m (£275m) provision against future losses from the two contracts.

It adds that another American vendor, Computer Sciences Corporation, failed to deliver the bulk of the systems it was contracted to provide, but –

The department told MPs it may be more expensive to terminate the contract than see it through, while another provider, BT, “has also proved unable to deliver against its original contract”.

Another publication, ZDNet, reports –

The NHS IT programme has already had £6.4 billion ($9.8 billion) spent on the new centralised service. Originally, £12.7 billion ($19.6 billion) was budgeted for the project, but was later revised down by £1.3 billion ($2 billion).

But after a long-running series of delays and over-spending issues, it was branded “unworkable” by a group of members of parliament last month.

Instead of pumping more money into the already struggling IT programme, it was decided by Cabinet members and other ministers to instead scrap the service and start again.

Now it would seem the UK had many advantages over the U.S. in implementing such a system. At 62 million, its population is one-fifth of ours, it is geographically compact, all of its providers are actually employed by the National Health Service, and there was only one payer involved. So it was willing to spend five times per capita as much as we are and the users of the system could be fired for not cooperating with the roll-out, and still it failed.

But the IT people in the U.S. are undeterred, at least according to the trade publication Information Week. It writes –

Perhaps the United Kingdom should have taken the U.S. approach to health IT. Seems like the Brits might be thinking that, too.

The failure of the United Kingdom’s troubled, $20 billion-plus National Health Service National Programme for IT, launched in 2002 and officially declared dead last month, serves several lessons for the United States as it rolls out its own $27 billion health IT program.

It argues that everything is just nifty in the good ol’ USofA because –

…the U.S. approach of making health IT use voluntary–even while healthcare organizations are being encouraged to do so with financial incentives from the government–helps get buy-in from clinicians.

Let’s see here. Yes, the American government is not actually providing the equipment, but it is dictating “standards,” mandating “meaningful use” of the systems, and requiring U.S. providers to pay for a good portion of the hardware and software.

The article goes on to argue that this is all good because by having to pay for some of the systems, American provides will want to use them, and –

The U.S. also has gone out of its way to get input from healthcare stakeholders–including hospitals, doctors, patient groups, payers, technologists, and others. In fact, the entire HITECH Act rulemaking process for Meaningful Use stages 1, 2, and 3 has taken so long in large part because the U.S. government has been bending over backwards in asking stakeholders for input, through standards and policy workgroups, and also by asking the public for feedback, before finalizing the requirements of the incentive programs.  

So, Dr. Jones will be comforted because lobbyists from the AMA helped to dictate the standards he must comply with and pay for out of his own pocket. What could possibly go wrong?

   

TAGGED:UK
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

technology in medical research
The Tools Helping Medical Researchers See the Full Picture
News Technology
August 3, 2025
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025

You Might also Like

MiHIN
eHealthMedical Records

Improving Michigan Healthcare IT Security

October 23, 2012
Image
NewsSpecialties

Sticking to Health & Wellness Goals: These Websites Made Me Do It

October 5, 2012

How Synoptic Reporting Supports Patient Outcomes Analysis

November 5, 2014

Underestimating obesity

April 5, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?