Med-Tech Innovation Technology for assisted living
the connection of PHRs with statutory systems is starting to look at the benefi ts to all stakeholders of enabling secure, authenticated information fl ows into and out of the NHS and social services.
Lessons learned Probably the most important lesson the i-focus team has learned over the past 12 months or so is that interoperability is not just about developing technical standards to use to connect device “A” to computer “B.” Many of these exist already; it is well known that the great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from!
Much more important is understanding the fundamental needs of all the various stakeholders, making sure that these are aligned and compatible, and then devising use cases, scenarios and processes that enable the parties to interoperate at a practical level. Only a small part of this last step has anything to do with communications protocols and voltage levels on pieces of wire!
Next steps
Figure 4: Decision tree for web app versus native app
development. Technical solutions exist to most issues: it is a matter of assessing the pros and cons of the various combinations and deciding what is best in any particular circumstance. Another area of interest is how to link and bridge health and care records stored in statutory sector systems and Personal Health Records (PHRs) stored in commercial systems, such as those based on Microsoft’s HealthVault platform.
The NHS is (rightly) cautious about allowing electronic access at patients’ medical records. Although there are moves now to open-up access for those who would like it, current plans are focused on providing a patient portal to existing systems whereby a patient may have to log into several different NHS systems to see all his/ her records (for example, those of the GP, the community nursing team, and one or possibly more acute hospital trusts). How much better if APIs could be provided to allow secure access to all these disparate systems from a PHR (or other app), and for the user to see a consolidated view of his/her NHS medical records? Then there is the idea of individuals taking regular
measurements (of their weight, blood glucose, etc.) and having them uploaded via their smart phone to a PHR. Wouldn’t it be useful if, at a later date, when they are taken ill, they could share the long-term trends with NHS professionals?
This could be extended so that someone with a long- term health condition, having agreed a care plan with NHS professionals, may wish to share it electronically with close relatives or friends for them to assist with care or transport. There are all sorts of implications around information
governance, care pathway redesign and fundamental ways of working that need to be addressed before any of the above becomes commonplace. dallas work on
30 ¦ September/October 2013
At the time of writing, the i-focus team is fi nalising the topics it will target for its second year of work. These are likely to include work on • the implications of information governance rules on the sharing of data between the individual, his/her informal care network, and the statutory services
• how to give, record and confi rm consent in an electronic world
• “big data” • standardised APIs for accessing statutory services. It is also soft-launching the sector-wide initiative designed to be a long-lasting legacy of the dallas work, building on its experience of similar initiatives in other sectors such as digital TV broadcasting and mobile communications. The i-focus team hopes that this initiative will bring together all stakeholders to develop a vibrant economy for interoperable health, well being and care applications and services, building a consensus on what it makes sense to collaborate and agree on. This would allow the overall market to grow and a determination of what aspects it makes sense not to standardise to enable innovation and competition to burgeon. If you are interested in being involved, get in touch via the website:
www.ifocus-dallas.com.
References
1. i-focus is led by ADI with major contributions from a wide range of experts and organisations. Read more about it at
www.adi-uk.com/i-focus.html.
2. “The NHS Information Evolution,”
www.intellectuk.org/ publications/intellect-reports/9099-the-nhs-information-evolution.
Nigel Dallard is Principal Technologist at Advanced Digital Institute, Salts Mill,
Victoria Road, Saltaire BD18 3LA, UK, tel. +44 (0)1274 535 220 email:
nigel.dallard@adi-uk.com www.adi-uk.com
www.med-techinnovation.com
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