Improving individual care and patient safety

We need to give staff easy access to up to date information about the person in front of them so they can provide the best possible care.

Secure and immediate access to health and care data helps to prevent avoidable delays in diagnosis and unnecessary repeat tests and examinations that can slow down the speed at which patients are able to begin treatment. In an emergency situation, the right information at the right time can be life saving. Data sharing between health and social care settings is not only essential for safety and to ensure that people’s care preferences and needs are respected; but helps people to live independently for longer in their homes and local communities.

Information drawn from data can also empower patients and service users to make informed choices about their care and to maintain and improve their overall health and wellbeing.

That’s why our strategy sets out to:

move towards a world where every surgeon, GP, district nurse, and carer could draw information from, or put information into, what feels like the same shared care record, in a safe and straightforward way
reduce the burden of data collection on staff and support them to feel more confident about how to share information appropriately
give people better access to their health and care data and provide more transparency on how it is used
empower people to take control of their own care and stay connected through data driven technology where it can have a positive impact. For example, through remote monitoring which enables staff to monitor people safely at home, while freeing up their time to focus on people who need the most urgent care