U.K. to implement electronic patient records.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: Up front: news, trends & analysis - Brief Article

U.K. citizens soon will be able to access their health records electronically. As part of the U.K.'s National Heath Service (NHS) initiative, tests are being conducted to determine the best way to enable patients to access their records.

Currently, the NHS faces a huge challenge in dealing with growing volumes of data, and it warned that the amount of paper produced by NHS is increasing at a substantial rate. According to research from U.K. document management specialist Elision, 13.5 billion pieces of paper currently are stored as patient records across primary and secondary care in the NHS.

The electronic health records strategy forms a key part of the government's 2.3 billion [pounds sterling] ($3.69 billion U.S.) nation al program to overhaul the NHS' information technology. Under the plan, electronic patient records will be implemented in all primary care trusts and hospitals by December 2007.

Document management will be crucial in helping the NHS meet its goal of implementing electronic health records, said Murray Bywater, managing director of IT healthcare specialist Silicon Bridge Research. "If you...