TheHouse of Commons Health
Committeehas published its terms of
reference for an inquiry it will hold into facets of the
NHSNational Programme
for IT (NPfIT).
The committee decided to undertake an inquiry last November,
following a campaign led by leading academics, Computer Weekly and
MPs.
This week, the committee said the inquiry will focus on current
progress on the development of the NHS care records service and the
national data spine – and why delivery of the new systems is up to
two years behind schedule.
The care records service and data spine are cornerstones of the
NPfIT, a £12.4bn project to refresh NHS IT systems and create 50
million electronic patient records.
The parliamentary committee will also examine:
- What patient information will be held on the new local and
national electronic record systems, including whether patients may
prevent their personal data being placed on systems
- Who will have access to locally and nationally held information
and under what circumstances
- Whether patient confidentiality can be adequately
protected
- How data held on the new systems can and should be used for
purposes other than the delivery of care - eg clinical
research.
In May 2006, 23 academics wrote an open letter to the committee,
calling on its members to ask the government to commission an
independent audit into the national programme, voicing concerns
over its technical feasibility and engagement with clinicians.
They also published a
dossier of their concerns over the programme
last week.
New inquiry - The Electronic Patient Record and
its use
MPs will hold inquiry into £12bn NHS IT
plan
Read Tony
Collins' IT projects blog
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