Personalised Health and Care 2020

One of the greatest opportunities in the 20th century is the potential to safely utilise the technology revolution that has transformed society to meeting the challenges of improving health and providing better, safer care for all. At the moment, the health and care system has only started to utilise the potential of using data and technology ar a national or local level. The ambition is for a health and care system that enables patients to make healthier decisions, be more resilient, to deal more effectively with illness and disability when it arises, and have happier, longer lives in old age; a health and care system where technology can help tackle inequalities and improve access to services for the vulnerable. This paper considers what progress the health and care system has already made and what can be learnt from other industries and the wider economy, and sets out a series of proposals that will:

Enable people to make the right health and care choices, citizens to have full access to their care records and access to an expanding set of NHS-accredited health and care apps and digital information services.

Give care professionals and carers access to all the data, information and knowledge they need, real-time digital information on a person’s health and care 2020 for NHS-funded services, and comprehensive data on the outcomes and value of services to support improvement and sustainability

Make the quality of care transparent, publish comparative information on all publicly funded health and care services, including the results of treatment and what patients and carers say

Build and sustain public trust, ensure citizens are confident about sharing their data to improve care and health outcomes

Bring forward life-saving treatments and support innovation and growth, make England a leading digital health economy in the world and develop new resources to support research and maximise the benefits of new medicines and treatments, particularly in light of breakthroughs in genomic science to combat long-term conditions including cancer, mental health services and tackling infectious diseases

Support care professionals to make the best use of data and technology, in the future all members of the health, care and social care workforce must have the knowledge and skills to embrace the opportunities of information

Assure best value for taxpayers, ensuring current and future investments in technology reduce the cost and improve the value of health services and support delivery of better health and care regardless of setting