Outdated IT systems are hindering patient care

The UK healthcare sector is hindered by the lack of up-to-date technology, with practitioners and patients crying out for modernisation, according to research.

The Digital innovation in health survey, carried out by Censuswide on behalf of Computacenter, covered 101 UK IT decision makers in healthcare and found that more than a third (36%) of their staff have asked for faster systems to do their jobs more efficiently.

According to the research, patients also recognise that modern IT can enabled better care with provision of quick and accurate provision of data, for example. According to the study, 26% of users at the healthcare organisations polled have asked for faster systems.

Improving patient experience and enabling staff to succeed are key measures of success for NHS trusts, the study said.

However, sector organisations face all manner of budgetary constraints to modernise their IT to support those objectives, with 36% of the healthcare IT leaders surveyed saying tight budgets were holding back digital technology system upgrades.

A separate report released by think tank Nuffield Trust earlier in June highlighted the challenges around healthcare digitisation across the NHS.

Better governance and a talent plan, as well as setting realistic expectations around the digital maturity of organisations across the system, are among the areas where attention of the NHSX – the new central unit leading digital strategy for the healh service – will be more urgently needed.