National Initiatives Impacting Healthcare Information Technology (HCIT) in the United Kingdom : eHealth Action Plan to Increase HCIT Market Maturity

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Feb 26, 2015, 02:57 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- UK Healthcare delivery is being restructured to improve cohesion between secondary and primary care segments and healthcare professionals and patients; HCIT solutions have a key role in this transition. Furthermore, failure of many large investment initiatives has paved way for the UK eHealth strategy and eHealth action plan 2011-2017. This study discusses HCIT strategies in the UK primary and secondary care sectors, market adoption of HCIT, focus areas, and type of contracts. It focuses on the roles of government, NHS, and regional healthcare and regulatory authorities. The study also documents key pilot and commercial HCIT projects and vendor opportunities. The report analyses HCIT in Wales, England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Scope and Segmentation

•The scope of research revolves around healthcare IT strategies in the primary and secondary care sectors in the United Kingdom.
•The study covers market adoption of various healthcare IT segments, focus areas, and type of contracts, specifically analysing the roles of government, National Health Service (NHS), regional healthcare, and regulatory authorities in the healthcare IT roadmap.
•The study also documents important pilot and commercial healthcare IT projects and opportunities for healthcare IT vendors in various market segments such as telehealth and telecare, chronic disease management, electronic health record, and other eHealth solutions.

Key Findings

•Total UK healthcare expenditure is higher than the average spent by countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), of which, x – % make up HCIT investments.
•The NHS in conjunction with the department of health (DoH) and the UK government have goals of improving productivity and quality standards. Therefore, investments in HCIT solutions are being encouraged towards maximum resource utilisation at optimised costs.
•Electronic health records (EHR), telehealth, ePrescribing, and remote monitoring for self/home care are the main HCIT solutions being focused on in order to achieve cross-border healthcare, long-term management of chronic diseases, and increasing patient engagement.
•Healthcare delivery in the United Kingdom is being restructured to improve the cohesion between secondary and primary care segments. Therefore, healthcare professionals and patients, and HCIT solutions will have a significant role to play in this transition.
•Furthermore, increase in budgets allocated to HCIT investments and revamping of legal and financial regulations (especially reimbursements) are expected to be conducive towards driving HCIT adoption in the United Kingdom.
•The United Kingdom has high HCIT market penetration aided by several existing long-term initiatives driving adoption. However, the failure of several large investment initiatives has led the United Kingdom to introduce the eHealth strategy and eHealth action plan, 2011-2017. The key differentiating element in the UK's latest initiative is the shifted focus from a nation-wide strategy to locally-managed solutions.
•Since 2010, several successful pilot projects for HCIT have been carried out, demonstrating improved outcomes. The commercialisation of these projects provide potential market opportunities for HCIT vendors.

CEO's Perspective

eHealth initiatives will add impetus to the adoption of HCIT and provide a potential market opportunity for vendors.
The establishment of interoperability standards and amendment of EU medical-device directive to include HCIT solutions will increase market maturity.
Increased HCIT budgets, commercialisation of pilot projects, revamped HCIT reimbursement, and amendments to the physician pay schedule will drive market growth.

3 Big Predictions

The eHealth action plan, which is expected to be fully implemented by 2017, will increase demand for HCIT solutions.
The NHS, DoH, and UK government are focusing on a localised strategy for eHealth adoption; regions in the United Kingdom such as England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland are making considerable progress in fulfilling this action plan.
This new eHealth initiative is expected to increase collaboration between care segments, enable patient centricity, improve interoperability, and encourage high resource utilisation at optimised costs.
Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p02657753-summary/view-report.html

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