The NHS’s Chaotic IT Systems Show No Sign Of Recovery

...This system was provided by Epic Systems, a US corporation based in Wisconsin, which may explain why its software designers seem unfamiliar with the verb “to arrive”. It’s one of eight major vendors of healthcare information systems, all of which are based in the US, and it got its foot in the NHS door quite a long time ago. My doctor’s surgery has been using it for a while. At the beginning, the system’s user-interface was abysmal and dysfunctional. Now, several years on, it’s merely ugly. But at least it works.

On 26 October, our local hospital, Addenbrooke’s, which is run by Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust (CUHFT), made an excited announcement on its website. “A new patient record system to improve patient care at Cambridge University Hospitals has been switched on. eHospital went live across the Trust this morning at 02:00. The new system will improve the quality of care for patients by ensuring that doctors, nurses and other clinical staff can access relevant patient information wherever they are, at the click of a button and on bespoke software that has been designed by and for clinicians.”...