Key Summary
- The single patient record is currently before Parliament.
- It is expected to save NHS more than £20 million a year.
- Another initiative, HDRS aims to create a single, secure gateway for accessing health and care data.
The single patient record, advocated by the NHS could result in 20,000 fewer A&E visits a year and save £20m annually, the government while introducing the NHS modernisation bill in Parliament on Monday (1).
They also said that 6,000 fewer patients will be admitted and doctors will save around 500,000 hours a year by having patient data available instantly.
A single patient record will mean all NHS providers, including hospitals and GPs, will be required to share data, so that doctors and nurses across England can securely see a patient’s medical history, no matter where they are treated.
It combines fragmented health information around the country for the first time ever.
Clinicians will get improved access to records as early as 2027 for specialties including maternity and frailty care.
Dr Alec Price-Forbes, National Chief Clinical Information Officer at NHS England, said: “For too long, patient information has been held in silos, leading to patients having to repeat their stories, and creating workarounds, potential duplication or gaps in understanding for clinicians.
“The single patient record will give us an invaluable single point of truth for both the clinician and the patient and means higher quality, safer, more joined-up and more personalised care for patients.
Clinical research data
This push for modernisation comes as parliament ramps up its focus on digital health. The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee is currently conducting an ongoing inquiry into “Innovation in the NHS,” specifically examining personalised medicine and the role of artificial intelligence.
As part of this broader shift, the Health Data Research Service (HDRS) is working to create a single, secure gateway for accessing health and care data to aid clinical research.
Currently, obtaining health data for research in the UK is slow, with researchers frequently waiting months or years. The HDRS hopes to streamline these access processes to enable faster, more effective medical breakthroughs.
Reflecting the private sector's interest in these reforms, AI healthcare firms are already engaging with the government.
For instance, PharmBot AI recently submitted written evidence to the House of Lords committee, highlighting how unified data systems and AI tools can be safely integrated into the future of NHS care.
