IT industry association techUK has said the Government needs to place a greater emphasis on interoperability of systems in health and social care.
It has made the point in its response to the recently published white paper on the integration of care, saying that interoperability of systems is one of the biggest challenges involved.
“techUK would therefore welcome an emphasis on the actions needed to achieve wholescale integration of systems within and between both sectors,” the organisation said.
“Place led transformation and innovation is only possible if systems talk to each other, and local services have the confidence and frameworks to share data securely and effectively. techUK would like to see the white paper go further in its provisions for enabling data sharing between health and social care.”
Supplier timelines
It added that the technology industry would like to see further clarity around timelines and what is expected from suppliers, particularly with regard to population health management systems, shared care records, and digitising social care.
This is accompanied by the need for a clearer picture on the financial decision making remit of local authorities.
Along with these points, techUK also welcomed several aims expressed in the white paper, including to make more use of data, have shared care records in place for social care by 2024, and the need for digital investment plans in integrated care systems.
