DH announces new fund to boost digital innovation among NHS trusts

The Department of Health has announced that up to £99,000 will be made available to support NHS health trusts in creating innovative digital technologies to help improve patient care and share information more easily across the service.

The Information Sharing Challenge Fund is looking for innovative ideas that change the way information is currently used and shared between different organisations so that NHS staff, clinicians and patients can access information when they need to and patients can be involved in decisions about their care where they wish to be.

We have created this fund to encourage NHS organisations to come up with new digital ideas that not only improve services for patients, but help to create an environment where local IT information can be more easily shared across the NHS

NHS organisations can bid for funding if their ideas demonstrate value for money and can easily be adopted by other NHS organisations as part of the NHS Interoperability Toolkit (ITK). The initiative is a set of standards and frameworks that allows different IT systems to connect together.

Announcing the fund, Health Minister, Lord Howe, said: “We want to support doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals to be innovative in the NHS. That is why we have created this fund to encourage NHS organisations to come up with new digital ideas that not only improve services for patients, but help to create an environment where local IT information can be more easily shared across the NHS. I look forward to seeing the ideas that come forward.”

Ailsa Claire, transition director for patients and intelligence at the NHS Commissioning Board Authority, added: “The recently-published NHS Information Strategy highlights the need for a ‘connect all’ approach to IT systems and the Information Sharing Challenge Fund is all about helping care services collaborate. There are many opportunities for effective information sharing between NHS organisations, social services and the third sector.

“The public rightly expects the NHS, social care and other organisations to work together. Encouraging local innovation in this way will allow for better integrated care and allow patients to access their information so they can make decisions based on what they need.”

Maternity digital capture and telehealth are two examples of innovative IT systems that are currently being piloted across the NHS. These enable improved patient care by transferring data from digital systems, such as tablet PCs, digital pens and remote patient monitoring systems, to central clinical records to be shared with patients and healthcare professionals.

Encouraging local innovation in this way will allow for better integrated care and allow patients to access their information so they can make decisions based on what they need

A report published to provide an overview of the application system states: “Replacing paper-based processes, improving digital information sharing within and between those organisations and delivering joined-up care to patients can significantly improve the efficiency and quality of care. The fund has been established to accelerate the exchange of digital information, address barriers to the development and early adoption of re-usable approaches to sharing digital information and to reduce the associated costs of integration across the NHS.”

Under the rules of application, awards of around £50,000 will be given to individual trusts. There will be a limited number of grants of up to £99,000 depending on the solution being devised. The systems must be up and ready for use by 31 March 2013.

Awards are available for development, adoption and deployment.