IT to reduce NHS costs over the next five years and beyond

The comments come after the Conservative Party won an overall majority in the General Election on May 7th. The party stated in its manifesto that it would fund NHS England's Chief Executive Officer Simon Stevens' NHS Five Year Forward View, which was released last autumn and which outlined how the health service will require an extra £8 billion a year in real terms by 2020. The report also claimed the NHS will need to make £22 billion of savings during this time.

Joe said technology can help to meet this savings objective by ensuring effective budget management through improved use of efficient IT. He explained technological advancements are helping to improve record-keeping practices through digitalisation, and is increasing mobile working for clinicians through mobile device management.
Joe said: "The NHS outlined in its Five Year Forward View last year that it aims to make significant savings by 2020, and we believe IT will play an important role in achieving this. The Conservative Party reaffirmed its commitment to the plan in its manifesto in April, so it will be interesting to see how this unfolds after the party secured an overall majority in the election.

"Innovative IT is enabling healthcare services to work together in a more efficient way. Through increasing efficiencies and improved collaboration, the industry as a whole can reduce costs; budgets are being managed more effectively, record-keeping practices are being improved, physical storage requirements are being lessened and point of care decision-making is being encouraged. The ability to support secure devices with full device management also helps to ensure risk to data is mitigated. Technology advancements are also being used by the NHS to give patients more control to choose and manage their own health pathway.”