The figures were released in a report from Monitor Deloitte titled ‘Digital Health in the UK: an industry study for the Office of Life Sciences.’ The largest sector in digital healthcare was found to be digital health systems, which includes hospital information systems. With many NHS departments and private trusts discovering the benefits of electronic record management, it is easy to see why the growth in market value is so rapid.
Naveed Ashraf, Managing Director of Pearl Scan Solutions commented, “We’ve been helping multiple GP surgeries, hospitals and medical trusts go paperless over the last few years, and the transformation is incredible. It’s one of those situations where managers say – why didn’t we do this sooner?
“The increase in efficiency when moving over to digital records speaks for itself. Doctors and other staff can reduce time spent on admin tasks such as searching for and updating records, leaving them more time to focus on more important aspects of their job. It’s also much easier to share records and patient history or even X-rays between departments and specialists, paving the way for faster diagnosis and treatment.”
The NHS is under increasing pressure to become more efficient while it deals with serious cuts to funding, staff and services. Transferring to electronic record management is one of easiest and cost effective ways to improve efficiency across the board. The Monitor Deloitte report found that digital healthcare systems and the efficiencies gained from them, would be “central to the delivery of the government’s NHS policy agenda and is a key enabler for realising the Five year forward view.”
