The NHS is a key element of the current government’s modernisation programme and has been under constant scrutiny in the UK national media. First DataBank Europe looks at the challenges it is facing and how clinical IT systems could hold the key to linking modernisation with greater efficiency.

A report published by the British Medical Journal in 2004 (compiled by researchers at the University of Liverpool) reported that over 10,000 Britons could be dying each year as a result of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). First DataBank Europe argues that clinical IT systems with effectively implemented clinical decision support can help to reduce ADRs and improve patient safety.

The need for clinical standardisation in healthcare

In recent years the NHS has undergone a raft of reforms under the current government’s modernisation programme. The key to these reforms is the transition towards an increasingly joined up electronic healthcare system, to be achieved in part through the introduction and use of standard clinical and drug terminologies across the NHS.

Patient safety in the hands of new prescribers

In November 2005, it was reported that nurses and pharmacists in England and Scotland are likely to be given increased powers to prescribe medicines. From Spring 2006, it is anticipated that nurses and pharmacists with special training will be able to prescribe any licensed medicine with the exception of controlled drugs. This article looks at how they can be supported.

The future of clinical decision support

The picture of patient care and safety will look very different in the future. With integrated clinical IT systems, centralised patient care records and clinical decision support, healthcare professionals will have powerful tools to assist them in providing patients with the safest and most effective medical care.

First DataBank Europe looks ahead to 2010 and beyond, taking us on a hypothetical journey to show how clinical decision support could work in the future.