Health IT Policy in the UK: The Case of Electronic Health Records

The National Programme For It In The Uk Nhs

Research on the use of IT in government organisations has increased steadily over the past two decades, particularly with the publication of reports which highlight the importance of IT-enabled transformation in public services like health, education and pensions (Department of Health, 1998, 2000). The transformational government agenda aims to, “systematically engage with citizens, business and front-line public servants to understand and then specify the transformational changes which service providers need to meet – learning from the best practice already within the public sector, from other governments and from the private sector. (Cabinet Office, 2005:7). Health IT policy is a major part of this agenda, particularly as healthcare has witnessed a shift from medical professionalism to market-driven policies with mixed success in winning the hearts and minds of key stakeholders (Blackler, 2009, Scott, Ruef, Mendel, Caronna, 2000). The literature on public sector reform suggests new government initiatives need to be contextualised in the communities of practice to understand how citizens react to change (Moore, 2006). Our interest in the NPfIT was not therefore confined to organisational and technical issues, but towards a wider health policy agenda to encourage cultural change within the medical profession and public at large.