UK’s National Programme for IT welcomes recommendation for a more sociotechnical approach to evaluation: a commentary on the Greenhalgh evaluation of the summary care record

Introduction. The UK is embarking on a major national programme for IT implemented through an agency called Connecting for Health (CfH). Generally, this programme is following a strategy which has been welcomed but whose implementation has been much criticised. One of the components of the CfH programme is the summary care record, which will enable key patient information to be accessed by authorised clinicians across the NHS. The idea of sharing information to improve patient safety and make health services more efficient is sound, and reflects an international agenda set out in landmark reports. The initial implementation of the UK’s national programme focused on providing the IT infrastructure rather than improving patient safety. ...

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