Ten ways to improve information technology in the NHS

I have a request for Richard Granger, the newly appointed director general of NHS Information Technology,1 who is responsible for implementing the government's ambitious and very costly plans for the use of information technology in the NHS.2 My request to Mr Granger is this: please can you implement an information technology programme that supports me in my clinical practice, helps to improve the quality of care I provide, and allows me to run my general practice more efficiently. To help Mr Granger to achieve this objective, I have listed the top 10 improvements I would like to see in the NHS information technology systems that I use.

The list is based on my experience as a general practitioner, an academic, and someone with a reasonably good knowledge of information technology issues, as well as discussions with colleagues with varying levels of knowledge about information technology. I work in a practice that uses computers rather than paper medical records to document consultations and that has tried since 1999 to store all the information we receive on patients electronically.3 So I have direct experience of trying to use the outputs of the NHS information technology strategy in my day to day clinical work, as well as in my academic work.4 I realise that some other clinicians and managers may not agree with my list, but it does serve as a starting point for a debate on the direction that the NHS information technology strategy should take.5