Knucklehead data
Fixing the basics to turn technology from a burden on staff to an opportunity for the NHS
This is the first in what may be a few posts about data. Trying to summarise some high level, basics but will return to these topics and others in more depth in the months ahead.
“Excel: Why using Microsoft’s tool caused Covid-19 results to be lost.”
The cause of this problem was using a version of MS Excel that ran out of capacity. Meaning it needs to have been pre v12 which was released in 2007. In other words, someone was using a piece of software that is more than 13 years old.
I find it hard to see why Excel or Microsoft are the cause. This is a symptom of a culture of under investment and lack of trust in IT. The result is that we fail to give hard pressed NHS staff the tools they need to do the job.
While the rest of us take advantage of modern software and technology, the NHS struggles with out of date, inadequate systems to manage complex and critical data.
Four knucklehead data problems
The frustrating part is that this is what I call a knucklehead problem. We don’t need moonshots or scary bleeding edge technologies. Just take advantage of proven, low cost technologies. Be patient and purposeful to build the right thing the right way.
First be clear eyed about the real data challenges:
Information Governance. We need to look after the data patients entrust to the NHS. We must also share that data amongst the clinicians who care for those patients. And make it accessible to patients when they need it.
Volume. The amount of data available keeps growing. We need to capture and store that data. But it needs to be there when it is needed so real time access is vital.
Fragmentation. Data is held in lots of systems with many different formats and structures. We need to be able to use different data from different sources to provide and endless variety of combinations and analyses. Without losing any of the underlying richness.
Friction. Front-line NHS staff spend huge time and effort capturing and accessing this data. Let’s make their lives a little easier.
Patient and purposeful - a better way
The result is that vital data is held in well defended, resource starved silos. We can do better in all these areas by adopting basic modern technologies. That means:
Adopting low cost cloud infrastructure as standard.
Using modern software tools and data formats.
Building and iterating software to meet the needs of users.
None of this is rocket science. There are thousands of new software applications built every day on this platform. Its more secure and more resilient. Buying and operating costs are much lower. Disruption due to change is several orders of magnitude lower which saves even more money.
Given where the NHS is today, we can skip several stages of evolution. The whole debate about interoperability for example is an interim step. Modern software applications talk to each other and share data when needed. Everyone takes this for granted. There is no other way.
We need to do this to provide a foundation for the future. AI is coming. Without complete and up to date access to all the right data, it will not work.
More important, building and providing the right technology can make a difference now. We should use data to provide better patient care. We must do what we can to relieve the burden on hard pressed NHS people.
Triscribe is trying to build this way. Our business model aims to share the benefits with our NHS customers. We have a long way to go. But our ambition is to do the right thing. We would love to work with you to achieve it.