Dig Out the Data
Today, I’ve read the article “Long Live the Database State”, published in July 2009 at the Prospect, after a twit from @Richard56. Although this was published almost a year ago, its content is nowadays even more updated and relevant. This article mainly focus the limited access to the enormous amount of data that is generated everyday in the British National Health Service, data that has been kept away from providers and end-users, hence impairing the main core of the system to adapt to the needs and to evolve by itself.
Every time we interact with a public service we leave a record—a medical report, perhaps, or an exam result. Those records should be the lifeblood our public services. If shared and analysed—securely—they can help services to improve the quality of their performance. They can also help to prevent problems: identifying, for instance, those at risk from diabetes or even child abuse. And the economic downturn brings new urgency: if public services don’t improve productivity they will soon be unaffordable. (…)
If we want to have good public services, we are going to have to trust them with our data; and if our public services want us to pay for them, they will have to show us that they are using our data effectively and securely. But armed with the type of data created by Brian Jarman, and the tools built by Richard Webber, we can build safer, cheaper public services that know their users better.
Leaders and stakeholders all throughout the world should realize that data sharing and analyzing is the next step for the healthcare systems survival and sustainability, from global to local settings. More than never, we need an effective, statistical, secure and responsible interpretation of the information that is being collected by healthcare providers.
In summary, only knowledgeable healthcare systems are capable of becoming true complex adaptive systems. Only then, they will face effectively the increasing needs and demands of the future.
jonathan black, 
Ana Margarida and one other person are discussing. 
Anne Marie Cunningham 20:45 on 22/02/2009 Permalink |
Hi,
Interesting. Do you have a link to the US report? What is the situation in Portugal with regards to conultations which are not face to face, eg telephone and beyond?
Thanks
Anne Marie
alexandregouveia 20:58 on 22/02/2009 Permalink |
Hi, Anne Marie
Unfortunately I don’t have the US report, and I think it’s not available online.
In Portugal we don’t have solid data regarding the telephone consultations (they were never object of adequate research) but I’m pretty sure they represent around 10% of a daily GP work (email consultations are still residual).
There is a group of colleagues from the Portuguese Association of GPs that are starting a research project on this subject. As soon as the data is available, I will let you know.
Many thanks,
Alex.
Anne Marie Cunningham 21:33 on 22/02/2009 Permalink |
http://www.imarketinsights.com/modules/mastop_publish/?tac=Patients_praise_and_pan_virtual_doctor_visit
Actually this shows that minority were positive (48%) with majority being negative or neutral. The headline admits ‘mixed’ reception.
Also interesting is that those accepting virtual consultations, are more tolerant of this being with a doctor they do not know. In my experience these are generally well, young patients. We have to make sure that we don’t start designing health services around this demographic. Some would say that this has started happening in England.
Thanks
AM