The U.K. is dismantling a £11 billion ($17 billion) health information technology program on the grounds that some of the £6.4 billion already spent has been wasted and that the program is not able to meet the healthcare system's needs, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The program, launched in 2002, aimed to convert paper patient records to electronic versions and to connect all parts of the National Health Service. Britain's Department of Health decided to halt the program, however, in part due to a report from a parliamentary committee that said the government overpaid for parts of the IT system and faced delays from suppliers, particularly the supplier Computer Sciences.
The report said the health department paid one supplier, BT Group PLC, an average of £9 million for a system that some U.K. hospitals were able to purchase for £1 million-£2 million outside of the IT program. The health department responded that not all of the investment was in vain: The department claimed approximately two-thirds of the £6.4 billion spent produced positive results, pointing to an IT system that allows broad access to digital X-rays and another system allowing physicians and emergency rooms to access patients' current medication and allergy information.
The U.K. will manage future IT projects on a regional level, according to the report.
While the United States is moving ahead with its IT program, there have been major costs. Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, for instance, had to scrap a $442 million project to deploy electronic medical records system-wide in 2002 and has spent billions more on a new EMR system, according to the report.
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The program, launched in 2002, aimed to convert paper patient records to electronic versions and to connect all parts of the National Health Service. Britain's Department of Health decided to halt the program, however, in part due to a report from a parliamentary committee that said the government overpaid for parts of the IT system and faced delays from suppliers, particularly the supplier Computer Sciences.
The report said the health department paid one supplier, BT Group PLC, an average of £9 million for a system that some U.K. hospitals were able to purchase for £1 million-£2 million outside of the IT program. The health department responded that not all of the investment was in vain: The department claimed approximately two-thirds of the £6.4 billion spent produced positive results, pointing to an IT system that allows broad access to digital X-rays and another system allowing physicians and emergency rooms to access patients' current medication and allergy information.
The U.K. will manage future IT projects on a regional level, according to the report.
While the United States is moving ahead with its IT program, there have been major costs. Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, for instance, had to scrap a $442 million project to deploy electronic medical records system-wide in 2002 and has spent billions more on a new EMR system, according to the report.
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