20.07.12
A good handle on facts and figures
The new HSCIC report on NHS data is the start of the organisation’s remit to analyse the datasets and data recording procedures of bodies across the NHS.
There were, naturally, many findings ranging from seven local authorities submitting adult social care returns with 15-20% of data incomplete, to 5,000 duplicates of patient records that have since been eradicated.
The head of the HSCIC has said that this report will mark the start of significant improvements in data quality, assuring that both medical and managerial data will be accurate and comprehensive.
It is a very positive step that the Health and Social Care Act 2012 is fulfilling its aim of reform and improving data quality across the NHS, but this new measure could be high-jacked by the back-and-forth of the political cycle over public spending.
Labour is claiming that, should it come to power, it would reverse Tory reforms of the NHS. Will highlighting oversights in the operation of the health service soon become ammunition for more reforms to the health service for the purpose of political point-scoring, rather than its legitimate improvement?
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