Last week, I attended a seminar at the University of Tokyo, organised by the Todai Policy Alternatives Research Institute. I spoke about the secondary uses of data from electronic patient records in the UK (the primary use is defined as their role in providing direct clinical care). Also speaking at the conference were John Halamka from Harvard and Nikolaus Forgo from Hanover, as well as speakers from the University of Tokyo, such as Professor Morita, Professor Akiyama, and Professor Sakata. Amongst the audience of 250 were representatives from clinical medicine, academia, government and health service management. I was very impressed by the expertise and commitment to this area of work in Japan. You can view a summary of the proceedings in Japanese.
NHS budgets are under considerable pressure. It is therefore unsurprising that many NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) In England will aim to prioritise price in contract awards, But this approach is a significant threat to community-centred healthcare. While competitive tendering is a legally required, an excessive focus on costs in awarding NHS contracts risks overshadowing key factors such as established community trust, local expertise, and the long-term impact on continuity of care. This shift towards cheaper, often external, commercial providers threatens to cut the links between communities and their local health services. The argument that competitive tendering is solely about legal compliance, and not cost, is undermined by the very nature of such tendering, which by design encourages the lowest bid. This approach risks eroding the social fabric of local healthcare provision, where established relationships and understanding of specific community needs are essential. Establishe...
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