[GLLUG] IT for the NHS and General Practices

[Chris Bell]

Hello,
There appears to be an attempt to split the NHS into smaller isolated areas 
and to encourage more effective choice from local GP's, who may have views on 
the facilities they require but may not be experts in IT. Is there any kind of 
coordinated effort to introduce a world-wide, or at least UK-wide, common 
standard system for both the NHS and independent General Practices? Is there 
already any common standard system or framework that can be used without the 
need for too much individual development? I do not have much hope that our 
government is any more IT competent, and too many people appear to have their 
heads in the clouds, assuming that IT just happens in no time at all.
Prompted by the latest newsletter from my local GP, a quick Google search 
threw up plenty of management-speak waffle on the need to share data. I did a 
quick search on the Debian website for the description "medical" and found 
items such as GNUmed. I have already used packages found on Debian to view my 
personal collection of CT, MRI, and Ultrasound scans.

-- 
Chris Bell
Website http://chrisbell.org.uk