eHealth Strategy 2011-2017 (Revised July 2012 to include a Sixth Strategic Aim)

Ministerial Foreword

NHSScotland aims to deliver the highest quality of healthcare services and, through this, to ensure that NHSScotland is recognised by the people of Scotland as amongst the best in the world. The potential of information technology to support and transform healthcare services is universally recognised. Here in Scotland, eHealth has a pivotal role in enabling a radical e-transformation in the way in which high quality integrated healthcare services are delivered efficiently and effectively to people of all ages across our country.

Our vision for 2017, and this second eHealth Strategy for NHSScotland, is ambitious; it has the citizen at the centre and seeks to build on the significant progress we have made over the course of the last three years. Rather than focusing on products and technology, we will instead look to the benefits and outcomes experienced by the people of Scotland flowing from eHealth enabled service re-design and quality improvements.

Six new strategic eHealth aims have been developed and these will be the focus of our activity over the next six years. They are: supporting people to communicate with NHSS; contributing to care integration; improving medicines safety; enhancing the availability of information for staff; and providing clinical and other local managers with the management information they need to inform their decisions and maximising efficient working practices.

By the end of 2014 I expect NHSScotland to made significant process across all six areas and to have delivered the eleven short term goals which are major steps on the path towards our bold vision for eHealth enabled healthcare services.

This latest eHealth Strategy provides NHSScotland's Boards with the opportunity to drive eHealth enabled improvements from closer to the front line of service delivery and to align eHealth more closely with the improvement planning processes already in place.

I am delighted to endorse the achievements celebrated in this strategy, and look forward to the short term goals and actions identified being achieved and taking us further towards our aim of delivering the highest quality of healthcare services for the people of Scotland.

NICOLA STURGEON
Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy