An elephant never forgets
Following on in our series of NHS IT Elephant blogs (well why not?) we explore “An elephant never forgets” so the saying goes.
Surviving harsh environments where food and water are spread across huge areas has no doubt tuned elephants memory, survival of the fittest "and all that". Recent research also shows they remember smaller things related to harm and also bear grudges, for a long time. So, whilst one might argue that elephants probably can forget, they do have great memories, that’s why they are still around, let’s hope efforts to keep them here prevail.
The elephant(s) in the room – Part two
So now you’ve met our first elephant in the room, the untapped resource that is the IT sales person, allow me to introduce you to the second elephant in the room. With a focus on the healthcare sector our second elephant in the room is in fact an attitude, rather than a person; it’s the attitude towards IT suppliers in general, not only at a local level but a national one too.
The elephant(s) in the room – Part one
Welcome to the first of a three part series of blogs with an elephant theme, exploring software in the NHS. We’re starting with the “Elephant in the room” or elephants in this case, just two, so it isn’t going to get too crowded.
Let’s meet our first elephant, the IT sales person who’s always sending you newsletters, product updates, case studies, filling up your inbox, calling you after hours hoping to catch you as you are always in meetings during the day (how did they get your mobile number?), trying to come and see you and sell you something. OK, luckily not all IT sales people are like this, but it is probably the stereotypical view and must be based on something, right?
Interoperability starts at home
As a supplier to the NHS I am personally very proud to be working with an organisation who offer what is said to be the gold standard of clinical care. It has to be said that it is this level of care commitment to making the NHS work which fuels Premier IT as a business, and we are nothing but eminently grateful that it exists. Having said this when I put on my systems hat and look again I can’t help to think that there has to be a better way. I visited a trust last week and was dismayed to hear that they had over 200 different IT systems. This was perplexing on its own but to then hear that very few of the systems actually talk to each other was the real resonating point.
