NHS Information Authority

NHS Information Authority (NHSIA) was an executive agency of the Department of Health in the United Kingdom. It was established in April 1999 and dissolved in April 2005. The NHSIA was responsible for setting the direction and pace of information technology (IT) investment in the National Health Service (NHS) and ensuring that this investment delivered real improvements in patient care.

History

The NHS Information Authority was established in 1999 to lead the modernisation of IT in the NHS. It was responsible for setting the direction and pace of IT investment in the NHS and ensuring that this investment delivered real improvements in patient care. The NHSIA was dissolved in 2005, and its functions were transferred to NHS Connecting for Health, NHS England, and the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Functions

The NHSIA had a wide range of responsibilities, including:

• Developing and implementing the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT), a major initiative to modernise the use of IT in the NHS.
• Managing the NHSnet, a secure network for sharing patient information and clinical data between NHS organisations.
• Overseeing the NHS Care Records Service, which aimed to create a centralised electronic patient record for every person in England.
• Implementing the Electronic Prescription Service, which allows prescriptions to be sent electronically from a GP to a pharmacy.
• Developing and maintaining the NHS Data Dictionary, a central repository of definitions and standards for data used in the NHS.

Legacy

The NHSIA's work has had a lasting impact on the use of IT in the NHS. Its initiatives, such as the NPfIT and the Electronic Prescription Service, have helped to modernise the NHS and improve patient care. However, the NHSIA also faced criticism for the cost and effectiveness of some of its projects.