The 60th anniversary of the NHS was marked by the publication of the final report of Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review of the NHS in England.

It was followed by the Health Informatics Review, which stresses that the health service will need to make much more effective use of information and information technology if it is to deliver on Lord Darzi’s ten year “vision.”

Significantly, the review accepts that “interim solutions” will be needed to bridge the gap caused by the delay to the strategic systems being delivered by the National Programme for IT in the NHS.

It also observes that the NHS has “moved on” since the programme was established and that new solutions are needed to address the needs of primary care trusts and new healthcare providers and to support payment by results, practice based commissioning and other policy and financial reforms.

Away from England, there is increasing activity as Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands move forward with their own IT strategies to support health and social care.

Against this background, InterSystems is well-placed to offer a range of proven solutions that can meet the immediate need and help NHS organisations to address the challenges ahead.