PLANNING MEDICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN A UNIFIED HEALTH SERVICE

An integrated health service for England and Wales, aware of and adaptable to local and general needs, will depend upon its information systems. An information service must be able to meet both the intelligence needs of administrators and information engineering requirements in the field. The constraints of N.H.S. administrative structure, costs, and manpower enforce a choice between technical services based on areas but dependent on local-authority facilities, and medically dedicated services established in all regions and in some districts: the second is preferred. Medical staff requirements are identified as a national pool of 100-150 highly trained experts, half in and half outside the N.H.S. at any one time, and about 100 general medical administrators with supplementary training, depending for their training upon the first group. The provision of the first group, from an existing pool of about 30, depends upon prompt provision for their education.