In England, a new Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley, has been installed and he has published "Equity and excellence: liberating the NHS", which outlines how the NHS will operate from now on. A key message in this report is about "Putting patients and public first". There will also be a greater focus on shared decision-making and access to information for patients; "Shared decision-making will become the norm."
What does this mean for patients? Patients are being encourage to be involved more in the decisions made about their treatments. Resources are being developed so that they become more informed and they are being give more access to their medical records. Patients are being given their own Health Space, a secure online health organiser, where they can book appointments, access their Summary Care Records, and keep track of information about weight, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and medication. There are links to good quality health information about common conditions, a key source being NHS Choices, but for rarer conditions, it can be very difficulty finding good quality, reliable consumer health information.
There are some key organisations supporting share decision-making:
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