Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015: experts identify opportunities for outsourcing and digital health initiatives

As part of his Autumn Statement and the Comprehensive Spending Review, UK chancellor George Osborne announced £20 billion in budget cuts across government departments. He outlined plans to harness digital technology to transform public services and deliver efficiencies.

The chancellor outlined plans to develop a single payment system for using central government services; enable the sharing of digital services, technology and processes across departments; progress work on an identity assurance scheme for people to use when accessing government services, and to digitise business tax accounts.

"Increased outsourcing and offshoring, greater use of shared services, and alternative commercial and contract models are likely to be means by which spending can be streamlined, but it’s going to require flexibility and a willingness to adapt by both government and its suppliers," expert in IT contracts Simon Colvin of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said.

"It is easy for government outsourcing deals to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, and the public tends to have concerns in relation to loss of accountability, poor value for money and data security," said Colvin. "Ensuring that government retains appropriate controls and scrutiny over the outsourced services will be key, and government will need to continue to invest in the upskilling of procurement and contract management teams as well as ensuring a robust approach to the associated procurements and contract terms."

The UK government said it would invest £1 billion over the next five years on "new technology" in the health sector. The technology will help "deliver better connected services for patients and ensure that doctors and nurses have the information they need at their fingertips", according to the plans.

"By September 2018, 80% of clinicians in primary, urgent and emergency care will have digital access to key patient information," the Autumn Statement and Spending Review policy paper said. "By 2020 integrated care records will give every health and care professional concerned with an individual’s care the information they need to provide safe and prompt care."

Funding has also been set aside for new technology and innovation to be tested in the NHS through collaborations involving industry and health bodies. The government will also spend £5 billion in health research and development, which will further the work of the 100,000 Genomes Project and which will also see money invested "in the research and development of drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and treatments which will combat the most infectious diseases, including the fight to eradicate malaria", the government said.

Matthew Godfrey-Faussett, expert in digital health at Pinsent Masons, said that greater investment in digital health is "a positive step" but said that building public confidence and clarifying regulation is "essential" if digital health initiatives are really to deliver "positive change" within the health sector.

"As with other sectors, the integration of technology into health care has the potential to revolutionise patient care," Godfrey-Faussett said. "However the regulatory challenges associated with medical devices and data protection, combined with scepticism amongst the public about the use and safety of their personal data, leave those active in the digital health field with significant hurdles to overcome."

"Investment in digital health technology must remain a priority for the NHS. The bids made for digital health funding are intended to unlock other savings, for instance through the consolidation and automation of lengthy administrative processes, which both save time and improve patient care," he said.