MPs have urged the government to scrap the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) and blasted suppliers CSC and BT for failing to deliver on guarantees made in bumper contracts.

The NPfIT was launched nine years ago and was intended to revamp the way in which the health service uses technology. One of the central tenets of the £11.4bn plan was to introduce electronic patient records (EPR).

But a report published by the Commons' Public Accounts Committee has called on the entire programme, including plans for EPRs, to be canned.

"The Department of Health should review whether to continue the programme and consider whether the remaining £4.3bn would be better spent elsewhere," said the report's summary.

The summary claims that despite a total of £2.7bn being spent on implementing EPRs so far, "the Department has failed to demonstrate the benefits achieved". The previous government is, in part, blamed for the NPfIT's failings for not having "consulted at the start of the process with health professionals".

Read more: http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2099158/mps-blast-bt-csc-npfit-rollout-failings#ixzz1U4b4Fpss

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