In 2002, the biggest information technology project ever attempted began in the UK. It was going to link up everything in the National Health Service and make life so much easier. And of course, better. Doctors would be able to follow patients anywhere while tracking all their tests and hospitalizations. Alas, it was not to be. After nine years and $17 billion they have decided to scrap the whole thing. Why? Well, it seems they overpaid for the project and then got ripped off by suppliers who couldn't get the thing to really interface between so many different software products.
I love the Brits. We here should use their experiences as a lesson to not walk into the same traps. We, too, have a million EMR products and no easy to way to cull the herd. Who wants to bet we eventually spend more than the $17 billion only to make the same mistake they did across the pond?
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