Health services are set on an inexorable drive for more and better information, and are spending millions of pounds on information technology in an effort to obtain it. But as the need for information becomes ever more pressing, serious problems have come into focus, ranging from the difficulties of collecting accurate routine data to understanding the role of information in management and clinical practice.

This book sets out to clarify the nature of the problems surrounding information and IT, and point the way to practical solutions. It is divided into three sections: policy overview; views from within the health service; and the views of academic researchers.