But how about the idea that over the last five years, NHS Trusts in England alone have spent over £1.163 billion on physical records management. The NHS England ERIC Report (1) provides information on 200 NHS Trusts Estates Returns Information for organisations geographically located in England. The total expenditure on the health records estate over five years between FY2018/19 and FY2022/23 was reported at £1.163bn (£1,162,722,310), with £884mn (£884,483,435) spent on on-site health records storage and £278m (£278,283,875) spent on off-site health records storage. Of the 200 NHS Trusts, 65 are still reporting no Electronic Document Management System has been implemented to facilitate the digitisation of health records. For some NHS Trusts, physical records present a fragmentation of the ‘complete, patient centric record’ due to the increased prevalence of digital systems and records.
