Kablenet reports from the Healthcare Computing conference in Harrogate that telephone contact and digital TV are likely to play crucial roles in the long term delivery of healthcare.

We have been working patiently and slowly for the past year trying to use social software approaches to improve knowledge sharing among people involved in improving mental health services. One thing this has taught us, which chimes with 8 years of experience building systems for different groups of people, is that interface, usability and behavioural issues associated with using IT in this context are magnified according to how personally important a service is to users. IVR systems and scripted call centres are one thing - calling NHS Direct in the middle of the night with a screaming ill child is an altogether more fraught experience on both sides. In mental health, these issues take on even greater importance - any interface that increases rather than reduces feelings of frustration, alienation or confusion would be very bad indeed.

The massive changes taking place in healthcare computing and IT in the UK involve large-scale systems integration and traditional IT work, which means that it is being led by the kind of big players that are given contracts of this size. However, the need for careful, well-researched and detailed user experience and interface work will ultimately dictate whether these projects succeed or fail. Let's hope those involved in the NHS National Project for IT can do both.