IT contractors could have a key role to play in improving the standards of patient service across the NHS.

Government plans to improve the function of the NHS will require focus on six main areas, according to technology trade body Intellect.

Among them is the need to develop a comprehensive framework for standards and interoperability, which could prove crucial to contractors designing systems at hospitals in the future.

There is also a need to focus on efficiency, productivity and innovation, according to the report, which may have a bearing on the kinds of systems IT contractors install and work under as changes are implemented.

In addition, Intellect indicates that informatics capacity and capability will need to be addressed - an area in which IT contractors will doubtless have a hand.

Intellect healthcare programme manager Jon Lindberg said: "The new information strategy does not recognise the extent of the cultural change that will be required if patients are to become active 'information consumers', confidently handling their own medical records and choosing between providers and services."

One of the most fundamental changes proposed by the government will put substantially more responsibility for the delivery of care in the hands of family GPs.