Healthcare analytics in the NHS are “very poor” and are not given due importance, a report released by Information Builders states.

John Backhouse, regional programme director of healthcare at Information Builders, said that the link between the NHS and IT was often not seen as strong by members of the public.

Patient data in the NHS is stored in several systems that prohibit data synchronization and restrict the access everyone has to the data. The biggest challenge being faced by the NHS in healthcare analytics is to provide data for smartphone predictive analysis.

The report has been released as the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said that the NHS data security policies and systems were plagued with loopholes that caused frequent data breaches.

Speaking on the topic, Mr. Graham added, "Health workers wouldn’t dream of discussing patient information openly with friends and yet they continue to put information on unencrypted memory sticks or fax it to the wrong number.”

Information Commissioner Christopher Graham warned that there could be harsher punishments for hospitals and health trusts that lose patient data frequently as harsher punishment could bring an end to the "disturbing" trend of losing patient data.

Earlier, deputy commissioner David smith held the NHS responsible for losing a third of all reported data breaches in Britain.