Healthcare IT news in brief

News from Wales

New e-referral functionality in Welsh Clinical Portal

Pilots have been completed in two NHS Wales health boards that use e-referral functionality within the Welsh Clinical Portal to allow consultants to route referrals electronically for more practical online prioritisation. The Welsh Patient Referral System uses the Welsh Clinical Communication Gateway to receive e-referrals and sorts them into levels of importance for secondary care clinicians. The consultant can accept the referral, place it on hold, request more information from the GP or return it to the GP. The pilot has successfully completed in Cardiff and Vale and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health boards and plans are being made for national rollout.

Six Cardiff GP practices piloting GP2GP

Wales is piloting new GP2GP functionality, allowing the electronic transfer of patient records from one GP Practice to another. Initially, the pilot concentrated on record transfers between three Cardiff practices using INPS vision and by the end of last month, more than ninety transfers had been sent successfully. A pilot with three EMIS sites also in the Cardiff area is starting soon. Once this is complete, these practices will be enabled to send records between both systems. A national roll-out of the system is expected to start in the summer.

Contract wins

Sharing service solutions for Oxford

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and the Oxford Academic Health Science Network has selected Insignia Medical Systems to provide their sharing picture archiving and communciations service. OUH and the AHSN were looking for a provider who was able to provide a solution offering; Regional MDT services, home reporting capability, regional audit and quality control, regional reporting services and a regional research portal. Insignia’s sharing service will enable images and reports to be shared between multiple sites, providing the first non-image exchange portal-based sharing solution deployed in a regional multi-vendor environment, a company statement says.

SCRIPT eLearning programme to improve medicine safety in paediatrics

A newly launched online learning resource is the first of its kind that aims to help paediatric prescribers use medicines safety. Inspired by the successful Foundation SCRIPT eLearning programme, Paediatric SCRIPT eLearning offers a series of practical training modules to enhance the knowledge of prescribers working in paediatrics. Authored by trainee doctors, with input from consultants and pharmacists, the 25 modules include the principles of paediatric prescribing, general paediatrics, surgical specialities areas, and therapeutics such as diabetes, neurology and cardiology.

Software Europe’s first G-Cloud 7 project digitises NHS forms

Software Europe has secured its first project through G-Cloud 7, the framework for cloud based IT services to public sector. NHS South, Central and West CCG will use the company’s GreenLight Workforce to replace paper with digital forms – reducing the costs of information sharing around recruitment requisition, new starters, leavers and change of details.

Surgery praised for ‘innovative’ approach to improving patient access

An automated telephone service for booking and managing appointments has been identified as an ‘innovative way’ of improving patient access by the Care Quality Commission. Friarwood Surgery in Pontefract was rated as outstanding by the commission and praised for increasing ‘the flexibility of access to appointments’ by implementing the 24/7 automated appointment system, Patient Partner. In a standard month, around 750 appointments will be made, changed, cancelled or reviewed using the automated system.