Healthcare IT industry news in brief

Liquidlogic integrates with the MIG

Liquidlogic says it has become the first social care IT system to gain accreditation to connect to the Medical Interoperability Gateway. The supplier says the accreditation will allow its social care customers to access GP records through the MIG, improving care through better information sharing.

The MIG, provided by Healthcare Gateway, is an integration tool that allows different health systems to share information across care settings. While in theory it can be used to share information between health and social care, it has more commonly been deployed to share information between GP and hospital systems.

However, social care organisations using Liquidlogic will not automatically connect to a MIG. Not all parts of the country use a MIG and each is governed by a separate information sharing agreement, to which the social care organisation would need to agree. Liquidlogic says Rochdale and Cumbria will be the first areas in which social care organisations connect to a MIG.

North Bristol radiologist diagnose from home

North Bristol NHS Trust has been testing a new product that allows radiologists to report while outside the hospital. Fujifilm’s home reporting solution replicates the online clinical working environment at home on a Synapse web-based platform, by compressing files to work small bandwidths and networks.  The product provides remote access to PACs and RIS systems and allows radiologists to diagnose from home.

Lumeon launches new product

Digital health supplier Lumeon has announced a new population management product, Care Pathway Manager 2, which will be available this month. Features include an app that will allow patients to shedule, message, and report health information, greater pathway automation, and more booking APIs.

Imperial College moves to email for patient appointments.

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has replaced appointment letters with emails for 75,000 of its patients, a figure it expects to double by the end of the year. Every year, the London trust sends more than 1.5 million letters relating to appointments alone and estimates that the changes will save £1 million over four years.

The trust has partnered with Xerox for the transition to less paper in patient facing services. This has included setting-up kiosks in clinics to automate patient consent, and automating and centralising the letter production service that will remain in place for pateints that still prefer receiving a physical copy.

Intelerad launches new health workflow service

Canada-based Intelerad Medical Systems has developed a new NorthStar Client Services, designed to improve workflow in healthcare settings. The company says the new service will provide faster techinical support and dedicate staff to work with providers to improve workflow management.