Three London Trusts Sign £5m Deal with iSOFT
NHS trusts in South East London’s Lambeth Lewisham and Southwark Collaboration have signed three contracts worth £5m with healthcare applications systems supplier, iSOFT. The three trusts involved – Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust, King’s College Hospital NHS Trusts and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust – will use iSOFT’s Patient Management System (PiMS). The eight year […]
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Steady Rise in US Doctors’ Internet Use
US doctors are using the Web more frequently and for longer periods according to a new study from the American Medical Association. This year’s study, conducted between August and December 2001, is the fourth conducted annually by the association. It shows that 78% of doctors use the Web and two thirds access it daily – […]
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Northern Ireland Issues Integrated ICT Strategy
The Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has issued a consultation document on developing integrated IT systems that sets out how it plans to use information and communications technology (ICT) to provide joined-up health and social care. The proposals are aimed at introducing fully ICT-enabled health and social care. Key elements […]
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Oxford Clinical Intranet Links Local NHS
The potential of networked local NHS communities is being demonstrated in Oxfordshire by the Oxford Clinical Intranet, which uses easy-to-use Internet technology to make test results electronically available to GPs. Where in the past getting test results depended on doctors making time-consuming phone calls or awaiting paper results by mail, the new system — developed […]
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Couch Potatoes Called to Account
Researchers have reported that nagging overweight patients with an automated phone call system, encouraging them to eat less and take more exercise, can have a positive effect. A project by the Centre for the Advancement of Health in Washington DC, involved almost 300 people with sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets. The study found that instead […]
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DrKoop.com Sold at Knockdown Price
DrKoop.com, the online health information provider, once a darling of Wall Street and stellar stock of the dotcom boom, has been sold to online vitamin retailer Vitacost.com for $186,000. During the dotcom boom DrKoop was at one stage valued at more than $1 billion. Founded in 1997 by the eponymous former US Surgeon General Dr […]
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VHA Signs Agreement with IBM
VHA Inc., a leading US network of community-owned health care systems and physicians, has signed an agreement with IBM to cost effectively centrally procure desktop and notebook computers, servers and workstations to the 2,200 healthcare organisations within VHA. The agreement is intended to help participating organisations improve their overall efficiency, reduce costs and improve work […]
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Barcodes Could Prevent Future IVF Mistakes
An Israeli biotechnology firm says that its bar code tracking system could help IVF clinics electronically track all the components involved in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment and avoid future mix-ups. The claim comes after it was disclosed last week that a mix-up at British IVF clinic resulted in a white woman unexpectedly giving birth to […]
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Social Care Information Projects Named
The Department of Health has announced a second wave of 12 demonstrator projects to target aspects of information management to improve the quality of social care. The projects form part of the Information for Social care initiative and are due to be in operation by March 2003. The Department received 55 project proposals. The 12 […]
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BMA IT Lead Sceptical of NHS Strategy
With the blue touch paper for a big new push on NHS IT apparently about to be lit, E-Health Insider spoke to Dr Grant Kelly, a general practitioner and head of the BMA’s IT committee, about how he views the new draft IT strategy. The British Medical Association’s IT lead questions whether the new NHS […]
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