GP practices urged to complete GPSoC deals
GP practices in England that have signed up for the GP Systems of Choice (GPSoC) initiative are being encouraged to sign their PCT-practice agreement as soon as possible. Connecting for Health (CfH) and the BMA’s General Practitioner Committee (GPC) have issued joint guidance on the agreement which was originally expected to be signed by all […]
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SCR could hold ‘end of life’ plans
The Summary Care Record (SCR) could be used to share end of life care plans and resuscitation details, according to the Department of Health. Its newly-launched End of Life Care Strategy recommends that all end of life care providers have access to N3 and the SCR. The strategy outlines the ways in which information technology […]
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NICE to overhaul QoF
The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF) is to be overhauled to focus on indicators which have the greatest impact on health and are proven to be cost-effective, according to Lord Darzi. The health minister and author of the government’s NHS Next Stage Review told Parliament’s Health Committee that the National Institute for Clinical Effectiveness (NICE) […]
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Nine in ten patients satisfied with GP access
Nearly nine in ten patients are satisfied with their ability to get through to their GP practice on the telephone, according to the latest survey of almost two million patients. The second annual GP Patient Access Survey shows that 87% of people surveyed reported being happy with telephone access to their GP practice, up slightly […]
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King’s Fund to run telehealth network
The Department of Health has funded a network to help expand use of telehealth and telecare and disseminate the lessons learned from the Whole System Demonstrator programme. The Whole System Demonstrators Action Network involves an action research programme involving 10 to 12 of the unsuccessful sites for the WSD programme. The groups, made up of […]
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DH group to look at wider NHS CRS access
The Department of Health has convened a group to look at widening access to the NHS Care Records Service including representatives from patients, nurses and pharmacists, according to Prof Michael Thick, Connecting for Health’s chief clinical officer. Prof Thick told last week’s Pharmaceutical Journal that the representative group was made up of various parties with […]
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HealthSpace set for big expansion
HealthSpace, the government’s secure online site for patients, is to be expanded to include shared records and GP appointment booking, according to the Health Informatics Review. The review, published last week, outlines a much wider role for HealthSpace and says its consultation highlighted strong support for the HealthSpace initiative. In future HealthSpace will be accessed […]
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Doctors repeat call for inquiry into CFH
Doctors’ representatives have called for an independent inquiry into Connecting for Health and demanded that trusts be allowed to seek solutions directly from IT providers. Dr David Wrede, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust, told the BMA’s annual meeting that it was “Groundhog Day” for the representatives. He said the meeting […]
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EMIS extends online patient record access
GP IT system supplier EMIS is extending its online patient record access service to all of its practices. Latest figures show that GP medical records have so far been viewed 10,853 times with the EMIS Access system, which has been piloted in a small number of practices over the last 18 months. Sean Riddell, managing […]
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GPs concerned by TPP data sharing system
GPs have raised concerns about TPP SystmOne’s new data sharing model which Connecting for Health says is currently being reviewed before further roll-out. SystmOne release 3 will change the way data sharing works for SystmOne users as well as introducing Role Based Access Controls. The current system means clinicians make decisions about data sharing using […]
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