German government unveils smartcard costs
The German ministry of health has issued details on recent and estimated future costs of the healthcare smartcard project in response to a parliamentary inquiry, initiated by the Liberal Democrats (FDP). Germany’s current government is made up of a ‘grand coalition’ of Conservatives and Social Democrats, with the FDP as the leading opposition party. The […]
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Choice extended to all hospitals in England
Patients having non-emergency treatment in England will be able to choose from any hospital in the country as of 1 April, the Department of Health has announced. From the beginning of April any patient receiving routine elective treatment will be able to choose from any NHS approved hospital provider in England, under a new system called ‘Free Choice’. In […]
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VDE paper supports telemonitoring for diabetics
German industry association, VDE, has published a paper on telemonitoring for diabetic patients. The paper urges politicians to make greater use of telemonitoring technology in order to reduce long-term complications of diabetes and costs for diabetic patients. The main function of telemonitoring in diabetes is to transmit blood sugar levels electronically, via landline or mobile […]
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HealthSpace wins clinician vote
HealthSpace, the NHS’s own personal health record project, has been voted the most exciting part of the NHS national IT programme. Dr Gillian Braunold, clinical lead for the Summary Care Record (SCR) and HealthSpace, revealed the results of the vote last week. Speaking on Thursday, 13 March at a DH press conference, she said “The […]
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ePractice launches eHealth Procurers Forum
The European Commission’s ePractice website has launched a new eHealth Procurers Forum where practitioners involved in e-health procurement can meet and share experiences. A spokesperson told E-Health Europe: “The eHealth Procurers Forum is an open space to express opinions and exchange knowledge and where members are encouraged to provide contributions and participate in the discussions […]
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£8m to be spent on telehealth in Scotland
The Scottish government has announced that an extra £8m is to be spent on telecare over the next two years. Public health minister Shona Robison made the announcement during a visit to Inverness, where she said hi-tech devices will be made available to help the elderly and vulnerable live in their own homes. The money […]
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Scotland to pilot new sexual health system
A new Scottish national sexual health IT system, known as NaSH, will be piloted in the next few weeks in NHS Lanarkshire, with NHS Ayrshire and Arran to follow. The system, based on AxSys Technology’s Excelicare product, will provide a common IT platform supporting specialist sexual health services for 12 NHS Boards across Scotland. A […]
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Data recording may explain trust’s high death rate
An inadequate system for recording and coding data on patients has been blamed by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust for its mortality rates coming under investigation by the Healthcare Commission. England’s healthcare watchdog announced that the trust’s mortality rate was higher than the national average, and that the commission was concerned about the effectiveness of […]
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Wales seeks ‘urgent approval’ for IHR rollout
The leaders of the Welsh NHS IT programme are calling for urgent approval of the business case for rollout of the Individual Health Record. Informing Healthcare’s programme board want the Welsh Assembly Government to give the go-ahead to the nationwide expansion of the IHR which is currently being piloted in Gwent and due to be […]
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CfH director says Lorenzo will arrive in summer
Richard Jeavons is confident the next generation Lorenzo software from iSoft will be ready for delivery to the first NHS sites within the ‘period’ of the summer.
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