NPfIT ‘pushed the NHS into disarray’ say Lib Dems
The Liberal Democrats have labelled the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) as a waste of money which ‘has pushed the NHS into disarray’. Setting out his vision for the NHS, in policy paper, ‘Empowerment, Fairness and Quality in Healthcare’, Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, says that NPfIT and the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) have […]
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Gene analysis site launches in Europe
The 23andMe kit now available across Europe A new consumer genetic test website, 23andMe, launched in Europe this week. The service which includes Google among its backers, aims to help individuals understand their own genetic information using DNA analysis and web-based interactive tools. Customers using the £500 service receive a barcoded tube for saliva collection; they then send […]
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CfH appoints two new GP clinical leads
Connecting for Health has appointed two new GP national clinical leads – former EMIS national user group chair Dr Manpreet Pujara and former NPfIT clinical lead for Derby City and County, Dr Peter Short. The GPs will replace Professor Mike Pringle and Dr Gillian Braunold. Their role is to involve GPs directly in developing the benefits […]
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Over 40 per cent of practices say PBC data poor
More than 40% of GP practices believe the information they receive for practice based commissioning (PBC) is poor or very poor, according to the latest Department of Health survey. The second quarterly survey of practices for 2007/8 shows little improvement since the survey was carried out three months earlier. A total of 41%, of the 1,398 […]
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BT contract reset worth additional £55m funding
Health minister Ben Bradshaw has revealed that BT’s contract reset last summer was worth £55m additional funding, to reflect new requirements and additional functionality. Responding to a query by shadow health secretary, Stephen O’Brien, over why the ‘reset’ was necessary and what the costs of this were, Bradshaw said that costs and resets were for […]
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National PACS steering group disbanded
A shake-up in national governance arrangements for PACS across England has been signalled by Connecting for Health.
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EC acts to ease computer-assisted translation
The European Commission has translated a collection of around one million sentences into 22 of the 23 official languages of the European Union, in an initiative designed to promote computer-assisted translation. This, according to the Commission, is the biggest ever collection in so many languages and is now freely available over the internet. Through co-operation […]
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Nottingham University to evaluate EPS
Nottingham University has been awarded £750,000 to evaluate Connecting for Health’s Electronic Prescription Service. The two year evaluation, conducted in collaboration with the London School of Economics and the University of London School of Pharmacy, will look at whether the system benefits patients and the NHS. The research will be led by Professor Tony Avery, […]
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iSoft adds Philips real-time speech recognition
iSoft’s RadCentre radiology information system will now offer real-time speech recognition, as part of its ongoing integration with Philips SpeechMagic technology. The upgrade means that dictations will appear instantly as text on screen, speeding up the time to produce critical radiology reports and share patient diagnoses. SpeechMagic is currently an optional extra for RadCentre users. […]
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WHO launches online patient safety survey
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is launching an online survey for its Collaborating Centre for Patient Safety to determine the final content for the 2008 Patient Safety Solutions paper. The organisation says it wants all member state citizens to participate since its findings will be distributed to all WHO member states, and could help to […]
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