NPfIT ‘needs re-evaluating to be a success’
Connecting for Health must look at three key things – scalability, complexity and availability if the National Programme for Information Technology is to be a success, according to a panel of industry professionals. Speaking at the Healthcare Computing 2007 conference in Harrogate, the panel said that the size and complexity of the NPfIT programme had […]
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Blair says information vital for ‘personalised’ services
While suppliers and health IT professionals gathered in Harrogate this week in London Prime Minister Tony Blair set out the central role that information and technology must play in re-shaping public services. On monday the Prime Minister called for "truly personalised" services, with citizens provided with the information and power needed to choose a hospital […]
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RFID and care records could be linked
A future in which data from hospital systems, including the Care Records Service (CRS), can be integrated with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags used to track patients and equipment in hospitals was spelled out at Healthcare Computing in Harrogate this week. Peter Flood, national accounts manager for Bluestar Technologies, a UK-based RFID specialist, said that […]
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IT delays contribute to NHS trust deficits
Delays in implementing the National Programme for IT are listed by the influential Commons public accounts committee today as a factor leading to some NHS trusts plunging into the red. The PAC’s inquiry into financial management in the NHS found that in 2005/06 14 trusts asked the Department of Health for money to cover “costs incurred as a result […]
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E-referral system aims to cut discharge delays
An electronic e-referral system that helps cut discharge delays has been extended to cover patients moving from the Countess of Chester Hospital in Cheshire to the care of Flintshire Social Services, North Wales. The new link will enable nurses at the hospital to inform Flintshire staff round-the-clock about patients being referred for social care. Previously […]
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First GP2GP records transferred between different systems
The first GP2GP record transfers between different GP computer systems has taken place, health minister Lord Hunt has announced. The transfers, between practices using EMIS and INPS’s Vision system, took place over the last two weeks as part of Connecting for Health’s trial of interoperable record transfers at Croydon Primary Care Trust. The successful transfers […]
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Hunt spells out local ownership moves
Health minister, Lord Hunt, who was responsible for setting up the National Programme for IT, has defended its strongly centralised initial approach but made plain that the future lies with local ownership. Speaking to the opening session of the Healthcare Computing 2007 conference in Harrogate, Lord Hunt, back at the Department of Health after a […]
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GPs vote against C+B boycott
GP representatives have voted against a boycott of Choose and Book and left it up to individual practices to decide if they want to stop using the e-booking system. The British Medical Association’s General Practitioner Committee (GPC) last week narrowly voted against a proposal that GPs should stop using Choose and Book as part of […]
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Cameron says NHS heart replaced by “computer”
David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, has accused the Labour government of ripping out the heart of the NHS and replacing it with a computer. Cameron used the controversial multi-billion NHS computer project as a metaphor for his accusation that the government has wasted much of its investment in the health service on “gimmicks” from […]
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Calderdale and Huddersfield extends home grown PAS
Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust has extended its existing home grown patient administration system (PAS) from one site to three hospitals in just four months. The trust was able to extend the PAS system which is now used in all areas of the three hospitals using InterSystems Cache integration engine. Previously the foundation trust […]
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