iSoft GP users should not feel pressed to change
GP practices that use iSoft primary care systems should not feel pressurised to move to other systems despite media coverage of the troubles suffered by the company, says the British Medical Association’s General Practitioner Committee (GPC). The GPC has issued advice to approximately 1500 GP practices that currently use one of iSoft’s primary care products, […]
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NAO planning to look again at NPfIT
The National Audit Office (NAO) has confirmed that it plans to carry out a second study of the late-running £12bn National Programme for IT (NPfIT). No date has yet been set for this new study to be carried out. The NAO said in June that it “may return to carry out a further examination at a […]
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1 in 5 referrals now done via C+B
More than a million referrals have now been made through Choose and Book but four out of five referrals have yet to be put through the scheme according to the national clinical director of primary care. Dr David Colin Thomé wrote to GPs last week to remind practices that the measurement period for the choice […]
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MPs prescribe ‘rescue’ plan for NHS IT project
The government has been urged to rethink its £12.4bn NHS IT project, and replace its current highly centralised national strategy with a more flexible locally-based approach based on standards. Such an overhaul is prescribed as the only way to reduce the risks of the programme, enable useful local clinical systems to be delivered and prevent […]
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Publicity blitz for Scotland’s Emergency Care Summary
Scotland has launched a public information campaign about the transition to electronic health records with a leaflet on its Emergency Care Summary (ECS) delivered to all 2.5 million households in the country. A further 400,000 copies of the leaflet has been distributed to GP practices, primary and secondary care services north of the border. The […]
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Flashing ‘orb’ to help medication adherence
A US software development company is conducting research to see if using a "flashing orb" on a pill box could improve medication adherence among patients. Partners Healthcare Telemedicine Group (PHTG) has appointed software developers Claricode Inc to test whether using a coloured flashing light on a Smart Pillbox, connected to a mobile phone network, would […]
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Web 2.0 could be used in health e-learning
Web 2.0 technologies such as wikis, podcasts and blogs could be quite effective tools in e-learning for health professionals in patients, according to a new paper published by BioMed Central. The very interactivity of the technology could prove a boon for professional and patient education, providing that any changes and collaboration is effectively monitored, say […]
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Implementation dates for hospitals continue to slip
An investigation by E-Health Insider has found that two-thirds of the 22 NHS acute trusts that were meant to be receiving a replacement patient administration system by the end of October say they will not hit the target. In late June NHS Connecting for Health and its local service providers told Richard Bacon MP, a […]
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Irish Pharmaceutical Union chooses First DataBank
Drug data experts First DataBank Europe have signed a new partnership with the Irish Pharmaceutical Union to provide its members with enhanced clinical decision support. The IPU currently provides members with a complete list of drugs which are authorised for prescribing in Ireland, through their extensive product file dispensing list software, but this does not […]
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Accenture winds down acute hospital trust work
Accenture, the local service provider for the NHS IT programme in the North-east and East of England, is winding down its implementation team working on putting new patient administration system into NHS hospitals. E-Health Insider has been told that the acute implementation team was almost completely disbanded at the beginning of July, with a number […]
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