Accenture examining alternatives to iSoft
The chief executive of Accenture has said that the company is examining alternatives to its sub-contractor iSoft in relation to two contracts to modernise NHS IT systems in the Eastern and North-east regions of the NHS. Asked by analysts about recent developments at iSoft, Accenture’s chief executive Bill Green, confirmed that contingency plans had been […]
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Free receptionist software offered for EMIS LV
Plain Healthcare is offering a year’s free use of their receptionist support software for EMIS LV users in return for feedback on how they used the system. Plain’s Odyssey Receptionist Assessment, which is installed as a module within EMIS LV’s general practice software, allows receptionists to triage patients using a drop-down menu and to prioritise […]
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Sealed envelope safety risk raised by BMA
Doctors have raised concerns that Connecting for Health proposals to allow patients to hide some information in sealed envelopes puts patient safety at risk. Representatives at the British Medical Association’s annual meeting backed a motion which claimed that allowing patients to keep some medical information confidential from other doctors “may lead to significant patient safety […]
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Ascribe acquires HEIS in £6.5m deal
Healthcare solutions group, Ascribe, has acquired clinical and management information system supplier, HE Information Systems, in a £6.492m deal designed to enable Ascribe to “restructure its efforts in line with the opportunities offered by the delays in the National Programme for IT.” HE Information Systems (HEIS) supplies software to 21 hospitals within the NHS, many […]
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Ethitec extends community EPR for Leicester PCTs
Six primary care trusts in Leicestershire have begun work on implementing a community electronic patient record system for children’s systems supplied by Ethitec. The six PCTs will use the Ethitec Tiara9 EPR for child physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetics and podiatry services, bringing these therapies onto the same multi-professional clinical record system that is already supporting […]
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iSoft claim Australian successes
iSoft have announced the initial rollout of its iPM PAS system at Orange Base Hospital, in Orange, near Sydney, Australia. The implementation of the patient administration system is the first stage of the Manchester-based company’s scheme to rollout iPM to 123 public hospitals in New South Wales. iSoft is working with the state’s healthcare IT […]
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EHR opt-out debate “doesn’t matter to patients”
The question of whether patients opt into having their electronic records shared or have to specifically request to opt out of the system probably makes no difference to the patient either way, claims an editorial in today’s British Medical Journal. Patient representative Jan Wilkinson, responding to a point-counterpoint argument about whether it is better for […]
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Lack of NPfIT involvement concerns nurses
Two leading nurses have expressed deep concern at the lack of involvement of the nursing community in the design of and preparation for the National Programme for IT. Professor Dame June Clark, chair of the Royal College of Nursing Information in Nursing Forum, and Richard Hayward, chair of the British Computer Society health informatics (nursing) […]
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QoF scores rise in Scottish practices
GP practices in Scotland have increased their performance under the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF) this year, earning 1026 points out of a possible 1050 points available. The achievement, worth approximately £128,000 for a practice with average list size and disease prevalence, means Scottish practices have earned more than 97% of the points available this […]
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Freeview plans for NHS Direct
NHS Direct is planning to make its interactive digital TV service available via Freeview. The health information service, which recorded its busiest ever month in May, is in negotiations to expand its digital TV service, which is currently only available on Sky, to cover Freeview as well. The health helpline predicts that it gets around […]
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