Taskforce announced to speed up NCRS
The Department of Health is setting up a taskforce to speed up implementation of the NHS Care Records Service (NCRS) and will announce a start date for pilot projects for the summary record soon, GPs’ representatives heard. Health minister Lord Warner told the national local medical committees’ conference about plans to speed up delivery of […]
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Granger: bricks of the digital NHS coming together
The pace of delivery of new IT systems to the hospital sector has been "disappointing", says NHS IT director general Richard Granger NHS IT director but he says the bricks that will build a digital NHS are slowly coming together. In an interview given to E-Health Insider in the run-up to the publication of the NAO report […]
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Too many problems with C+B, says Meldrum
Too many delays and problems have undermined the Choose and Book scheme, according to the leader of the UK’s GPs. Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association’s General Practitioner Committee, told the national local medical committees’ conference that while the Choose and Book scheme “might be acceptable in principle” it had been the […]
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Patientline blames losses on ward closures
Patientline has announced yearly losses of £24.7m before tax, which the company has blamed on ward closures and the recent Ofcom investigation into its charging structure. Geoff White, the recently-appointed chairman of Patientline, said: "The group has been through a very challenging period, involving not only difficult trading conditions but also an investigation by Ofcom […]
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Hewitt urged to block software switch in London
Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, has been asked to block the possible move by BT to replace its software supplier for electronic patient records in London as part of the NHS National programme for IT (NPfIT). Richard Bacon, MP, a senior member of the House of Commons Public accounts committee (PAC), last night wrote to […]
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iSoft CEO resigns
The chief executive of the beleaguered UK health IT software company iSoft has resigned, less than a week after the company restated its accounts. iSoft said that Tim Whiston was resigning with immediate effect, five days after telling analysts he had not considered stepping down. Whiston said in a statement: "My primary concern is for […]
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East Lancs NHS trust tells Granger of costs of delays
The director of finance at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has written to the head of the NHS Connecting for Health to set out his trust’s concerns about the cost of repeated delays in the delivery of a new patient administration system by Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). The finance director points out local trusts have […]
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Information tools helping to combat diabetes
Smart uses of information and technology in the management of diabetes are highlighted in a new report on progress in combating the disease. The report, Turning the Corner: Improving Diabetes Care, is a review of the national service framework for diabetes’ implementation. National clinical director for diabetes, Dr Sue Roberts, says there have been real improvements […]
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InPS and TPP get go-ahead on electronic prescriptions
Two of the major GP system suppliers have been given the go-ahead to roll-out their electronic prescription service (EPS) software to practices. In Practice Systems and TPP have been granted authority for widespread deployment of their software after the software was tested at initial implementation sites. So far only one commercial pharmacy system supplier, AAH, […]
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iSoft user group pushing for review of NPfIT
A primary care IT user group has backed calls for an independent review of the National Programme for IT (NPfIT), accusing the project of being unnecessarily secretive, failing to consult its members and producing systems that are not fit for purpose. The iSoft User Group (Primary Care) has written to the Health Select Committee to […]
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