Bangladeshi E-Health Network Announced
An ambitious e-health programme is being introduced in one of the world’s poorest countries to help rural doctors get online access to expert advice and guidance in order to provide better care for the sick. A network of online medical centres will be established in Bangladesh, linked to a network of 200 specialists in the […]
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IT Competence Rising in the NHS
Rising levels of basic IT competence are recorded in 2002 National Health Informatics Competency Survey – but the NHSIA has warned there is no room for complacency. The survey shows that 33% of NHS staff judge themselves to be competent in basic IT – a significant leap up from the 14% figure recorded in the […]
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US Healthcare Slow to Adopt IT
“The most dangerous instrument in medicine is the fountain pen,” according to group president of McKesson, Duncan James, interviewed in a BusinessWeek round up of US healthcare technology. The influential magazine and its online service concludes – as many have before – that healthcare has been very slow to adopt information technology that could improve […]
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All-Wales Approach Proposed for Electronic Records
The long-awaited strategy for health information in Wales proposes a corporate, all-Wales approach to the development of electronic records and other information services. “Informing Healthcare” the consultative strategy paper published by the Welsh Assembly Government, says, “The known weaknesses of ‘centralisation’ will be overcome by a clear commitment that corporate resources are accountable directly to […]
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Data Grid Announced for UK Mammography Research
IBM, Oxford University and the U.K. government have announced plans to build a distributed computing network, or next generation ‘data grid’, to share and store mammograms among health care providers and researchers The aim is to enable early screening and diagnosis of breast cancer, and to allow medical professionals to collaborate and share information that […]
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NHSIA Launches B2B Business Card Website
The NHS Information Authority’s Industry Liaison team has launched a new website designed to enable suppliers and would be suppliers of ICT to the NHS to submit electronic business cards. Called the ‘B2B Business Card System’ the site allows suppliers to get basic information about their organisation added, that is then searchable under a series […]
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Live Testing of NHS Electronic Staff Records Begins
The live testing of a new national pay and personnel system for the, was launched on Friday at University Hospital Birmingham by Health Minister, Lord Philip Hunt. The National Shared Services Initiative’s Electronic Staff Record (ESR) will deliver an integrated human resources and payroll system across England and Wales, replacing the range of outdated systems […]
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Combined Government Gateway Review Due for IT Programme
The National NHS IT Programme is scheduled to be submitted to a combined Government Gateway review by the end of October, with a full business case then due to be submitted to Treasury for approval by November. The latest version of the timetable for the National IT Programme was detailed by Jeremy Thorp, the NHS […]
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Planning Blight Accusation For IT Programme
Over 300 IT suppliers and would-be suppliers to the NHS packed the QE2 Conference Centre in London last week for an update on the National IT Programme – but they found hard news of progress thin on the ground. BBC science correspondent, Fergus Walsh, who chaired the event, conveyed the opinion of a participant who […]
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Scottish Universities Lead Virtual Medical School
A group of leading international medical schools, led by Scotland’s University of Dundee, have announced plans to create the world’s first online medical school. More than 50 institutions in 16 countries have helped plan the International Virtual Medical School, which is planned to open in the summer of 2004. All of Scotland’s five medical schools, […]
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