NWWM faces £75m potential liabilities on SAS scheme
The NHS faces total potential liabilities of up to £75m in the North West and West Midlands (NWWM) cluster of the NHS if it fails to second key IT staff to the prime IT contractor for the region, CSC Alliance. Evidence suggests that some trusts are struggling to find secondees and may have to consider […]
News
Companies link up for digital retinopathy screening
Digital Healthcare and Graphnet have announced a collaboration that will combine the two companies’ imaging and electronic record software to create a new digital retinopathy screening system for diabetics. The retinal screening system will link up with GPs’ patient records. According to the two companies, benefits will include reduced errors in referral and improved access […]
News
Online education used to combat hospital infections
A new internet education service launched this week aims to give health workers in Scotland immediate access to latest information on healthcare associated infections (HAI). Health Minister Andy Kerr said the initiative, provided by NHS Education for Scotland (NES), would help in the fight against HAI by providing frontline NHS staff with knowledge on best […]
News
Bolton GPs told to use only one IT system
GPs in Bolton are coming under pressure from their PCT to ditch their various practice IT systems and sign up with a single supplier. One GP affected, speaking to E-Health Insider anonymously, said that Bolton PCT had convened a meeting of users of one system and that they were "strongly encouraging them" to move to Vision, from […]
News
Merck wins Webby health award
The winners of the ninth annual Webby awards, billed as the Oscars of the Internet, have been announced with a general health advice site published by Merck winning the health category. The prestigious US-based awards, organized by the international academy of digital arts and sciences, are intended to honor excellence in Web design, creativity, usability […]
News
BMA issues FOI guidelines for GPs
The BMA has issued new guidance to General Practitioners on the Freedom of Information Act advising them to be open about data from the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF), introduced under the new GMS contract. Issued by the BMA’s GP Committee says the guidance states that withholding QoF data "could be seen as detrimental to […]
News
Americans want personal health records
The majority of Americans want to be able to access an online personal health record (PHR), providing them with details of their medical record. According to a survey conducted by the US health IT research body Connecting for Health, 61% of Amercans questioned agreed with the statement: "It’s my health information. I should have access […]
News
Release QoF data if asked, BMA advises
GPs are being advised to release Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF) data before national figures are published if their practices are asked to do so under the Freedom of Information Act. The British Medical Association’s General Practitioner Committee (GPC) has released new guidance (www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/freedomfaqs) about the Freedom of Information which advises practices to be open […]
News
Scottish GPs win choice over practice systems
Scottish GPs will be able to change IT system provider under a new deal announced yesterday. The Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD) and the BMA’s Scottish General Practitioner Committee have agreed that practices can change to a new system provided that certain conditions are met including the agreement that any new system must use […]
News
Germany joins hospital RFID pilots
Germany has joined the growing number of countries experimenting with wireless tagging of hospital patients to improve safety and provide easier access to data. The Klinikum SaarbrÜcken in western Germany, this month launched a pilot project covering 1000 patients in collaboration with technology partners Siemens Business Services, Intel and Fujitsu Siemens Computers. In addition to making patient […]
News