Scotland Invests in Joined up Health and Social Care
The Scottish Executive announced last week that it will invest in developing data sharing and common data standards to help provide joined up health and social care as part of a £30 million programme of investment in e-government projects. The funding will be used to support the development of smartcards, data sharing, data standards and […]
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Website Unites Health Support Online
A new website aims to become the friends reunited of online health information services by linking together people who are coping with the similar diseases or injuries. The site, www.thirdaid.com, is designed to enable people to seek out others who have the same problem so that they can help each other by sharing information and […]
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Milburn says NHS Falling Behind on IT
Health secretary Alan Milburn has characterised the NHS’s information technology as fragmented and piecemeal, with low levels of investment causing the service to fall behind on IT. In an interview with the BBC’s health correspondent Chris Hogg, Milburn said it was clear that money for IT in the past has been siphoned off for other […]
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DH Preparing £5 Billion IT Strategy
This week E-Health Insider provides an advance preview of the yet to be released, yet to be approved, draft implementation strategy, "Delivering 21st Century IT Support for the NHS". Two months ago Sir John Pattison announced at Harrogate that a new national strategy for NHS IT, based on common standards, new investment and a new […]
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West Berkshire PCTs and Torex Work on Multidisciplinary Record
Clinical teams in West Berkshire are to work with Torex Health to develop a next-generation community and primary care system which will offer online, integrated, multi-disciplinary records highlighting all aspects of a patient’s clinical care. It was announced this week that Torex had been awarded “preferred bidder” status for the final contact which is expected […]
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Health Data Protection Group Formed
The first meeting of the new Health Records and Data Protection Review Group, set up to advise the Government on helping people to gain access to their health records, took place on Friday, 24 May. The group, whose members represent patient groups, health and social care professionals and regulatory bodies, will advise the Government on […]
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Milburn Promises “Large Scale” IT Investment
The Secretary of State Alan Milburn used his speech to the NHS Confederation conference on Friday to give the strongest commitment yet that major additional investment is to be channelled into NHS IT. As part of a wide-ranging speech on NHS modernisation and the challenge facing NHS managers, Milburn told delegates at Harrogate that later […]
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Surrey Ambulance Signs PPP on IT System
Surrey Ambulance has announced the signing of a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with Premier Computer Solutions for a range of electronic capacity management systems (eCMS). The eCMS system can be used to route emergency 999 call patients to the hospital site that is most able to deal with their condition at the time at the […]
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Information is a Board Issue says NHS Chief
NHS chief executive, Nigel Crisp, has issued a firm reminder to chairs and chief executives that data quality is their responsibility. In the latest Chief Executive’s Bulletin, Mr Crisp, writes, “Data quality is an issue for NHS boards and senior managers. It is not something to be left solely to information specialists.” He refers to […]
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NHS LifeHouse to Test Patient Smart Cards
A study by NHS LifeHouse , a London NHS R&D funded group, is to begin later this year to assess the feasibility of electronic patient smart cards is set to begin in Hillingdon, London. The project, which aims to begin by the autumn, will look at the feasibility of issuing a smart card to all […]
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