Web catalogue powers up procurement project
A collaborative NHS procurement project in the north-east of England has combined its bargaining power with the new ability to buy non-clinical items through a web-based catalogue. The North East Patches Shared Systems Project, which includes NHS organisations within Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, and North-East Yorkshire, allows requisitioning to take place over a simple web […]
News
Chatrooms found to give bad advice to patients
An study from the University of Derby has revealed that people who look for health guidance through chatrooms or messageboards may be receiving poor advice, causing extra difficulty for GPs. Dr Neil Coulson, a reader in health psychology, studied chatrooms and websites dedicated to helping people with high-profile conditions such as HIV, diabetes and cancer, and found […]
News
Xansa secures NHS finance and accounting deal
Xansa, the IT services company, has been recommended as the preferred partner for a joint venture to provide finance and accounting services to the NHS in England, it was announced this week. The 50:50 deal with the Department of Health (DH), which will run over 10 years, is expected to start in April 2005 and […]
News
Haematology software wins primary care award
Software that automatically works out correct dosages of anti-coagulation drugs for patients has won the prestigious John Perry Prize from the Primary Health Care Specialist Group (PHCSG) at the British Computer Society. The prize, worth £500, was given to the INRstar system, developed by Dr Mark Sullivan and Dr Robert Treharne Jones of Sullivan Cuff […]
News
NPfIT: engagement on electronic referrals will wait
National engagement over electronic referrals will only come “when the time is right", namely when the system is fully operational, a spokesperson from the National Programme for IT told a conference in London. Claire Mitchell, group programme director for Booking & Choice at the national programme, told delegates at Clinical Information Systems and Electronic Records and e-Health […]
News
Interactive websites could reduce depression stigma
Research published in the British Journal of Psychology today has revealed that website walkthroughs and guides could be a useful tool in reducing personal stigma attached to depression, while simple documentation has little effect. The study, undertaken by Dr Kathy Griffiths of the Australian National University, Canberra, analysed a sample of 525 people who had […]
News
End 2005 will see NPfIT making a difference for all
National Programme for IT’s (NPfIT) director-general, Richard Granger has predicted that by the end of next year there won’t be a ‘nook or cranny’ of the NHS in England that has not seen some work from the programme that will be making a difference to caring for patients. Speaking to a briefing ahead of the Clinical Information […]
News
Vision users told they cannot be forced to switch
The National Vision User Group (NVUG), the independent body that represents users of InPractice Systems Vision primary care system has written to all Vision users to emphasise that there is no basis for anyone to force practices to switch away from using the Vision system. Published by the NVUG after a national meeting in early […]
News
Mapping software could offer way out of data maze
A software package that uses geocoding to display patient and clinican data on Ordnance Survey maps has been installed in Harrow PCT, with the hope that it will allow clearer display of resource allocation and healthcare trends across the area. Matthew Spencer, marketing manager at manufacturer Mapinfo, told EHI about what benefits the program, MapInfo Health […]
News
Urgent need for joined-up IT to improve US healthcare
An influential new report identifies fragmentation as a key cause of problems in the American healthcare system and says IT can play a key role in creating a more integrated, patient-centric approach. The report says, however, that the IT infrastructure in use in US healthcare is itself fragmented, hindering efforts to improve patient care. It […]
News