Government Response to Kennedy Throws Spotlight on Information
A new Office of Information on Health Care Performance is to be set up as part of the government response to the Kennedy Report’s recommendations. The new office will be positioned within the Commission for Health Improvement and will publish “star” ratings to compare the performance of NHS organisations against national targets. Other key measures […]
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IT Investment Gives Californian HMO an Edge Over the NHS
A comparison of the NHS and non-profit Californian health maintenance organisation, Kaiser Permanante, has revealed that investment in information technology is one of the explanations for the HMO’s superior performance on several measures. Writing in the British Medical Journal, the researchers from the University of California and the Healthcare Redesign Group, conclude, “Healthcare costs per […]
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Software Package Aims to Beat the Blues
The Priory Hospital North London is to trial an innovative PC-based multi-media tool called ‘Beating the Blues’ to help patients overcome depression and anxiety. The PC tool will be used together with face-to-face counselling and psychotherapy and is claimed to be able to help patients with or without the use of anti-depressant drugs. According to […]
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Primary Care Organisations at Crossroads on IT
New guidance on information and information systems for primary care organisations produced by the Primary Care Information Modernisation Programme (PCIMP) concludes that the NHS stands at a crossroads in the development of primary and community care information systems The guidance, read alongside a newly published review of the primary care clinical systems market carried out […]
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Report Says NHS Likely to Miss EPR Targets
A key report published one year on from the NHS IT strategy update ‘Building the Information Core’ warns that almost all NHS health communities have serious doubts whether they can meet the targets on delivering Electronic Patient Records (EPR) and says many other targets now seem ambitious. In its first annual report on the service’s […]
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Seminars to Drive Message on Information Security
The NHS Information Authority has embarked on a mission to explain the international standard on information security management, ISO 17799, and win support for its implementation as a key part of information governance. Seminars will be held around the country until March for chief executives and other senior managers to introduce the standard which addresses […]
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2002 to be Year E-Health Grows Up
As the dust of the dotcom crash clears, 2002 will be the year that the e-health gets down to business and begins to deliver with health providers and pharmaceutical firms realising the value of networked communications. In its Top 10 Healthcare Predictions for 2002, Forrester Research, offers its reading of the tea leaves for what […]
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Videophones to Link Deaf, Interpreters and Health Professionals
A new remote sign language interpretation service which uses a network of videophones to provide interpretation services in consultations between health professionals and deaf people, has been launched by the Leicester Centre for Deaf People. The telecare initiative, backed by Leicestershire Health Authority, is the first such videophone sign translation service to be provided by […]
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BUPA Chooses Pegasystems for Customer Management
BUPA, the leading European private healthcare firm, has selected Pegasystems to supply an automated customer management system to help it respond more efficiently to customers. The new system is intended to help BUPA better manage complaints and support help manage customer loyalty. Pegasystems’ rules-driven customer service and process automation software is intended to help BUPA […]
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Primal Pictures Scoops EuroPrix
Primal Pictures, the company that supplies online anatomy graphics for the National Electronic Library for Health (NeLH), has scooped a top European prize for learning and e-education. The EuroPrix is recognised as the leading prize in multimedia arts in Europe. Primal Pictures 3D anatomy images were chosen from 500 entrants from all sectors. Chief executive, […]
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