Survey reveals almost all councils using telecare
A new database from the Commission for Social Care Inspection rating adult social care in all 150 local authorities in England has shown that all but six councils are now investing in telecare. CSCI inspected all 150 local authorities and released performance assessments on adult social care departments, including the use of telecare technology. The […]
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Derbyshire GPs say information poor on system choice
GPs in Derbyshire whose practices have switched to the GP clinical system TPP offered by their local service provider (LSP) have claimed they were not well informed about available choices for system change. In a survey carried out by Derbyshire Local Medical Committee information about system choice scored worst out of the ten areas covered […]
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GPs threaten to block national patient database
One in two GPs have signalled their intention not to upload patients’ clinical details to the NHS Care Records Service (NCRS) without explicit patient consent, in direct opposition to Department of Health (DH) policy. The position being adopted by doctors in primary care, is revealed in a survey of 1026 doctors’ views about the National […]
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Nuffield blames ‘weak’ HC rating on computer problems
Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust has blamed its relatively poor performance rating from the Healthcare Commission on the failures of a new computer system. The Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre has been given a ‘good’ rating for the use of resources element and a ‘weak’ rating for the quality of services element of the Healthcare Commissions annual […]
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Doctors back calls for review of NHS digitisation
An overwhelming majority of GPs and hospital doctors have backed the calls of senior academics for an independent assessment of the technical viability of the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT). In a new poll carried out by Medix UK for BBC Radio 4’s File On Four programme, some 85% of doctors said that they agreed […]
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Txts 2 help U quit
Text messages, e-mail and telephone support are to be made available from the NHS to help smokers quit. The new digital approach to ditching nicotine was unveiled today by public health minister, Caroline Flint. The Department of Health says the new ‘Together’ programme expands the current NHS stop smoking services to those people who may not want to quit […]
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WAP can be used for reporting symptoms, study finds
Italian researchers have shown that aftercare and patient communication might be improved if patients are asked to fill in daily questionnaires using WAP on their mobile phones. The research, published in BioMed Central’s journal, found that a Wireless Health Outcomes Monitoring System (WHOMS) greatly increased the flow of information between cancer patients at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan and […]
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IT skills training saves staff time, survey reveals
The European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) is dramatically improving computer literacy in the NHS and saving staff time, a survey published by the NHSIA has revealed. 100% of users who described their skills as ‘basic’ or ‘very basic’ reported they felt much more confident with computers after taking the course. 48% of those users said […]
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Feature: Using information effectively
The Nuffield Trust and the Commission for Health Improvement have both highlighted the need for the NHS to improve its use of information. Stephen Pincock investigates. When the Nuffield Trust published its latest report on the government’s efforts to improve quality in the NHS, the verdict was painted in broadly upbeat strokes. But […]
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