EMIS users urged to protest about systems choice
The head of the EMIS National User Group (NUG) has written to all EMIS users calling on them to lobby their MPs, local Primary Care Trusts or Local Medical Committees to express their concerns about National Programme for IT (NPfIT) strategy on choice of GP systems. The letter from Dr Manpreet Pujara, chair of EMIS NUG, […]
News
Private sector to help IT innovation in new scheme
An initiative launched by the DH yesterday aims to encourage the sharing of innovative ideas between individual NHS organisations in England, with the support of the private sector. Information technology will be one of the main areas of innovation to be covered. NHS Live is a year long programme intended to improve the quality of patients’ experience by developing tailor-made personal […]
News
Talking heads help hearing-impaired take phonecalls
New software being developed may give the deaf and hard-of-hearing a new way of receiving phonecalls – using a computer generated face that users can lip-read. The SYNFACE software connects to regular computer microphone and soundcard hardware, which in turn is connected to the telephone line. The software can make and receive calls in the […]
News
New national audit rolls out for head and neck cancers
A new audit system for head and neck cancers started its roll-out this week in Greater Manchester, Humberside, Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire and North Trent. The NHS Information Authority (NHSIA), which devised the audit system for the NHS’s new regulator, the Healthcare Commission, says it is the first time that electronic collection of information about […]
News
Minister upbeat on ID card benefits for NHS
Health minister, John Hutton, says ID cards will help NHS staff check whether patients are eligible to receive treatment and deter people who abuse the UK’s healthcare resources. Hutton gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee this week as controversy flared around the government’s plans to speed up the introduction of ID cards. […]
News
Statutory registration in prospect for health informatics
Statutory registration of healthcare informatics staff in four years is the target for a new voluntary regulator launched this week. Meanwhile the UK Council of Health Informatics Professions (UKCHIP) intends to build its register and encourage employers to ask for registered staff when they advertise jobs and draw up job descriptions. UKCHIP president, Dr Glyn Hayes, […]
News
FDBE aims to cut drug dosing errors
First DataBank Europe (FDBE) has announced that it is working with the National Patient Safety Agency on a project to improve the safety of patients on drugs requiring unusual dosage regimes. The NPSA, established as a Special Health Authority in July 2001, aims to improve the safety of patients taking oral methotrexate by incorporating new, […]
News
CSW to prove concept of Welsh ‘Single Record’
Oxford-based CSW Health has been awarded a contract by NHS Wales to develop a Technical Proof of Concept (TPoC) for the Integrated Electronic Health Record – ‘Single Record’ – for the NHS in Wales. The TPoC work represents a first stage in implementing the Welsh NHS IT strategy, Informing Healthcare and will inform the development of […]
News
Gershon advocates better IT use to free up skilled staff
A leaked report advocating radical measures to improve government efficiency points to better use of IT and skill mix as a means of freeing up better qualified staff for more productive work in the NHS and other public services. However, the report compiled by the Office for Government Commerce’s chief executive, Sir Peter Gershon, also […]
News
New report sets out need for e-prescribing
A new report from the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer on the causes of medicines safety has spelt out the critical role that electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) systems can play in reducing medication errors. ‘Building a Safer NHS for Patients: Improving Medication Safety’ describes standards of prescribing in the NHS as high. However, it stresses mistakes can arise […]
News