Crossed wires
Despite a bumpy start, the first booking made with IBS over Choose and Book in Wandsworth was a success, EHI Primary Care reports.
Feature
Half of C+B hospitals use indirectly bookable services
Over half the hospitals using Choose and Book are using Indirectly Bookable Services (IBS), according to the latest figures from NHS Connecting for Health (CfH). The statistics – which are updated fortnightly – show that out of 25 hospitals using Choose and Book on 26 July, 13 were using IBS, a stand alone interim fix for […]
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Choose and Book workload lifted for Somerset GPs
GPs in Somerset and Dorset have been told they will not need to carry out their own referrals using Choose and Book, and can continue directing their patients towards their existing phone-based referral service. The referral management service is hosted by Somerset Coast PCT and is popular among GPs. It has received central funding from […]
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Go live for indirectly bookable services
Wandsworth and Tower Hamlets PCTs in London have gone live with indirectly bookable services (IBS) – the system that enables acute trusts with patient administration systems not compliant with Choose and Book to use to make electronic bookings. IBS was released as part of Version 2.1 of Choose and Book at the end of May. Wandsworth […]
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Increase seen in patient booking calls
The call centre set up to deal with Choose and Book appointments is beginning to receive a small number of calls but is calling on GPs to publicise its services more widely. Dilip Chakrabarti, national director of Booking and Choice at NHS Direct, said the Choose and Book Appointments Line (CABAL) is now receiving 120 […]
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Choose and Book adopters to get tech support
The Department of Health is set to launch a high level technical help scheme to support local Choose and Book implementation after lessons from the early adopters showed IT support is vital to success. Jane Cummings, national implementation director, told a conference organised by HSJ this week: “Lots of the issues in the early adopter […]
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Fingerprint health record access wins £3,000 prize
A group of GP practices, which enable patients to access their records using biometrics and view health information and book appointments online in kiosks, has won a £3,000 award for its use of IT. The Imaginative Health Cluster, which covers almost 38,000 patients in Derbyshire, was installed at the beginning of the year and features […]
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Choose and Book a ‘fiasco’, claims BMA chair
The chairman of the British Medical Association has criticised the government’s choice agenda and dubbed Choose and Book a “fiasco” that takes no account of how GPs and hospitals work. Jim Johnson told the BMA’s annual meeting this week that Connecting for Health was facing problems because it had failed to listen to doctors, nurses […]
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Choose and Book set to miss 2005 targets
The government’s targets for the implementation of Choose and Book this year look almost certain to be missed, despite being one of the health department’s key priorities. Continuing problems with clinical engagement and delays in implementing fully integrated Choose and Book systems are two of the key issues holding back roll-out of the system according […]
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PCT issues smartcards with identical PINs
A primary care trust issued smartcards to all its practices which had the same PIN for every user; and furthermore, the number was stuck on the back of every card. A GP in Essex told members of the online GP-UK discussion group about the breach of security procedures for the Connecting for Health smartcards,which happened at a practice already using […]
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