Electronic decision support for US veterans
The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to introduce a new computer system at all its 158 medical centres to help patients make more informed decisions about their care. VA’s ‘Electronic Support for Patient Decisions’ initiative will use customised software called iMedConsent to provide patients with information about treatment options and standardise procedures among clinicians. […]
News
Doctors’ support for NPfIT tailing off, says survey
A new survey has revealed that doctors’ support for the aims of the national programme has fallen to 54% from 65% in February, and that the majority of them are still in the dark about its aims. In their biannual poll of doctors, Medix UK asked 400 GPs and 450 hospital doctors about their attitudes to the […]
News
Private hospital begins radiography IT modernisation
A private hospital in Kent has invested in a computed radiography (CR) system, as part of the first stage of “a wider digital imaging strategy". The technology, which was supplied to Chelsfield Park Hospital, near Orpington, by Kodak, comes in several parts. The Directview CR 850 System processes the images from cassette and can send […]
News
NHS Innovation Centre may encourage new technology
A new NHS Innovation Centre may soon be developed to allow health professionals, who have new ideas on how to use technology, better access to business so they can make their inventions a reality. Michael Wilkinson, Assistant Director of Strategy at the Cabinet Office and head of the Health Industry Task Force (HITF), outlined the plan at […]
News
ASSIST to seek partnership with British Computer Society
ASSIST, the Association for ICT Professionals in Health and Social Care, has voted to seek partnership with the British Computer Society’s health informatics committee (BCSHIC). An “overwhelming” majority of members at the association’s annual general meeting on 20 May gave the group’s national council a mandate to pursue discussions already underway. The move will almost […]
News
Poaching of staff from NHS is a reality
With the NHS in the midst of the largest ever IT investment programme, staff with the right skills and experience are at a premium, but can NHS organisations attract and retain these key staff? And is the gentleman’s no poaching agreement between local service providers and the NHS actually working? At last week’s E-Health Insider […]
News
MDU warns doctors of picture messaging dangers
The Medical Defence Union has advised doctors to think twice before using picture mobile phones to take and send digital pictures to assist in the diagnosis and management of a patient’s condition. The MDU’s advice follows a warning by the medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency (MHRA) to doctors on the risks of using picture […]
News
Walsall and Orion work on heart failure pathways
Walsall Primary Care Trust and Orion Systems have been chosen to produce a national demonstrator system for the electronic support of care delivery to heart failure patients. The development follows on from previous successful collaborations on IT to support the coronary heart disease national service framework (NSF) pathways for myocardial infarction and stroke rehabilitation. The […]
News
E-Health Insider – the first 100 issues
As the E-Health Insider newsletter celebrates the 100th edition, we take the opportunity to look back over highlights of two years coverage of e-health. December 2001 – Tablets within two years In EHI No 1 we reported on a Microsoft-Department of Health conference at which Bill Gates and Alan Milburn set out the vital role of […]
News
NAO Begins Review of National Programme
The National Audit Office has begun reviewing aspects of the £2.3 billion NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) after having been contacted by a number of correspondents raising issues of concern. A spokesperson for the NAO told E-Health Insider confirmed that the NAO has already established contact with the national programme and that high-level face-to-face […]
News