Proposals for wider data sharing to be unveiled
The government is to make it easier for different department systems to share information about individuals currently held on separate databases. The move is expected to be presented as a pragmatic way to improve the delivery of public services and follows a government policy review of public services, headed by Work and Pensions secretary John […]
News
Follow my lead
Michael Cross looks at how NPfIT is lead by wider government priorities and who the real driving force behind the project is.
Feature
Honour for health informatics technical director
Technical director of Wirral Health Informatics Service (WHIS), Pete Marsh has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Wirral is one of the leading trusts in the health informatics field and has pioneered developments in areas such as electronic records and e-prescribing. Marsh has been part of the workforce at Wirral Hospital […]
News
Cabinet Office denies Watmore to take helm at NPfIT
The Cabinet Office and National Programme for IT have moved swiftly today to deny suggestions that Ian Watmore, the Government’s first Chief Information Officer, is poised to take the helm at the NHS IT modernisation project. The prediction that Watmore was about to take a greater hand in steering the NPfIT was made in this […]
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
Hunt on for public sector IT tsar
The hunt is on for a person to take on to find the candidate to fill the “most influential role in UK IT", with the Government looking for a new head of e-government to replace the current e-envoy Andrew Pinder when he retires later this summer. This new role a super Government IT Tsar, or […]
News
AAFP Explores Open-Source EHR
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is considering developing and selling low-cost "open-source" electronic medical records (EMR) software to provide its members with access to low-cost electronic record systems. According to a report in American Medical News, published by the American Medical Association, the AAFP will submit a business plan to its board on […]
News
Electronic Systems Could Free Up Millions of GP Appointments
Cutting out unnecessary GP paperwork, such as filling out repeat prescriptions and sick notes, could save up to 3.2 million GP appointments, concludes a new report. Freeing up GPs time by removing unnecessary and cumbersome red tape, and introducing electronic communications and electronic prescribing, would also provide patients with faster access to their GP. Routine […]
News
Health Data Protection Group Formed
The first meeting of the new Health Records and Data Protection Review Group, set up to advise the Government on helping people to gain access to their health records, took place on Friday, 24 May. The group, whose members represent patient groups, health and social care professionals and regulatory bodies, will advise the Government on […]
News
UK Government Warms to Open Source Software
The Cabinet Office has published a consultation paper on use of Open Source Software (OSS) within the UK Government sector –- including the NHS — that concludes the development of OSS represents a fundamental change in the software market. OSS, software whose source code is openly published, is usually available at no charge, and is […]
News