Halligan: “Connection” goal of IT reform
Aidan Halligan, deputy chief medical officer and director general of strategic development for the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT), has declared that his ultimate goal is to make connections between “clinicians, patients and the totality of health and social care resources” in a "community of knowledge". “Connection is at the core of our vision […]
News
Accenture signs with iSOFT for Lorenzo
Six months after being awarded the contracts to act as Local Service Provider for the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in the Eastern and North East regions of England, Accenture has finalised its agreement with iSOFT to act as it provider of core clinical and administration applications. Accenture will use iSOFT’s Lorenzo enterprise-wide clinical and […]
News
GPs attack lack of consultation over electronic records
GPs at the British Medical Association’s conference of local medical committees last week slammed the National Programme for IT’s (NPfIT) plans for national electronic care records, passing votes of no confidence in their ability to improve patient care and resolving to “not engage with the Care Record Service" until their concerns are answered. Dr Lucy Henshaw, the representative from Suffolk […]
News
Blair: Choose and Book historic development
Tony Blair has defended the development of the NHS’s Choose and Book programme, the new name for the new NHS e-booking service, at Prime Minister’s question time as the deadline for the first live e-booking looms closer. Speaking on 16 June, Blair said: "It is this government, for the first time in the context of […]
News
Doctors to vote on national patient record system consent
Doctors attending next week’s British Medical Association Local Medical Committee conference are to vote on whether patients’ records should be automatically loaded onto the NHS national data spine of records, even if they have not given their consent for their records to be shared. Concerns about consent are at the centre of a series of […]
News
Don’t forget IT input when planning PACS
Beware of overlooking vital IT input when planning a new digital picture archiving and communications system (PACS), the UK Radiology Congress heard this week. A guide to some of the IT elements that can be forgotten – and some of the implementation techniques that work – was provided for the UK Radiological Congress in Manchester by […]
News
National programme caught in spinal trap
With less than four weeks to go to the first scheduled release from the National Programme for IT (NPfIT), highly credible industry sources suggest that the 27 June deadline for P1R1 (phase one release one) of the programme may be missed or only partially met. P1R1 covers the patient demographic service to be made available […]
News
Best of European E-Health Announced
The 2004 awards for the best e-health projects in Europe have been announced, with three winners chosen from over 32 projects from across Europe. Sponsored by the European Commission, the eEurope Awards for eHealth were presented at the eHealth Europe Conference, held in Cork, Ireland, on 6 May. The winners were chosen from 32 different finalists […]
News
NPfIT claims discounts of up to 80% on PACS
The National Programme for IT (NPfIT) has stated that discounts of up to 80% have been secured in its negotiations with picture archiving and communications systems (PACS) suppliers, but has yet to provide details of how PACS procurements and implementations in English NHS trusts will be funded and delivered. Some £60m of central investment has been committed […]
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