Brought to book
GP Mark Davies, clinical lead for the National Programme for IT’s Choose and Book programme, argues the case for Choose and Book and says criticism is unfounded.
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BMA queries commissioning and e-booking link
The BMA has criticised technical guidance from the Department of Health (DH) which it says explicitly links the uptake of the Choose and Book, the national electronic booking service, to the new system of practice based commissioning. The association says: “The technical guidance explicitly links the controversial Choose and Book electronic referral system with practice […]
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GPs get a voice
New efforts are to be made by the NPfIT to engage GPs. E-Health Insider Primary Care talks to Dr Gillian Braunold, joint GP clinical lead for the programme.
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Practices could get £6,000 for Choose and Book by June
GPs could receive about £6,000 per practice by the end of June this year if their primary care trust meets the Department of Health’s targets for Choose and Book, according to implementation details. Strategic health authority chief executives have been sent more details of the £95 million package which was announced by health secretary John […]
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Doctors’ belief in NHS IT project fading
Doctors’ enthusiasm for the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) has declined sharply over the past 12 months, with the steepest decline occurring among GPs. A tracking survey of 900 hospital doctors and GPs, published today, found there has been a precipitous decline in GPs support for the IT modernisation programme over the past six […]
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GPs say they are not being listened to
Lack of consultation and the threat to GPs existing computer systems are the biggest failings of the National Programme for IT and the ones that has angered most GPs, according to feedback from GPs who were questioned in the latest survey by Medix-UK. Out of the 900 doctors who took part in the survey, 191 […]
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Pessimism rife among doctors about NPfIT’s benefits
The latest Medix-UK survey, co-sponsored by E-Health Insider, shows that three years into the NHS National Programme for IT confidence in and enthusiasm for the programme has declined among NHS doctors, with a particularly sharp fall among GPs. Most doctors still believe that the national programme is an important priority for the NHS, though levels […]
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The loneliness of being first
The IT industry has a phrase for being at the front of the queue for any complex new technology: being at the ‘bleeding edge’ of development. This is where Undercliffe GP practice in Batley, West Yorkshire has been since last August when it began work to become the first Spine-enabled primary care computer system under […]
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Spoilt for choice
GPs’ attitudes towards Choose and Book could cause headaches for the NPfIT, according to a survey in a recent report by the National Audit Office. EHI Primary Care takes a closer look.
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GPs urge rethink on Choose and Book
Primary care trusts (PCTs) will fail to persuade GPs to use Choose and Book unless the system is overhauled, according to GP representatives. In the meantime, PCTs look likely to direct most of the work via Booking Management Services (BMS) with only GP enthusiasts booking appointments themselves. Dr Paul Cundy, chair of the BMA’s General […]
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