SNOMED CT-based sensitivity now on Multilex DDF
Clinical decision support specialist, First DataBank Europe (FDBE), has announced the release of SNOMED CT-based sensitivity checking within its drug knowledge base, the Multilex Drug Data File (Multilex DDF). The release follows on from a development last year when FDBE released functionality to support SNOMED CT and dm+d based sensitivity checking to comply with NHS […]
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Five trusts adopt ‘scan and save’ for surgical instruments
Radio Frequency Identification and barcode standards specialist GS1 UK says that five NHS trusts in the North-west have signed up for to its ‘scan and save’ initiative for automatically tracking and tracing sterile surgical instruments. This will allow the hospital to trace the complete life cycle of surgical instruments, including the verification of the decontamination and sterilisation process, […]
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SNOMED sold to new international standards organisation
The intellectual property rights of SNOMED Clinical Terms have been sold for $7.8m (£3.6m) to a newly-formed board called the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation, based in Denmark. The IHSTDO is made up of nine nations – Australia, Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, The Netherlands, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom with Connecting […]
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DH embraces wireless safety technologies
A new strategy document looking at the use of smart wireless wristbands and barcode labelling technologies has been launched by health minister Lord Hunt. The Department of Health believes that auto-identification and data capture (AIDC) technology has the potential to tackle mismatching errors in particular, as well as bringing other efficiencies and cost savings. Lord […]
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College bows out of SNOMED development
The College of American Pathologists plans to relinquish control of its subsidiary, SNOMED International. SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms), is a coding system initially developed for pathologists but which has become more widely used for a variety of clinical coding tasks in more than 30 countries. England’s NHS has mandated the standard […]
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Clinical coding to be scrutinised in national audit
The Audit Commission is to undertake a national programme of clinical coding audit in the NHS in England that will affect every PCT, trust and foundation trust. The results of this national audit – due to start in 2007 and covering 74,000 episodes of care – could be put into a league table of error […]
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iBleep PDA paging made available to all trusts
A new software system called iBleep, designed to simplify communications with doctors at night, is set to be rolled out across the NHS in April next year. The iBleep Rapid Response system is a web-based application, accessed over a PDA, that provides a wireless system for communication between hospital-based doctors and their wards, allowing voice contact […]
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NPSA issues spec for electronic blood tracking
The National Patient Safety Agency has unveiled new measures to help improve the safety of blood transfusions, including the initial specification for an electronic tracking system to ensure the right patient is matched with the right blood product. The NPSA has worked with Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) and the Chief Medical Officer’s National Blood […]
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Specialists dispute keyword changes for C+B
A dispute between specialists and the Department of Health over use of keywords for Choose and Book clinic types has led the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) to recommend that consultants do not populate their directories of services. Dr Andrew Bamji, the society’s president, said that he and other members spent the last year drawing up […]
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Fujitsu’s Cerner delays mount in the South
Three more trusts have had to postpone Fujitsu implementations of Cerner Millennium in the South at short notice, as go-live dates for hospital systems slip further across the region. The delays mean that a key Connecting for Health delivery pledge will be missed. The three latest sites to announce delays include Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust, […]
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