GP contract IM&T incentives announced
GPs are to be offered incentives worth up to £70m in total across England to embrace NHS information and management technology changes. There will also be extra money to implement choice and booking. The proposed changes to the national GPs’ contract, which are due to take effect from 1 April 2006, were published today. The investment […]
News
Ealing and Southend-on-Sea start patient txt messaging
Mobile messaging firm iPlato has announced that practices from two more primary care trusts in England have started using its Patient Care Messaging system. Integrated into the underlying practice patient administration and clinical system, iPLATO’s Patient Care Messaging service enables easy text messaging with patients around appointments and specialised clinics, helping tackle did not attend […]
News
GPs cautioned on taking part in PBC
GP representatives are advising GPs not to take part in practice based commissioning if they feel that funding for the preparatory management costs such as GP time and data validation are inadequate. National guidance on management support for practices from the Department of Health was due out last month but has been delayed and GPs […]
News
Private hospitals sign Choose and Book deal
The largest provider of private hospital services in the UK has signed a deal for e-booking software that will be Choose and Book compliant. BMI Healthcare, which has 49 hospitals in the UK, has placed an order with Belgium based IT company UltraGenda for UltraGenda Pro, UG Contacts Store and UG Broka which includes its […]
News
OT e-catalogue speeds up equipment orders
A local occupational therapy and community equipment service (OTCES) has won an award for making the detailed information in its electronic product catalogue available to professionals outside its equipment and adaptation service. The web-enabled service at Southend on Sea in Essex provides all commissioning professionals with information about equipment features, manufacturers’ instructions and advice forms about […]
News
PCT chiefs warn on reconfiguration plans
41% of primary care trust chief executives think that the planned reconfiguration of their organisations will have a negative effect on implementing the National Programme for IT, according to a survey this week. Only 12% thought there would be a positive effect and 47% thought there would be no effect. ‘Rushed’, ‘incoherent’, ‘political’ and ‘vague’ were […]
News
PCTs await C+B incentive payment decisions
A straw poll taken by EHI Primary Care has revealed an enthusiastic take-up among PCTs of the Department of Health’s (DH) offer of £6000 per practice incentive payments for preparation work on Choose and Book. Dorset & Somerset SHA told EHIPC that all nine of its primary care trusts have applied for the incentive money. "It will […]
News
PCT mergers look set to disrupt IT plans
IT departments of NHS organisations are beginning to feel the impact of plans to shake-up the structure of the health service which will see PCTs merge and no longer be service provider organisations. Some heads of department say lastweek’s announcement of the plans has already cast doubt on some implementation plans while others report fears […]
News
National data quality review called for
The NHS needs a national overview of data quality and coding integrity as the Payment by Results regime gathers pace, the NHS Confederation is set to argue. A discussion paper to be sent out to members of the confederation – which represents 92 per cent of NHS organisations in the UK – argues that the […]
News
£80m telecare grant to shape new care patterns
An £80m grant to shape new patterns of social care using telecare has been announced by the Department of Health (DH). News of the grant, which will be available to local authorities for investment over two years from April 2006, was accompanied by new guidance on Building telecare in England Liam Byrne, minister for care […]
News