Information systems needed for commissioning
Primary care trusts and practices need to urgently discuss how they can develop information systems to support practice-based commissioning according to the National Association of Primary Care (NAPC). The association has issued a ten step guide to practice based commissioning which underlines the need for practices and PCTs to have timely data on a very […]
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Increase seen in patient booking calls
The call centre set up to deal with Choose and Book appointments is beginning to receive a small number of calls but is calling on GPs to publicise its services more widely. Dilip Chakrabarti, national director of Booking and Choice at NHS Direct, said the Choose and Book Appointments Line (CABAL) is now receiving 120 […]
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PCTs to receive predictive risk software
Software to help identify patients at high risk of readmission to hospital is to be sent out to all primary care trusts next month. The program consists of an algorithm that PCTs can apply to hospital episode statistics (HES) to identify high risk patients with long term conditions. It will take account of the number […]
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Choose and Book adopters to get tech support
The Department of Health is set to launch a high level technical help scheme to support local Choose and Book implementation after lessons from the early adopters showed IT support is vital to success. Jane Cummings, national implementation director, told a conference organised by HSJ this week: “Lots of the issues in the early adopter […]
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UCLH makes switch to Carecast
University College London Hospitals NHS Trust has become the first in the country to go live with the new electronic patient administration system (PAS) that will become the standard for all hospitals in London. The move puts the trust at the leading edge of NHS IT, making it the first big acute hospital trust to […]
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Choose and Book set to miss 2005 targets
The government’s targets for the implementation of Choose and Book this year look almost certain to be missed, despite being one of the health department’s key priorities. Continuing problems with clinical engagement and delays in implementing fully integrated Choose and Book systems are two of the key issues holding back roll-out of the system according […]
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Solving the maze
Gerry Yantis and Nikolai Segora from Capgemini argue for greater integration between IT programmes in primary care.
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UCLH system delayed ahead of key move
University College London NHS Foundation Trust has delayed trust-wide implementation of its Carecast electronic patient record system from IDX by another three weeks. This latest delay in implementation means that there is now almost no slack in the timetable for implementing the new EPR system in time for the move to the brand new ‘paperless’ £422 […]
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No need to register for Choose and Book yet, says BMA
GP representatives have told GPs that there is no need to complete the registration process for Connecting for Health in order to express an interest in Choose and Book. The British Medical Association’s General Practitioner Committee says that primary care trusts are putting practices under pressure to complete the registration process so that PCTs can […]
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N3 hits 6,000 installations milestone
More than 6000 GP surgeries are now connected to the NHS broadband, N3, NHS Connecting for Health has claimed; however, installation has not been without problems. In a written statement, an NHS CfH spokesman said: "As at 31 March 2005, there were 6036 commissioned sites which were supporting live traffic on that date. In addition, […]
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