NHS IT Programme Enters ‘Heartlands’
The National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in the NHS has published a brief progress update, stating that ‘the heartlands of the Programme’ have now been entered, and reaffirming that key contract awards will occur this year followed by implementation. The three-page document reiterates the main features of the National Programme, outlines progress on the current […]
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Two PCTs Choose Graphnet for Integrated Electronic Records
Halton primary care trust (PCT) and Warrington PCT are to develop an integrated XML-based repository of real-time patient records that will make integrated electronic patient records available to all local authorised healthcare staff. The solution, to be provided by Graphnet, will extract and integrate patient data from the different IT systems of individual GP surgeries […]
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Final Long-List for National Programme Reached
The National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in the NHS has reached the latest milestone in the procurement process for Local Service Providers (LSPs) and National Application Service Providers (NASPs) to deliver 21st Cenury IT to the NHS with selection of a slightly shorter long-list of candidates. The new list of firms, 22 prospective LSPs and […]
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Electronic Social Care Record To Be Phased
The December 2004 target for implementing full electronic social care records (ESCR) is not achievable and the roll-out is now due to take place between 2008-2010, at the same time as the English NHS integrated care record service (ICRS), a conference heard this week. Roger Staton, head of the Social Care Information Policy Unit at […]
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Poor IT Placing Patients at Risk Junior Doctors Warn
Improved communications systems that reflect the radically changed working practices in hospitals are vital to guarantee patient safety, a new report by the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee concludes. The report, ‘Making IT work for Junior Doctors’, produced to identify problems and solutions to better inform and influence the development of the National Programme for IT […]
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Basque GPs Suspended over Centralised Data Protest
Two GPs from the Basque Country in northern Spain have been suspended without pay, apparently for refusing to use a centralised database of patient records, writes SA Mathieson. The Basque health service, Osakidetza, last year implemented a central database called Osabide. According to Dr Juan Gérvas, a Madrid doctor and visiting professor at Baltimore’s Johns […]
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HC 2003 – Pick of the Product and Service News
Healthcare Computing is a traditional launch pad for healthcare IT products and services and the industry did not disappoint this year. We list below a selection of the new launches, versions and deals announced at Harrogate last week. Click here for a full list of exhibitors. Telemedicine Solutions from Tandberg Tandberg demonstrated its videoconferencing solution, […]
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Medical Records Found on Memory Stick
An incident in which a Cheshire estate agent found a memory stick she had bought contained confidential clinical records has highlighted the NHS’s failure to implement effective encryption services to protect patient information. Bolton Royal Hospitals NHS Trust has launched an investigation into how confidential medical records for 13 cancer patients were contained on a […]
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Over 2000 Reponses For NHSIA Confidentiality Campaign
Over 2000 responses to the NHS Information Authority’s national consultation on confidentiality are being analysed and early results are expected in April. Speaking to E-Health Insider, the authority’s head of patient and citizen relations, Marlene Winfield, said 2400 responses had been received using the consultation questionnaire, along with 100 letters. Around 50% of the responses […]
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Lockheed Martin To Build Canadian Forces Health System
Lockheed Martin has won a CAN$17m (£6.8m) contract to build an advanced healthcare information system for the Canadian Forces. The Canadian Forces Health Information System (CFHIS) will ensure that health information about the forces’ personnel is collected accurately and securely and made available to authorised users wherever the service men and women are in Canada […]
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