The 12 Days of Christmas IT
Thanks to everyone who entered our Christmas wish list competition. Phil Graham, head of information management and technology at Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust, is a worthy winner with his variation on the 12 Days of Christmas that is bound to strike a chord with many readers. His prize is a bottle of […]
News
CSW Builds HRI Prototype
CSW Health has announced that it has developed a Health Records Infrastructure (HRI) prototype for South Staffordshire Healthcare NHS Trust in support of the NHS Information Authority’s development of a national HRI infrastructure. Currently undergoing final testing the new system, which provides an index of all records held on an individual patient in local clinical […]
News
NHS Information Charter Needed Says Consumers Association
The NHS should publish a charter outlining how it will share health information and service users must be given a chance to isolate and control access to the most sensitive details, according to new research on public attitudes to electronic records. The research, conducted by the Consumers Association and the NHS Information Authority, found that […]
News
Homerton Launches Text Message Reminders
Homerton University Hospital, in East London, has became the first UK hospital to launch a mobile phone-based text messaging service, called ‘Meditext’, to remind patients of their appointments and prevent unnecessary cancellations. Patients are sent a text-message reminder two days before they are due to attend an appointment at the Department of Sexual Health. The […]
News
CHI’s Reminders on Caldicott and Confidentiality
A browse through recent clinical governance reviews from the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) reveals that many trusts are being told to bring their compliance with Caldicott principles on patient-identifiable information up to scratch. With the exception of a few beacons of good practice, the reviews point to lapses of confidentiality and a widespread lack […]
News
Information Guidance on Shifting the Balance of Power
Guidance on maintaining or improving information flows and structures during the NHS’s Shifting the Balance of Power programme has been published by the Department of Health. Part of a steady flow of guidance from the DH aimed at smoothing the transition in April to the new NHS structure of strategic health authorities and primary care/hospital […]
News
Eli Lilly E-mail Lapse Highlight Need for Privacy Policies
Two news items from the US over the past week have highlighted the need for rigorous privacy policies when managing electronic patient sensitive data and electronic communications with patients. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruled that pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly will not have to pay a fine after it accidentally disclosed the e-mail addresses […]
News
Videophones to Link Deaf, Interpreters and Health Professionals
A new remote sign language interpretation service which uses a network of videophones to provide interpretation services in consultations between health professionals and deaf people, has been launched by the Leicester Centre for Deaf People. The telecare initiative, backed by Leicestershire Health Authority, is the first such videophone sign translation service to be provided by […]
News
Health Information More Popular than Games or Chat
More young people go online to search for health information than to play games, chat or take part in other popular Internet activities associated with the age group. A new US report, "Generation Rx.com", by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that 68% of the population aged 15-24 use online media to learn about diabetes, AIDS […]
News
Torex Buys Oxhealth.com to Develop Electronic Health Records
In the latest of a string of recent acquisitions Torex Health has announced it is to purchase Oxhealth.com Ltd, in a deal that will see Torex taking over one of the NHS ERDIP (Electronic Record Development and Implementation Programme) pilot sites. Torex Health will pay £375,000 for Oxhealth.com, through the issue of 50,113 Torex ordinary […]
News