Trusts fail to discipline staff over data breaches
NHS managers are failing to take action against staff who are involved in data breaches, according to the GP magazine Pulse. The magazine says it used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain information about breaches of confidentiality and data losses from 47 NHS organisations. It found there had been188 reported incidents of staff breaching […]
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Fujitsu said to be preparing £700m LSP claim
Fujitsu may be preparing to seek up to £700m in compensation from the Department of Health for the termination of its £1.1 billion NHS IT contract in May. The Japanese company had its contract cancelled by NHS Connecting for Health after year-long contract re-negotiations to deliver new electronic patient record systems more flexibly broke down. Fujitsu […]
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Wirral PCT faces local data privacy backlash
Wirral Primary Care Trust has delayed plans to introduce a telephone support service provided by a US contractor, after a local outcry at plans to transfer extracts from patient records to a private company. The proposed new health coaching service, called ‘Wirral Keep Well’, provided by Health Dialog UK, that provides targeted phone advice and […]
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Patient aged 12 told to use Choose and Book
A patient aged 12 has become the youngest patient to use the Choose and Book appointment system, after her practice required her to use the system to book a hospital appointment. Shani Sakin was sent a letter by her GP practice near Bristol asking her to contact the Choose and Book team to select an […]
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European Court fines Finland for data breach
The European Court of Human Rights has ordered the Finnish government to pay out €34,000 because it failed to protect a citizen’s personal data, by not adequately securing and protecting a patient’s confidential record. The case could prove significant by creating a legal precedent, based on the European Convention on Human Rights, linking data security […]
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DH group to look at wider NHS CRS access
The Department of Health has convened a group to look at widening access to the NHS Care Records Service including representatives from patients, nurses and pharmacists, according to Prof Michael Thick, Connecting for Health’s chief clinical officer. Prof Thick told last week’s Pharmaceutical Journal that the representative group was made up of various parties with […]
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BMA rejects call to ‘abandon’ Choose and Book
The BMA has rejected demands to abandon Choose and Book if it cannot be made fit for purpose within a year. BMA Council chairman and Yorkshire GP Dr Hamish Meldrum told the association’s annual meeting that it would be “madness” to adopt such a stance. The meeting backed a motion from Redbridge and Stratford division […]
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GPs concerned by TPP data sharing system
GPs have raised concerns about TPP SystmOne’s new data sharing model which Connecting for Health says is currently being reviewed before further roll-out. SystmOne release 3 will change the way data sharing works for SystmOne users as well as introducing Role Based Access Controls. The current system means clinicians make decisions about data sharing using […]
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NHS Lothian declares ‘data amnesty’
A Scottish health board has declared a data amnesty after a community health worker lost a USB stick containing personal information on 137 patients.
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We live in digital times
Nick Timmins, public policy editor of the Financial Times, argues that the NHS has to succeed in digitisatising if it is to last another 60 years.
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