GPs ‘over-perform’ on QoF by £200m
Payments to GPs under the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF) of the new GMS contract look certain to massively exceed the original sums budgeted by the Department of Health. Dr Ian Trimble, a Nottingham GP, advisor to the Department of Health and one of the architects of QoF performance management framework for general practice, said […]
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GP says clinical consultation not delivering
A GP involved in advising Connecting for Health has claimed the programme is being mismanaged with professional input ignored and that the Choose and Book software is potentially dangerous. Dr Nigel de Kare Silver, a GP in Neasden, north London, and IT lead for Brent Primary Care Trust, has outlined his concerns in an article […]
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Scottish GPs win choice over practice systems
Scottish GPs will be able to change IT system provider under a new deal announced yesterday. The Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD) and the BMA’s Scottish General Practitioner Committee have agreed that practices can change to a new system provided that certain conditions are met including the agreement that any new system must use […]
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NHS contract delays hit TATA growth
Another commercial player in the National Programme for IT, TATA Consultancy Services (TCS), has reported lower than average financial figures that confirm implementation delays. TCS, an international outsourcing firm headquartered in Mumbai, India, reported an unusual revenue slowdown in their European operations, which they attributed to delays in implementing core solutions within the NHS. TCS […]
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Siemens chosen for eye screening in Scotland
NHS Scotland has signed a deal with Siemens Medical Solutions to supply the screening module of its Soarian web-based electronic patient record system for diabetic retinopathy screening. Siemens will be supplying the web-based architecture to store and transfer images and patient records, and NHS Scotland will be responsible for setting up the infrastructure. "The project […]
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NI GPs fear raid on computer money
GPs in Northern Ireland say money earmarked for primary care IT has been subject to huge delays and fear the funds could now be used for non-IT projects. The Northern Ireland LMCs’ conference this week unanimously passed a motion calling for an inquiry into why £5million pledged for primary care IT was not released until […]
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Systems choice was a ‘geographical absurdity’
Professor Mike Pringle, one of the clinical leads for the national programme for IT, has described the previous arrangements on GP choice of system as a "geographical absurdity" that had become a barrier to success. Professor Pringle said that last month’s decision to allow GPs to choose from a wider range of accredited systems was […]
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Cardiff begins roll-out of EHRs for community nurses
Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust has announced that it is rolling out an integrated electronic health record for community nursing and mental health with the intention of creating a fully integrated electronic health record. The contract with in4tek to use its PARIS system was signed in November 2004. Details of the system, which will be […]
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First ETP pilot goes live under the national programme
Ling House Medical Centre and Co-operative Group Pharmacy in Keighley, West Yorkshire, have become the sites to use Electronic Transmission of Prescriptions (ETP) under the National Programme for IT. A limited initial ETP service, which uses the Patient Demographic Service of the NHS Spine, went live on 21 February allowing patient prescriptions to be electronically […]
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GPs get a voice
New efforts are to be made by the NPfIT to engage GPs. E-Health Insider Primary Care talks to Dr Gillian Braunold, joint GP clinical lead for the programme.
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