Joint guidance issued on GP system choice
Definitive guidance on the issue of choice of practice systems has been issued which makes it plain that practices should not be forced to switch to a new system until "a clearly better alternative" is available together with a proven route to migration. The new guidance has been jointly produced by the joint IT committee of the […]
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NPfIT helps NHS management consultant bill rise 185%
The government’s rapidly growing bill for management consultancy hit £1 billion last year, double the amount spent the previous year. Among the increases was a 185% increase in NHS expenditure on management consultants. Figures published by the Management Consultancies Association revealed that central government doubled its spending on management consultancy last year to £1 billion, making it […]
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EMIS predicts signing deals with three LSPs
Primary care systems supplier EMIS has said that is confident that EMIS products and services will be available “working via LSPs alongside the NPfIT” in at least three of the five clusters of the national programme. The company has issued no details of the nature of the agreements it expects to reach with the three […]
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Health Language to help NPfIT avoid ‘Tower of Babel’
The National Programme for IT (NPfIT) has signed a deal with Health Language Inc., to provide its Language Engine (LE) technology, to help deliver enterprise-wide clinical terminology services. Under the deal Health Language will provide its LE technology to be used throughout the national programme, including the National Application Service Provider (NASP), delivering the national […]
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NPfIT re-tenders for NHSmail contract
The National Programme for IT has placed an advert in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) seeking a service provider for an email and directory service for the NHS. The advert makes clear that the existing NHSmail service is to be withdrawn. The issuing of the advert follows the decision by NPfIT last […]
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IDX finalises subcontractor agreement with BT for London
IDX Systems Corporation has announced that it had finalised its subcontract agreement with BT to provide clinical information technology systems and services to BT in its role as the London local service provider for the NHS National Programme for IT. BT was awarded a £996 million, 10-year contract by the NHS on 8 December, 2003 […]
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GP choice in IT systems debated
A senior officer from the National Programme for IT said he would have failed and the programme would have failed if a GP was asked to move to an inferior IT system. Duncan McNeil, director of the Design Authority, made his statement at Healthcare Computing 2004 as the last word in a question and answer […]
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Deputy CMO joins national programme
Deputy chief medical officer, Aidan Halligan, has joined the National Programme for IT, taking personal responsibility for delivering clinical engagement and for realising the benefits of improved decision making, quality of treatment and patient safety. The appointment was announced by health minister, John Hutton, on the opening day of Healthcare Computing 2004 in Harrogate. Dr Halligan […]
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National programme says NHSmail was ‘unacceptable’
The National Programme for IT has said that the decision to terminate the £90 million contract with EDS for a national NHS email and directory service, just 18 months after it was signed, was taken because EDS was failing to deliver and take-up of the service too low. With the future of the NHSmail service […]
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Granger terminates EDS’s NHSmail contract
The National Programme for IT has terminated the £90 million NHSmail contract with Electronic Data Systems to provide email and directory services to one million NHS staff. Richard Granger, director-general of NHS IT, last week pulled the plug on the 10-year EDS contract for the NHSmail web-based email service. A national programme spokesperson confirmed to […]
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