NHS electronic appraisals to be extended
An online package for filling out NHS appraisals is to be extended from GPs and consultants to more levels of staff, namely staff and associate specialists and non-consultant career grades. The NHS Appraisal Toolkit allows doctors to prepare their documentation at both pre- and post-appraisal, keep an “electronic appraisal record" and also share the signed-off […]
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Children’s e-health strategy focuses on shared records
An information strategy published as part of the new Children’s and Maternity Services National Service Framework focuses on how health information about children held on the NHS Care Records Service could be shared with social care and education bodies, and what role the National Programme for IT, NHS trusts and local service providers have to play. The […]
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Pharmacies may soon open online, says DH
The Department of Health have announced that solely internet-based pharmacies may soon be allowed to open in the UK and process prescriptions. A paper published by the DH regarding deregulation of pharmacy services in the UK promises an exemption to mail-order or internet-based pharmacies as long as “such pharmacies provide a fully professional service within […]
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MRSA reporting to be improved by electronic lab link
Long-standing data quality problems with recorded occurrences of MRSA may be improved by the introduction of electronic incident reporting systems in laboratories, rather than focusing on trying to improve the current paper-based incident reporting that relies on the postal system, E-Health Insider has learned. Mandatory reporting is already undertaken by trusts, which send aggregated details of incidents to […]
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Treasury plans £6.8bn NHS savings through IT
Today’s Gershon report, “Releasing resources to the front line: Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency", has said that IT reform is critical to the NHS achieving its target of saving of £6.8bn by 2008. The report was published on the same day that Chancellor Gordon Brown announced the Treasury’s 2004 spending review in Parliament, which […]
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Private sector to help IT innovation in new scheme
An initiative launched by the DH yesterday aims to encourage the sharing of innovative ideas between individual NHS organisations in England, with the support of the private sector. Information technology will be one of the main areas of innovation to be covered. NHS Live is a year long programme intended to improve the quality of patients’ experience by developing tailor-made personal […]
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Patient and clinical advisory boards to be replaced
A new Care Record Development Board (CRDB) is to be created to help ensure NHS IT helps deliver better patient care. The new body will replace the National Programme for IT’s Patient Advisory Board (PAB) and National Clinical Advisory Board (NCAB). The CRDB will be chaired by Harry Clayton the Department of Health’s director for […]
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BMA asks for clarity on care record issues
Doctors at the British Medical Association’s Annual Representative Meeting at Llandudno have demanded that the NHS Care Records System should not be fully implemented until issues over accuracy, consent and data protection are ironed out. The motion, proposed by Dr Mary Hawking from the South Bedfordshire Division, asked that “before total dependence on joint electronic patient […]
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Big savings for NHS PASA through internet auctions
A report published today has shown that the NHS Purchasing And Supply Agency’s (PASA) pilot of eAuctions has been a resounding success, with savings of up to 80% in some areas – leading Health Minister Lord Warner to admit that the DH probably ought to have “engaged in them earlier." An enthusiastic Lord Warner, speaking […]
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Blair: Choose and Book historic development
Tony Blair has defended the development of the NHS’s Choose and Book programme, the new name for the new NHS e-booking service, at Prime Minister’s question time as the deadline for the first live e-booking looms closer. Speaking on 16 June, Blair said: "It is this government, for the first time in the context of […]
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