Catto podcast urges debate on confidentiality
Sir Graeme Catto has recorded a podcast urging doctors to put forward their views on confidentiality, including concerns about electronic records and access to patient data for research. The podcast by the president of the General Medical Council is part of a consultation into the GMC’s new draft guidance on confidentiality, which runs until the […]
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GMC says patient confidentiality ‘is absolute’
Patient confidentiality is absolute; patients must give their consent before their data can be used, General Medical Council president, Sir Graeme Catto, said this week. Speaking at the BCS Primary Health Care Specialist Group summer conference, Sir Graeme said the insistence on consent was a good thing and would foster the partnership approach with patients. […]
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DrThom makes the pill available online
Women can now purchase the contraceptive pill using the online medical service, DrThom without having to go to a doctor. The service will cost £29.99 for a three month supply and will only be made available to women who have taken the pill before. Patients will need to register on the DrThom website, and then […]
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Greater Manchester extends telemedicine pilot
The Greater Manchester and Cheshire Cardiac Network has extended its pilot of a telemedicine ECG service from Broomwell HealthWatch, to ten more PCTs.
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DrThom launch ‘male health’ service online
Men suffering from erectile dysfunction can now seek advice and receive prescriptions from an online treatment service, staffed by clinicians from DrThom and the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The trust is the first NHS body to venture into online treatment, and has partnered with DrThom, the only medical service formally regulated by […]
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Greater Manchester extends telemedicine ECG service
The Greater Manchester and Cheshire Cardiac Network have successfully piloted a new telemedicine ECG service from Broomwell HealthWatch to provide expert cardiology reporting for patients and will now roll the system out to a total of almost 150 practices. The system allows 12-lead ECGs to be carried out in the GP practice by a doctor […]
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DH, GMC and IC issue joint guidance on patient data
The Department of Health, the General Medical Council and the Information Commissioner have issued joint guidance on the use of IT equipment and access to data. The three bodies say the joint statement is intended to ensure that all those who have access to patient information are clear about what is expected of them. The guidance […]
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Internet doctor suspended for nine months
Dr Julian Eden, a GP who ran online service e-med has been suspended from practising for nine months by the GMC following allegations of irresponsible prescribing. As E-Health Insider Primary Care reported last week, Dr Eden appeared before the GMC Fitness to Practice Panel after prescribing betablockers for a 16-year-old boy with a history of self-harm and […]
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New post-Shipman information guidelines issued
The government has released new guidelines on the use of information to ensure NHS organisations have systems and processes in place to protect patient safety. The guidelines form part of the Safeguarding Patients report, released yesterday in response to the fifth Shipman inquiry report, initially released in December 2004. This week’s report also takes into account […]
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‘Secret’ record allegations under investigation
The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, is to investigate allegations that a consultant paediatrician used by the courts as an expert witness, kept thousands of secret files and tampered with children’s medical records from criminal cases he worked on in the last decade. A General Medical Council investigation into the controversial paediatrician Professor David Southall has revealed […]
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