Brown promises to unlock NHS data
Gordon Brown has promised to “radically open up data and public information.” Launching the ‘Putting the frontline first: smarter government’ report, Brown said “great detail” about how hospitals perform would be put online during 2010. He said the information would “encourage feedback and dialogue between professional and citizen” and help “to benchmark the best and […]
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Brown streamlines government with IT
Gordon Brown has outlined plans to encourage much greater use of information, online services and text messaging in the NHS as part of a public sector information revolution that he claims will save £3 billion a year. The Prime Minister told the Smarter Government conference today that the UK was entering the “third generation of […]
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£130m for telecare and home help
The government has pledged to invest £130m in initiatives such as telecare and home adaptations as part of its free personal care measures outlined in the Queen’s Speech.
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Arctic blast
A think-tank recently ranked its funding forecasts for the NHS from ‘tepid’ to ‘arctic.’ Sarah Bruce asks what that will mean for healthcare IT.
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Lord Darzi quits government
Lord Darzi is to resign as a health minister but to retain a role as a government advisor. Downing Street said he wanted to give up his ministerial duties to spend more time "on his clinical role and academic research". Lord Darzi was one of a number of non-politicians brought into government by Gordon Brown […]
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DH to review hand-held devices
The Department of Health is to review the market for hand-held devices for community-based staff, with a view to issuing guidance to primary care trusts on what is available. The review was announced in a “progress report” on the final report of Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review of the NHS, which was published a year […]
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Brown plans for ‘entitlements’
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has outlined plans to give public service users new "entitlements", while promising a tougher NHS performance management regime and massive efficiency savings. Building Britain’s Future says the NHS will be reformed by moving from a system primarily based on targets and central direction to one in which individuals have "enforceable" entitlements over the service […]
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Berners-Lee to advise on public data use
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the man widely credited with inventing the world wide web, is to advise the UK government on public information delivery. Sir Tim will head a panel of experts who will advise the Minister of the Cabinet Office on how the government can best use the internet to make non-personal public data as […]
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Government turns up the heat on patient power
The government has set out its vision for the future shape of public services, which includes giving patients greater choice and control over their care and more opportunities to input their own experiences. In a white paper published today, Working Together- Public Services On Your Side , the prime minister Gordon Brown says he aims […]
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Data Sharing Review has messages for the NHS
Patients who consent to a course of treatment should be presumed to have given “implied consent” to having their data used for medical research, a review of data sharing across government has concluded. The NHS should also develop a system to allow approved researchers to identify patients who would be happy to take part in […]
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