Technology Key to Engaging Children in Healthcare
Making better use of modern communications technologies is a strong strand running through a new government action plan to improve health services for children and young people. Listening, Hearing, Responding sets out detailed plans for increasing the involvement and participation of children and young people in all aspects of their care in the health system. […]
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Home Office to Consult on Smart ID Cards
The Home Office is to publish proposals to introduce identity cards in the UK, based on smart card technology, with Home Secretary David Blunkett expected to announce a six month public consultation on the proposals. Introducing national ID cards was floated by the Home Office in the aftermath of September 11 as a potential guard […]
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DH Outsources IT Services to CSC
The Department of Health has awarded a seven year contract to outsource its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services to Computer Sciences Limited. The new contract, valued in excess of £40 million, covers services including telephony, videoconferencing, desktop and help desk support, and will cover approximately 600 DH staff. The contract has provisions for three […]
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Monaghan Promises IT Procurement Strategy by July
Last week saw the publication of the new NHS IT implementation strategy, ‘Delivering 21st Century IT Support’ , as reported first by E-Health Insider. However, many key questions remain to be answered around how the new relationships with suppliers will work, how procurements can be accelerated and how the whole programme can be rapidly delivered. […]
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South Staffs Launches Community-wide Electronic Records
South Staffordshire Healthcare NHS Trust has gone live with an enterprise-wide, patient information system, PiMS, which provides staff with real time patient information. Supplied by iSOFT the system provides the trusts 3,500 clinicians with access to the computerised details and clinical information of all patients within the 0.5 million local population. The PiMS patient record […]
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iSOFT Acquires Northgate Healthcare Business
Fast growing UK Health IT firm iSOFT has announced that it has agreed to buy rival Northgate Healthcare Business from Northgate for £33 million in cash. The Northgate Healthcare Business is a leading UK vendor of electronic patient record information systems to the acute sector of the NHS. According to iSOFT the acquisition will make […]
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Australia Funds Research into Open Source EHR
The Australian Government has taken another step towards its plan to introduce a ‘lifetime’ electronic health record system following the award of a research and development contract to use open-source technology to make patient health records available on the internet. The R&D contract was awarded to the Distributed Systems Technology Centre (DSTC), and partners, Ocean […]
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Scotland Invests in Joined up Health and Social Care
The Scottish Executive announced last week that it will invest in developing data sharing and common data standards to help provide joined up health and social care as part of a £30 million programme of investment in e-government projects. The funding will be used to support the development of smartcards, data sharing, data standards and […]
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DH Preparing £5 Billion IT Strategy
This week E-Health Insider provides an advance preview of the yet to be released, yet to be approved, draft implementation strategy, "Delivering 21st Century IT Support for the NHS". Two months ago Sir John Pattison announced at Harrogate that a new national strategy for NHS IT, based on common standards, new investment and a new […]
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Health Data Protection Group Formed
The first meeting of the new Health Records and Data Protection Review Group, set up to advise the Government on helping people to gain access to their health records, took place on Friday, 24 May. The group, whose members represent patient groups, health and social care professionals and regulatory bodies, will advise the Government on […]
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