Hammersmith & Fulham Integrate Care Electronically
Nationally, health and social services suffer from a lack of integrated IT systems. However, a few local authorities have started to innovate in linking the two, writes SA Matthieson. One is the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which has developed a Joint Electronic Transfer (Jet) extranet project, designed to allow doctors to view social services […]
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NHS to Introduce Own Gateway Reviews
The Department of Health is to introduce its own Gateway Review process to examine major NHS IT and building projects, modelled on the Gateway Review mechanism developed by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). E-Health Insider understands that the new arrangement, expected to be announced at Public Sector Expo this week, is a compromise, under […]
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Mandatory Shared Financial Services Dropped
Plans to save up to £500m a year in NHS administration costs through the introduction of a next generation standardised NHS-wide finance system are in serious doubt following the Government’s decision not to mandate the adoption of shared financial services. The decision to drop implementation of two central pillars of the shared services initiative coincided […]
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Motion Media Selected for Belgium ‘Telehealth’
Videophones designed by UK visual technology specialists Motion Media Technology are to be used to deliver ‘telehealth’ services in Belgium under a new distribution and licensing agreement signed with Belgian telehealth specialists Proxihealth Technics. Proxihealth Technics has selected Motion Media’s complete range of video communication products to complement its existing portfolio of telemedicine solutions and […]
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NHS Direct “Will More than Double” by 2006
NHS Direct is set to more than double in size, handling 16 million calls by 2006. The service is also due to launch a personal health organiser on its Internet service, NHS Direct Online, to enable members of the public to store key health information. Announcing the plans, health minister, John Hutton, said, “NHS Direct […]
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Budget 2003:Chancellor Stands By Spending Plans
Chancellor Gordon Brown this week reaffirmed public spending plans due to deliver 7.2% growth in NHS spending over the next five years, including unprecedented investment in healthcare IT. Delivering the 2003 Budget, he told the Commons, “We have not been, and will not be, diverted from increasing investment on our health and public services at […]
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The National IT Programme: Readers Have Their Say
At HC2003 NHS IT director-general Richard Granger said that he wanted a debate about whether there were viable alternatives to the direction of travel set out by the National Programme. Though he made clear that he believed the route set out was the best way to ensure delivery, he added it was not too late […]
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National Programme ‘Mobilises’ for Delivery
The shape of things to come on NHS IT started to become clearer during the course of Healthcare Computing with a series of key announcements made on how and when the NHS IT Programme is moving from its initial ‘mobilisation phase’ to focus on delivery, and the key personnel who will be responsible. Five Local […]
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‘Trust Me’, I’m the Director-General
NHS Director-General of IT Richard Granger this week used his first major public speech to make a personal appeal to the NHS IT community, clinicians and suppliers to rally behind him and back his route map for modernising NHS IT. In a keenly anticipated announcement he told a packed audience at HC 2003 in Harrogate […]
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DH Shapes Up National IT Structures
The "Who Does What" debate at the top level of healthcare IT continues but the HC2003 audience at Harrogate this week got a glimpse on the shape of things to come for the NHS Information Authority (NHSIA), the Information Policy Unit (IPU) and the National IT Programme Department of Health (DH) director of research, information […]
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