One in 10 prescriptions have errors
One in 10 written hospital prescriptions contain mistakes, most are minor and spotted but some are potentially lethal. In many cases the errors result from poor or illegible handwriting, transcribing errors, ambiguous prescriptions or other communication breakdowns. This is the finding of major new research commissioned by the General Medical Council, which says despite the prevalence […]
News
Politicians question major IT projects
Opposition politicians are lining up to promise to scrap major IT projects as the full scale of the coming public spending squeeze becomes apparent. But home secretary Jacqui Smith has indicated that the government plans to press ahead with plans to store communications data and make it available to the emergency services, health and other […]
News
NHS not making enough use of technology
The NHS is failing to make use of everyday technology such as e-mail to deliver reponsive and convenient patient services.
News
CfH clinical lead thinks future may be Lorenzo
NHS Connecting for Health’s clinical lead for hospital doctors has predicted that iSoft’s Lorenzo “could be used more” than Cerner’s Millennium in the future, as web-based technologies come to the fore. Responding to a question at this week’s Primis + conference in Nottingham, Dr Robert Pitcher confirmed that NHS organisations in the South were looking […]
News
60 Second Interview: Nigel Beasley
The latest 60 second interview features Nigel Beasley, the national clinical lead for hospital doctors at NHS Connecting for Health.
Feature
Doctors complain about rating website
Doctors have complained to the Information Commissioner about the doctors’ rating website iwantgreatcare.org. The site www.iwantgreatcare.org was launched last month to enable patients to post comments about individual GPs and patients. However doctors have complained that the site is in breach of the Data Protection Act by including their names on its database and refusing […]
News
New website lets patients rate doctors
Dr Neil Bacon founder of www.iWantGreatCare.org A website has been launched that allows patients to rate individual GPs and hospital doctors and share information about their healthcare experiences. Visitors to the website, can rate their doctor using sliding scales for three questions: ‘Do you trust this doctor? Does this doctor listen? Would you recommend this […]
News
We live in digital times
Nick Timmins, public policy editor of the Financial Times, argues that the NHS has to succeed in digitisatising if it is to last another 60 years.
Feature
DH explains summary and detailed records
Guidance on how the two elements of the NHS electronic patient record – the detailed and summary records – will work in England has been released by the Department of Health. The guidance re-iterates that only the Summary Care Record (SCR) will be a national system, and that patients can opt-out from data being visible […]
News
Vital signs system monitors patients electronically
A new hand-held computer system called VitalPAC, which allows staff to input patients’ vital signs electronically from the bedside, has been deployed at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust. VitalPAC is a software system designed by hospital improvement specialist The Learning Clinic in conjunction with Microsoft and the trust, which records, stores and analyses vital signs data, […]
News