GMC doctor search now shows restrictions
The General Medical Council has updated its search facility so that restrictions on a doctor’s registration are immediately visible online, after it was heavily criticised in a report from last year’s Shipman Inquiry for not showing full information online. The fifth report from the Shipman Inquiry, published last December, called the GMC "unhelpful to the public" for […]
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Ofcom investigates patient phone systems
Patientline has said it will suspend new installations in hospitals pending the outcome of an Ofcom inquiry into complaints about pricing of calls and competitive practices. Ofcom, the independent telecommunications and broadcasting regulator, has announced that it has started an investigation today into prices charged to patients by Patientline and another healthcare communications provider, Premier […]
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Better information on doctors vital, says Shipman report
The GMC needs to improve the information available online about the registration history of doctors and whether any action has been taken against them in the past, the fifth report from the Shipman Inquiry has concluded. Several of the over 100 recommendations made by the fifth report of the Shipman Inquiry relate to making it […]
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Gartner awarded market intelligence contract
The National Programme for IT has awarded a one-year £154,000 contract to IT analysts Gartner to provide it with market intelligence services. The deal follows the award of a £117,000 contract to Ovum for ‘supplier relations’ services in July. According to NPfIT the market intelligence to be supplied by Gartner will help it monitor the […]
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ETP might have blocked Shipman, inquiry says
Electronic transfer of prescriptions (ETP) could have stopped Dr Shipman from prescribing controlled drugs for so long without anybody noticing, the most recent Shipman Inquiry report has found. As long as ETP was made secure, and “all prescriptions, both private and NHS, were recorded on the common spine, there could be greatly improved regulation of controlled drugs,” […]
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Data Improvements Essential to Make GP Monitoring Work
Researchers at Imperial College London have devised a system for monitoring mortality rates which could help to alert authorities to crimes such as the murders committed by GP Harold Shipman and also provide useful feedback on the overall quality of care. However, they caution that data quality improvement is essential. The study, published in the […]
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Joining Up Is Hard To Do
Technology has an important role to play in the realising the ideal of “joined up” public services, but progress has been slow. SA Mathieson explores the problems and the potential. Specialist IT consultant, Stephen Howes, has encountered offices where staff have two terminals on their desks: one connected to the health network and the other […]
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Under 16s Database Recommendation from Climbie Inquiry
A recommendation that the government should actively explore the benefit to children of setting up a database on all under 16s has come from the Victoria Climbie Inquiry published this week. The inquiry report says that within the next two years a feasibility study and a pilot study should be conducted on an under 16s […]
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Survey Challenges Compulsory Patient Data Sharing
A new survey by ICM research finds that 95% of patients said they would not allow civil servants access to their medical records without having been asked first. The research, commissioned by the Patients Association, is published in the week the UK Government is expected to approve new laws that could provide the Secretary of […]
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Government Response to Kennedy Throws Spotlight on Information
A new Office of Information on Health Care Performance is to be set up as part of the government response to the Kennedy Report’s recommendations. The new office will be positioned within the Commission for Health Improvement and will publish “star” ratings to compare the performance of NHS organisations against national targets. Other key measures […]
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