King’s Fund warns on quality measures
Greater use of quality indicators in the NHS could be a powerful tool to improve care, but could also lead to misinterpretation and confusion, the King’s Fund has warned. The health policy think-tank is calling on the NHS to make sure it is clear about the aims of different measures and the audiences at which they […]
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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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Information quality mark launched
The Information Standard accreditation scheme has been launched at the King’s Fund. The Department of Health initiative will award a quality mark to organisations that meet set criteria for producing safe and reliable health and social care information and advice. Organisations will be able to display the mark on their website or literature. The DH says the aim of […]
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King’s Fund: choice yet to drive quality
The government’s choice policy has yet to be fully implemented and has yet to drive quality in the NHS, a study by the King’s Fund has concluded. The results of a survey of patients attending eight NHS trusts and two independent sector treatment centres show that half did not remember being given a choice of […]
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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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Labour’s O’Brien: NHS safe in our hands
Junior health minister Mike O’Brien has claimed that the NHS is “safe in our hands” and that the government will “focus on quality and innovation” to help it through the financial crunch.
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Funding forecast is colder than ever
The NHS would have to make historically unprecedented productivity gains to close the gap between its likely funding after 2011 and the Wanless projections of its future spending needs. According to a report by the King’s Fund and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the health service would need to make gains of between 3.4% and […]
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Doc ratings site moves into charity work
The controversial website iwantgreatcare, which allows patients to rate their doctors, is expanding into other areas of NHS work, in a move that aligns with Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s call for public service users to be able to rate them.
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IT crucial for full engagement, report argues
The NHS needs to make greater use of information and web 2.0 technologies if individuals are to engage more with their health and healthcare, the King’s Fund think-tank has argued. In a report on a round-table involving policy, health service and IT experts, the King’s Fund says the health service needs to adopt new technologies […]
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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.
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