Cerner Brings in the Big Guns
Cerner, one of the contenders for local service provider (LSP) contracts to be awarded by the National Programme for IT in the NHS, has announced a major expansion of its UK presence and moved one its most senior executives to London to oversee the operation. The US-based corporation said this week that its chief operating […]
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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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Tablet PC Vs PDA – The Debate Continues (Part 3)
Over the past month E-Health Insider readers have debated the relative merits of PDAs and Tablet PCs in healthcare. This week we publish two further perspectives, in a debate that appears more timely than ever with the announcement of the merger between iSoft and Torex. Which device will the new merged health IT giant be […]
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IT Managers Reveal Fears About National Programme
A survey of NHS IT managers reveals concerns about their ability to carry through the reforms of the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) and fears about their own future within the NHS. There is, however, wide support for the National Programme itself. The poll was conducted by the Association for ICT Professionals in Healthcare (ASSIST) […]
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Virtual Outreach Consultations Evaluated
Virtual outreach consultations across video conference links save time and money for patients but incur greater costs for the NHS than standard outpatient appointments, according to an economic evaluation published in the BMJ . In their discussion of the evaluation and conclusions, however, the researchers speculate that changes in the costs of technology and the […]
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Granger says Failure will be Penalised
NHS IT Director General Richard Granger this week raised the ante for would-be suppliers to the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in the NHS, making clear that penalty clauses would be invoked and damages sought from suppliers that fail to deliver. Speaking at Kable’s Government Computing conference in London on 12 June, Mr Granger stressed […]
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City Selects Doc@Home for Remote Monitoring Trial
City University, London, is to evaluate Doc@Home, a remote online clinical data gathering and healthcare management service provided by Docobo (UK), as part of a European Union (EU)-funded trial of remote clinical monitoring for 300 patients with chronic conditions at four different sites in England, Portugal and Estonia. The work forms part of a project […]
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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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Electronic Social Care Record To Be Phased
The December 2004 target for implementing full electronic social care records (ESCR) is not achievable and the roll-out is now due to take place between 2008-2010, at the same time as the English NHS integrated care record service (ICRS), a conference heard this week. Roger Staton, head of the Social Care Information Policy Unit at […]
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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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