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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National Programme Names LSP and NASP Candidates
The National Programme for IT in the NHS has announced a “longlist” of 31 individual firms and consortia who have won through the first stage of tendering to be Local Service Providers (LSPs) and National Application Service Providers (NASPs) for the programme. The announcement said that 27 candidates had qualified for further consideration for the […]
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NHS Urged to Adopt EAN.UCC Standard
UK-based campaigning group, e.centre, has welcomed a ruling by the US Food and Drug Administration mandating the use of a uniform system for barcoding pharmaceuticals. The pressure is now on for the NHS to follow suit. E.centre is a not-for-profit organisation which acts as the UK authority for the EAN.UCC (European Article Numbering and Uniform […]
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