Waiting to connect
How soon will GP2GP transfer be possible? EHI Primary Care looks at progress so far, and how much of the NPfIT needs to be in place before it becomes operational.
Feature
Fingers point the way forward for patient ID
A group of practices that won an IT innovations award have begun to install a fingerprint identification system that allows patients access to their own records. The Staffa Health Centre, Tibshelf, Derbyshire, became the first of the award-winning practices to install the Patient Electronic Records Systems (PAERS) last week. The system uses touch screen kiosk […]
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NPfIT issues rebuttal of EMIS’s claims
The National Programme for IT (NPfIT) has stated that it is ‘concerned’ about statements made by primary care systems supplier EMIS in a bulletin to customers this week entitled ‘The truth about EMIS and the National Programme for IT’. In the response, issued today, the programme refuted EMIS’s claims it has been frozen out of the programme, […]
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Live appointment booking cuts waiting times
The introduction of a live patient booking system has resulted in a dramatic reduction of waiting lists and missed appointments for specialist therapy care in Leicestershire, according to the software manufacturers. Ethitec, makers of the Tiara 9 specialist administration, records and appointment-booking software, have claimed that introducing a live appointments system based in a call […]
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Vision users told they cannot be forced to switch
The National Vision User Group (NVUG), the independent body that represents users of InPractice Systems Vision primary care system has written to all Vision users to emphasise that there is no basis for anyone to force practices to switch away from using the Vision system. Published by the NVUG after a national meeting in early […]
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Children’s e-health strategy focuses on shared records
An information strategy published as part of the new Children’s and Maternity Services National Service Framework focuses on how health information about children held on the NHS Care Records Service could be shared with social care and education bodies, and what role the National Programme for IT, NHS trusts and local service providers have to play. The […]
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EMIS users urged to protest about systems choice
The head of the EMIS National User Group (NUG) has written to all EMIS users calling on them to lobby their MPs, local Primary Care Trusts or Local Medical Committees to express their concerns about National Programme for IT (NPfIT) strategy on choice of GP systems. The letter from Dr Manpreet Pujara, chair of EMIS NUG, […]
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First QMAS system fully approved in NPfIT pilot
The National Programme for IT have rubber-stamped the first clinical software system for use with the new Quality Management and Analysis System (QMAS) being piloted this summer. HealthyGP, from Healthy Software, achieved official NPfIT certification for supplying GMS Contract Submissions prior to the formal introduction of the system in April 2005. EMIS is also piloting […]
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Doctors’ support for NPfIT tailing off, says survey
A new survey has revealed that doctors’ support for the aims of the national programme has fallen to 54% from 65% in February, and that the majority of them are still in the dark about its aims. In their biannual poll of doctors, Medix UK asked 400 GPs and 450 hospital doctors about their attitudes to the […]
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Support for Read Codes to end in 18 months
The NHS Terminology Service has announced that the maintenance of Read Codes is to end on 31st December, 2005, to clear the way for the introduction of SNOMED Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) in the NHS Care Records Service. In a notice forwarded with the July 2004 update of the Read Codes, the NHS Terminology Service […]
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