Good progress towards GP2GP
DH embraces wireless safety technologies
A new strategy document looking at the use of smart wireless wristbands and barcode labelling technologies has been launched by health minister Lord Hunt. The Department of Health believes that auto-identification and data capture (AIDC) technology has the potential to tackle mismatching errors in particular, as well as bringing other efficiencies and cost savings. Lord […]
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Use of NHS Direct website accelerates
NHS Direct’s website had record traffic figures last year, with 13.5m users of the website, an increase of around 30% from 2005. Over the same period the number of people calling the service declined. The health information service, which recently expanded its services to Freeview television, also took around seven million calls in the year, […]
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Rewiring Long Term Care
As major work starts on ‘demonstrators’ for e-enabled long term care, Colin Jervis analyses the challenge.
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NHS Direct patient database approaches first birthday
NHS Direct, the health service’s telephone and online advice service will celebrate the first birthday of its single national database next month, launched in partnership with clinical decision support software (CDSS) specialists, Clinical Solutions. The database records all individual patients who contact the NHS Direct phoneline and holds details of their enquiry and any advice […]
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Intellect to launch telemedicine group
UK IT trade body Intellect has told E-Health Insider that it plans to start a dedicated telehealth group, following its participation in a US telemedicine conference. Representatives from the UK gave a presentation at the Boston Partners Telemedicine Annual Symposium, held at the Harvard Medical Centre on 18-19 September, promoting the British telehealth industry. The […]
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Accenture pulls out of national programme
Accenture has departed from the NHS National Programme for IT, walking away from two contracts worth a total of more than £2bn. The company, which is the second biggest supplier to the national programme, made the announcement before its fourth quarter earnings call today. It is understood that the firm has been unable to reach an agreement with NHS […]
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Finance software taken up by 150 trusts
Public Sector Costing Associates Limited (PSCAL) is celebrating signing up its 150th NHS customer to use its Payment by Results and Cost Management Systems. The company was formed in 2002 by IT consultants Sandra Black and Lizo Ngqobongwana, who responded to calls from NHS staff for a system to assist with the National Schedule of […]
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CSC say they want to take over from Accenture
CSC today confirmed they would compete to take over from Accenture, should the company withdraw from its contracts to the North-east and Eastern cluster of the National Programme for IT. Speaking at a conference in New York, CSC’s chief financial officer, Mike Keane, said: “If the cluster becomes vacant, that would be potential business. We […]
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Road to repair
On the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, US correspondent Neil Versel reports from Louisiana on the use of EHRs in rebuilding healthcare facilities.
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