Pharmacists call for GP booking facility
Pharmacy representatives are calling for a ‘Choose and Book’ style system to be set up between pharmacies and GP practices so that pharmacists can book GP appointments for patients. The idea has been proposed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) as part of its submission to the Department of Health’s consultation […]
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N3 connections needed say community pharmacists
Lack of access to smartcards and the N3 network by community pharmacists is jeopardising the roll out of the electronic prescribing service (EPS) and important elements of the new pharmacy contract, according to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). But NHS Connecting for Health has rejected the claim, saying that the EPS is rolling out […]
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Seven pharmacy systems accredited for R1 ETP
Seven out of 11 pharmacy systems have attained technical accreditation for release one of electronic transmission of prescriptions (ETP) according to Connecting for Health (CfH). However technical accreditation does not equate to compliance which will only be achieved once a system has been successfully tested at an initial implementer site. CfH this week posted details […]
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Upgrade leaves practice without consultant letters
A practice has had to run consultations without access to consultants’ letters for almost a month because of an IT problem it says was created by a server upgrade for Choose and Book. Dr Paul Thornton, a GP in Kingsbury, Warwickshire, contacted EHI Primary Care this week after what he described as “extensive attempts” to […]
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ETP should be fully operational by end of 2007
Electronic transmission of prescriptions (ETP) will be deployed over two releases and should be fully operational by the end of 2007, according to Connecting for Health’s newly published implementation strategy. The first release will involve paper and electronic systems working side by side and will be extended from the initial implementation sites to cover practices […]
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Lab survey settles on best LIMS software
A survey conducted of laboratory information systems by consultancy firm Feltham Associates has placed Technidata’s Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) top in customer satisfaction. Dave Simm, general manager of Technidata, said he was "extremely pleased" with the results of the report, calling at a "major vote of confidence" from his users. The TD-Synergy system received […]
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E-health not reaching full potential, says study
An industry study into the takeup of e-health technology within the UK has concluded that health professionals are not taking full advantage of what’s available to them, and that waiting for supporting infrastructure to be put in place by the National Programme for IT is not necessary. The study [PDF, 350K], undertaken by The E-Health Innovation […]
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Lab system supplier gets N3 nod
Labs system software supplier Technidata UK has announced that it has become among the first independent software suppliers to be given the right for their products to connect to N3, the new NHS network being installed under the National Programme for IT. Paul McKenna, implementation and training manager at Technidata UK, told E-Health Insider […]
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CfH poll reveals gaps in staff knowledge of NPfIT
Connecting for Health has announced the results of its own poll among NHS clinicians and managers and allied health professionals into perceptions, opinions and hopes and fears for the National Programme for IT, which has revealed there are still wide differences between clinicians and managers about the awareness of the programme. Front-line staff showed the […]
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Cisco to create N3 for Scotland
Cisco Systems announced this week that it has been awarded a contract by BT to help build the New NHS Network (N3) for NHS Scotland connecting 3,000 NHS locations around the country. Ron MacDonald, principal consultant, national services, NHS Scotland, said: “This project represents one of the biggest information and communications technology procurements ever undertaken by […]
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