Coming soon…health advice on digital TV
By next Christmas, many viewers with digital televisions will be able to access hangover cures and other healthy advice from the NHS on their screens between re-runs of the Great Escape and seasonal episodes of Only Fools and Horses. The Department of Health announced today that MMTV Ltd, a company specialising in interactive TV […]
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Internet has blown away library walls
The Internet has blown away the walls of libraries as effectively as Semtex, Dr Muir Gray, director of the National electronic Library for Health, told a conference of NHS IT and informatics professionals in London this week. But the new online world leaves those seeking information about health with a choice of literally thousands of […]
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CHI praises NHS Direct
The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) has given a positive assessment of the 24 hour health information and advice line, NHS Direct, saying that it is a successful service valued by the public and has staff that are proud to work for it. CHI’s sector report on the service covers 20 out of the […]
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Leeds trust wins technology award
Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust has won the BT-sponsored Health Service Journal Award for “Improving Care with e-Technology” with a project that succeeded in making e-commerce work and contributed benefits worth £425,000 in its first year. The trust says that the project, E-Commerce in Action, is allowing its procurement service to link and streamline all its […]
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Nhs.uk to provide information for Patient Choice
Patients will be encouraged to use the NHS online service, nhs.uk, to gather information about NHS hospitals when they are making choices about treatment. The NHS Information Authority announced this week that the online service had been chosen by the Department of Health as the channel for giving patients the information they need to select […]
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Men and New Parents are Enthuasists for NHS Direct
Men and new parents – two groups who often find the NHS unfriendly – appear to be some of the more enthusiastic users of NHS Direct, according to a qualitative study of callers’ interactions with the national telephone helpline. The research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and conducted by Professor Gerard Hanlon […]
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Dedicated Website Launched For OOH Modernisation
The NHS out-of-hours (OOH) modernisation programme has set up a dedicated website offering policy and technical information and news updates. The aim of OOH modernisation is to ensure that, by December 2004, a single phone call to NHS Direct will be the one-stop gateway to out-of-hours healthcare. Where necessary calls will be passed on to […]
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European Award for NHS Direct Online
Health advice and information portal, NHS Direct Online, was chosen as one of four winners of the first eEurope Awards for e-Health at a recent ceremony in Brussels. The awards were presented at a conference of 33 ministers responsible for ehealth in the European Union, European Economic Area and acceding countries. The winners were chosen […]
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New Forum to Support Interoperability Standards
A new Health Care Interoperability Forum (HCIF) has been set up to actively support the design of interoperability standards covering over 90 data flows which occur in the patient’s journey through the UK health system. The forum says its members are drawn from all the leading GP, out of hours and NHS Direct system suppliers […]
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NHS Direct “Will More than Double” by 2006
NHS Direct is set to more than double in size, handling 16 million calls by 2006. The service is also due to launch a personal health organiser on its Internet service, NHS Direct Online, to enable members of the public to store key health information. Announcing the plans, health minister, John Hutton, said, “NHS Direct […]
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