EC looks to mainstream telehealth
Members of the European Commission have said that they intend to set up an action plan to deal with the challenges of an ageing population and make telehealth more mainstream. Speaking at the London Telehealth Symposium earlier this year, three EC civil servants told the audience that the eHealth industry, had been allocated funds by […]
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Italy develops chronic disease tools
The Italian health service is aiming to make use of its IT to create an integrated tool to improve care for people with chronic conditions, a Ministry of Health official has announced. The ministry’s general director for information systems, Walter Bergamaschi told the recent World Health Congress in Barcelona that elderly people required a different mix […]
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Researchers warn NPfIT delays risking patient safety
Lack of effective communication and delivery delays are leaving trusts disenfranchised and weakening local commitment to rolling out the National Programme for IT creating risks to patient safety, leading academics have warned. Competing priorities, lack of financial resources and repeated delays in the delivery of new systems are all said to be hindering efforts by […]
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EMIS seeks 100 pilot practices for patient record access
A patient record access group is looking for 100 EMIS practices to take part in a pioneering project allowing patients to view their medical records over the internet. The Record Access Collaborative, run by South-east London GP Dr Brian Fisher and funded by EMIS, has been testing patient record access in an informal project involving […]
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OECD countries need ehealth to reform
The vision of eHealth records being accessible in different European Union countries and beyond is now being looked at by many different countries, according to the OECD’s Martine Durand. Speaking at the recent Berlin E-health conference she said "All OECD countries are facing challenges meeting the pressures in their healthcare systems. They are all struggling with questions […]
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DH, GMC and IC issue joint guidance on patient data
The Department of Health, the General Medical Council and the Information Commissioner have issued joint guidance on the use of IT equipment and access to data. The three bodies say the joint statement is intended to ensure that all those who have access to patient information are clear about what is expected of them. The guidance […]
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NHS 24 faces legal action over patient deaths
NHS 24, the Scottish health helpline service, is being sued for £750,000 damages by the partner of a man who died of toxic shock. Kerry Robertson is claiming that the helpline’s neglect contributed to the death of 30 year-old Steven Wiseman. It is the first time that the helpline service has been sued for medical […]
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100 practices to rollout patient access on the net
Patient access to medical records over the internet is to be rolled out to 100 practices. Hadfield Medical Centre in Glossop, Derbyshire, was the first GP practice to enable to a patient to view their medical record over the internet just under a year ago and since then eight other practices have joined the project. […]
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Survey shows small improvement in patient choice
More patients are remembering being offered choice, according to the latest results of the Department of Health’s National Patient Choice Survey. Over 75,000 patients, referred to hospital by their GP, responded to the July survey between the 17 and 30 July, with 35% indicating that they were offered a choice of hospitals, up 5% from […]
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Wearable patient monitor transmits over WiFi
A new wireless monitor which is worn by the patient has been developed by German medical equipment manufacturers Dräger Medical. The Infinity TeleSmart system (below) has similar functionality to a full-sized monitor but still can be worn on the patient’s body. Like a normal telemetry device, it is attached to the patient’s skin with plasters and collects data such […]
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