EU project looks at DNA link to patient records
A telemedicine project funded by the European Union has been looking at ways of matching patients in emergency situations with their electronic records using their DNA. The DICOEMS project was set up to help integrate healthcare databases through means of a grid system, with a view to making more information available for paramedics and in […]
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E-mail reveals outage disrupted patient care
One week on from the computer failure that left 80 trusts in the North-west and West Midlands without access to their IT systems the extent of the disruption to patient care of the biggest ever NHS IT failure is coming to light. Despite claims to the contrary by NHS Connecting for Health, E-Health Insider has […]
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PM hopes for millionth C+B patient next month
The Prime Minister has said that he hopes the millionth patient to use the Choose and Book system will make his or her appointment in September. The brief mention of the NHS e-booking scheme came as part of the Prime Minister’s monthly press briefing in Downing Street. It was a piece of good news offered […]
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CSC helps cut patient referral times
A new strategic patient administration system installed at a primary care trust in North Manchester has helped to slash the time taken for new referrals to be registered for podiatry clinics. According to figures from Computer Sciences Corportation (CSC), which installed the iSoft iPM patient administration system (PAS), North Manchester PCT has seen the average waiting time for a new […]
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Kiosks have potential for patient feedback
Interactive technology kiosks have the potential to provide healthcare professionals with reliable and valid daily feedback on the quality of the healthcare service their patients are experiencing, according to a study of their use at a Scottish hospital. The finding comes from an evaluation by the Picker Institute, which specialises in patient surveys, and Intouch […]
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PCTs start transferring patient records by CD
Practices from two primary care trusts in Hertfordshire are about to start transferring patients records on CD, ahead of the arrival of the national GP2GP record transfer project. St Albans & Harpenden and Hertsmere PCTs have set up a system that allows practices to send and receive CD-ROMs holding the entire patient record including attachments. […]
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Interactive patient kiosks offer real-time feedback
A new study has concluded that interactive patient information kiosks can provide healthcare professionals with reliable and timely feedback on the quality of the healthcare their patients are experiencing. The findings come from an evaluation of touch screen computers and kiosks carried out by NHS research specialists the Picker Institute and Intouch with Health. The […]
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Birmingham and Solihull extends patient RFID tagging
Birmingham’s Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust has announced that it is to further expand its trial of tagging surgical patients with RFID wristbands. E-Health Insider reported in October 2004 the trials of a tagging system in the ENT department of the Heart of England trust, then called Birmingham Heartlands and Solihill NHS Trust. Patients arriving […]
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Warning on patient data from medicines reviews
Pharmacists are being warned not to e-mail medicines use reviews to GPs until concerns over confidentiality have been addressed. The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee says there has been an “exponential increase” in the number of medicines use reviews (MURs) currently being carried out by pharmacists and that many GPs have asked to receive the MUR […]
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NHS domain block causing bounced patient e-mail
E-mails to nhs.uk addresses from patients may be being blocked due to the inclusion of nhs.uk on a site used by some hosting services to stop spam and invalid emails, E-Health Insider has learned. The problem has affected at least one GP practice, East Quay Medical Centre in Bridgwater, Somerset. They have found that e-mails meant for them […]
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