Let patients see correspondence, says DH
The Department of Health will be writing to primary care professional bodies, urging them to encourage members to copy patients into correspondence between clinicians. Patients are already entitled to view correspondence relating to their care under The NHS Plan (2000) which says: “Letters between clinicians about individual patient’s care will be copied to the patient […]
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New computer model helps identify patients at risk
A new computer tool that helps clinicians to identify patients with long term conditions who are most at risk of unplanned and unnecessary hospital admissions has been launched by the Department of Health. The Combined Predictive Model has been developed by the King’s Fund, Health Dialog and New York University. It uses accident and emergency, […]
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Don’t opt-out patients by default, GPs advised
GP practices concerned about the confidentiality of patient records under the NHS Care Records Service have been advised not to opt-out all their patients by default. EHI Primary Care has learnt that some GPs are considering adding the code 93c3(refused consent for upload to national electronic shared record) to all patients in order to prevent […]
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Computer therapy to help patients back to work
Ultrasis’s Beating the Blues, a computerised cognitive behavourial therapy software package designed to offer drug-free treatment to patients with depression, is to be used in a government to help people on incapacity benefit back to work. Beating the Blues will be used in two areas in the northwest of England, Lancashire and Liverpool & […]
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Not all patients exercise choice, claims study
The government’s choice agenda risks increasing inequalities because some groups of patients are more heavily influenced by clinical performance than others, according to a health department-commissioned report. The study from the King’s Fund, Understanding Patients’ Choices at the Point of Referral, found that patients with formal educational qualifications were more likely to choose hospitals with higher […]
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Paper sole option for patients opting out of CRS
Patients who wish to opt out of having their information recorded on the NHS Care Records Service will only be able to do so if they are prepared to have paper records, according to a GP who has mounted a long running campaign against the NCRS. Dr Paul Thornton, a GP in Kingsbury, Warwickshire, says […]
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Chester to survey patients on outcomes
The Countess of Chester NHS Trust has signed up to a patient reported outcomes programme run by analytical benchmarking company, CHKS. The hospital has joined the programme in order to listen to patients’ views on the treatment it delivers, and use responses to improve processes and quality of care. Data will be used to help […]
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Renal patients get online records
Health minister Rosie Winterton is to unveil a new site for renal patients that will allow them to manage their conditions online and even view test results. The Renal Patient View (RPV) site, developed by the Renal Exchange Group, has been beta testing in a number of renal units since the end of last year. […]
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Cystic fibrosis patients test out mobile support
Encouraging early results have been seen in trials of a mobile device to support people living with the life-limiting genetic condition, cystic fibrosis. The system, which uses an electronic lung function meter connected to an Xda II from O2, a colour PDA with mini PC capability and a mobile handset an integrated device. The Xda II […]
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Unreliable patients most likely to ask for SMS reminders
Patients most likely to be ‘Did Not Attends’ (DNAs) at outpatient clinics are also the most likely to sign up for text reminders, according to new research. SMS patient appointment reminders can reduce DNAs by up to 30% even if only 20% of patients sign up to receive the service, says a study published by Wireless Healthcare. […]
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