NAO says out-of-hours management information poor
Management information on out-of-hours services is poor, caused partly by problems with IT systems and compounded by inadequate telephone systems in some areas, the National Audit Office (NAO) has reported. In its 48 page review of how new arrangements for out-of-hours care have worked since the vast majority of GPs opted out in 2004, The Provision […]
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Telemedicine makes weak impact on outpatient waits
Evidence for the effectiveness of telemedicine in the UK is weak, according to a new report examining strategies for improving outpatient waiting times. Outpatient Services and Primary Care, a study by the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre (NPCRDC) based in Manchester, examines four alternative approaches for improving outpatient efficiency and effectiveness. It concludes […]
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Birmingham ‘OwnHealth’ project begins
Up to 2000 patients with long term conditions are to be enrolled in a telephone-based care management system from this week as part of a programme funded jointly by the NHS and a pharmaceutical company. Birmingham OwnHealth, an ‘assertive care management programme’, was launched in Eastern Birmingham East and Birmingham North PCTs this week and […]
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Two new PCT reporting tools launched
Two new web-based reporting tools to help primary care trusts and GPs deliver practice–based commissioning have been launched. Medical data firm Dr Foster Intelligence says its PBC tool will provide GPs with activity and financial statements as well as benchmarking data with information for all trusts in England and many independent sector treatment centres. Another PBC […]
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Middlesbrough PCT offers reporting software for free
Middlesbrough PCT has developed a browser-based statistical reporting system for Practice Based Commissioning and is making it available for free to any other PCT. The Middlesbrough PCT Information, Data and Statistics (MIDAS) programme allows GPs and practice managers to see visual representations of a large number of statistics, including inpatient and outpatient activity, payment by […]
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Rant or rate?
A NHS-backed social software project is helping patients give feedback online directly to healthcare organisations, finds Fiona Barr.
Feature
Sentinel enables Sedgefield PCT to log incidents online
Sedgefield Primary Care Trust is reported to have seen a dramatic increase in the reporting of patient safety incidents since the introduction of a web-based reporting tool twelve months ago. Since the PCT started using a web-based incident reporting and reporting tool called Sentinel it has seen a 500% increase in patient safety incident reporting. […]
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Authorities flag up problems ahead for C+B plans
Health authorities have until the middle of March to submit plans for meeting the government’s Choose and Book targets but some are already highlighting major threats to the achievement of the milestones. Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority has put its chances of achieving the Choose and Book targets at ‘red status’ and highlighted the […]
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MHRA implements adverse drug reaction software
The government’s medicines safety agency has implemented new software to improve management of adverse drug reaction (ADR) data reported by GPs and patients and to flag up and prioritise potential medicine safety issues. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) began last week to use new software from Lincoln Technologies to analyse data from […]
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White paper outlines IT role in community services
Patients will be able to complete an online self-assessment of their health and send it electronically to their GP to be stored as part of their record, under plans outlined in this week’s white paper on care outside hospital. The white paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: A New Direction for Community Services, outlines a […]
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