Pacemaker sends SMS to warn of heart problems
A Dutch university medical centre has carried out the first patient implant of a pacemaker system that sends out SMS messages or faxes if it detects heart irregularities, and can also upload heart monitoring data to the internet. The Philos II DR-T Dual-Chamber Pacemaker with Home Monitoring (right, top), manufactured by Biotronik, can be configured […]
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Outside the inbox
Chris Booth, who has been working with SMS and healthcare for several years, says that text messaging can do more than reducing DNAs; it’s an effective tool for patient engagement.
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SIMpill solution for missed drug doses
A GP in South Africa who runs an SMS appointment reminder service, has gone one better and unveiled a pill bottle that sends text messages to patients or carers if the owner forgets to take their drugs on time. SIMpill (right) consists of a bottle with a battery, SIM card, transmitter and chip set that […]
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DH focuses on ‘self care’ through IT services
The DH have announced the release of a guidance document for supporting self-care of long-term conditions, such as diabetes, that include use of e-mail and SMS to ease pressure on GPs and A&E departments by up to 50%. ‘Self Care – A Real Choice’ represents a recognition by the DH that initiatives such as multi-media […]
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InPS SMS upgrade allows for care service alerts
In Practice Systems (InPS) has announced an extension to its Vision system that will allow general practices not only to send out text messages to remind people of appointments but also to inform patients of flu vaccinations and other care services. The Patient Care Messaging (PCM) system sends messages through an external internet gateway called […]
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SMS reminds patients of upcoming appointments
A new system that sends GP appointment reminders to patients over SMS which partially integrates into existing electronic appointment record systems is being piloted in North London. iPlato’s Patient Care Messaging (PCM) system runs over Orange’s gateway services and has a server system hosted in NHSnet. It collates data from each clinical system and then […]
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C&W win NHS email and directory contract
Cable & Wireless is the new contractor appointed to manage central e-mail and directory services for the NHS, the Department of Health (DH) announced today. A spokesman for the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) confirmed that the nine year contract was worth £29.3m with the current user base which stood at 65,000 (25,000 active users) last […]
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Best of European E-Health Announced
The 2004 awards for the best e-health projects in Europe have been announced, with three winners chosen from over 32 projects from across Europe. Sponsored by the European Commission, the eEurope Awards for eHealth were presented at the eHealth Europe Conference, held in Cork, Ireland, on 6 May. The winners were chosen from 32 different finalists […]
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NHSmail, a doctor’s tale
Hospital doctor, Andrew Harrison, who was a computer programmer before switching to medicine, signed-up with NHSmail recently. Here’s his description of the “not entirely positive” experience. My existing email service is about to be discontinued, so it is fortuitous that the first application delivered by the National Programme is an "email address for life" for […]
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Open Source: ‘Rescue Community Nurses from IT Exile’
In the second of our new ‘Open Source’ columns Mark Reynolds, managing director of TopCall UK argues for community nurses to be urgently provided with modern IT tools to end their ‘communications exile’. According to research by Intel, Hewlett Packard and Sendmail, the mobile nursing community is one of the most ostracised of all British […]
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