Suppliers advised to develop standalone software
Connecting for Health (CfH) has confirmed that it is advising its suppliers to develop standalone versions of their applications, not reliant on the NHS Spine, in order to prevent further implementation delays. A CfH spokesperson told E-Health Insider that the spine remained an "important component of the strategy that the National Programme for IT is […]
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Patients becoming apprehensive of NHS CRS
Patients are contacting their GPs with concerns about the confidentiality of their data held on GP computer systems as awareness about the NHS Care Records Service spreads, according to the British Medical Association’s GP committee. The General Practitioner Committee says patients are beginning to ask about the government’s plans for a central care record and […]
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Patients to get veto on details recorded to spine
Patients may after all be allowed to decide to withhold sensitive information from the central electronic record system, known as the spine record, being developed by the NHS. At a BMA conference next week Connecting for Health, the agency responsible for delivering new electronic patient record systems, is expected to announce details of a "patient […]
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Data spine could form part of 2011 Census
Data in the 2011 census could come from patient records held on the National Programme for IT, according to a consultation document released by the Office for National Statistics. "Detailed information on health conditions and treatments" from the data spine may be incorporated in the next 10-yearly census, the document suggests, providing the system is […]
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Data quality vital to electronic transfer of prescriptions
Keighley, the first pilot site for electronic transfer of prescriptions (ETP), has found that before new national systems can be used, staff must first fully reconcile any discrepancies between patient details from the local practice system and the patient demographic details held on the NHS Spine. Being first to implement ETP meant Keighley had to […]
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No show from iSOFT at GP2GP transfer meeting
One of the leading GP system suppliers has been criticised after dropping out of a demonstration of GP2GP record transfer functionality to national GP representatives. iSOFT was due to demonstrate its progress in developing GP2GP functionality alongside GP system suppliers EMIS and InPractice Systems last week at the British Medical Association’s GP committee meeting. However […]
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Data migration hurdles detailed in leaked report
The complex task of transferring data from existing GP clinical systems into systems supplied under NHS Connecting for Health (CfH) contracts is costing twice as much and taking twice as long in the North East and Eastern clusters compared to London, a confidential report leaked to EHI shows. However, the report also found that the […]
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‘Connect with GPs’ call for IT modernisers
A GP magazine has called on Connecting for Health (formerly the National Programme for IT) to connect with its readers following a survey of NHS IT modernisation. Pulse magazine says respondents to its Agenda 2005 survey condemned the government’s "entire approach to IT." It says half of 1003 respondents felt the government’s IT policy ‘badly’ […]
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Paper records only opt-out available to patients
The government’s policy allowing patients to opt out of the NHS Care Records Service is based on the decision that patients who do so will not be able to have any computerised records at all, according to the GP who was at the heart of national publicity about the issue last week. Dr Paul Thornton, […]
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Systems choice was a ‘geographical absurdity’
Professor Mike Pringle, one of the clinical leads for the national programme for IT, has described the previous arrangements on GP choice of system as a "geographical absurdity" that had become a barrier to success. Professor Pringle said that last month’s decision to allow GPs to choose from a wider range of accredited systems was […]
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