Checked out
NHS Direct and Digital Public were winners at the E-Health Insider Awards 2009 in association with BT. Paul Curran reports.
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Sites link up for mental health ratings
The patient feedback site Patient Opinion has linked up with NHS Choices to enable patients to comment online on mental health services. The partnership between the Department of Health’s flagship website and Patient Opinion is due to be launched today by care services minister Phil Hope. The DH said the partnership means service users, carers […]
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Continua demos in Las Vegas
The Continua Health Alliance has announced its first end-to-end connected health solution, based on Continua architecture standards. The Alliance, which is a non-profit, open industry organisation of more than 220 healthcare and technology organisations across the world, said the development is a significant milestone in its aim to create an ecosystem of interoperable telehealth solutions. […]
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US publishes ‘meaningful use’ criteria
The first draft criteria for the federal funding of electronic health records as part of the US’ recovery plans have been published. The eagerly awaited initial eligibility criteria were published at the end of December by The Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator. They are set out in a 700-page plan […]
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That was the year that was: 2009
DH shifts IT from ‘replace’ to ‘connect’
NHS informatics in England will move from a “replace all” to “connect all” philosophy, the Department of Health has announced. Informatics planning guidance for 2010-11 says an updated strategic direction for informatics will be developed over the coming months to reflect the change in emphasis. The guidance says a new direction has also been agreed for […]
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A year in the life of TPP
NHS needs better trained prescribers
Doctors are to be formally tested on their knowledge of medicines before they graduate, it has been announced. The British Pharmacological Society (BPS) says that prescribing is the core business of the NHS, but skill levels have lagged for too long and known problems have not been addressed. The Society says current training in prescribing […]
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What’s going on, Darling?
NPfIT was going to be scrapped. Then it wasn’t. Sarah Bruce reports on Pre-Budget Report chaos.
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Brown streamlines government with IT
Gordon Brown has outlined plans to encourage much greater use of information, online services and text messaging in the NHS as part of a public sector information revolution that he claims will save £3 billion a year. The Prime Minister told the Smarter Government conference today that the UK was entering the “third generation of […]
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