Hine calls for evaluation of flu line
A review of the UK’s response to the swine flu oubreak has urged the Department of Health to commission an independent evaluation of the “highly innovative” National Pandemic Flu Service. The review, chaired by former chief medical officer for Wales Dame Deidre Hine, concluded that the government’s response to the pandemic had been “proportionate and effective” – but […]
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Mexican swine flu mobile app praised
Work to develop swine flu surveys over mobile phones, by Telefónica Mexico and German firm Myriad Group AG, has been shortlisted for ‘messaging application or service: social use’ at the 2010 Global Messaging Awards.
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Swine flu line to close
The National Pandemic Flu Service is to close in a fortnight, the Department of Health has announced. The DH has decided that both the web and telephone service will be discontinued simultaneously at 1am on Thursday, 11 February. Ian Dalton, national director of NHS Flu Resilience, wrote to primary care trust and hospital chief executives […]
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Microtest supports swine flu vaccination
GP system supplier Microtest has launched a swine flu reporting service to help GP practices deliver the swine flu vaccination programme. The system supplier said users of Microtest Evolution and Practice Manager 2 were being saved the task of identifying at risk patients on their clinical systems. The company said its new service automatically checks […]
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Google spreads Flu Trends
Google has expanded its Flu Trends tracking tool to include 16 more countries. The company, which launched the free tool in the US in November 2008, had already made the tool available in Australia, New Zealand and Mexico. The latest expansion means it is now tracking the spread of influenza across Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, […]
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Further delays to full flu line service
The full version of the National Pandemic Flu Service may not be available in October as originally planned, despite the chief medical officer predicting that a second wave of swine flu is on its way. Health minister Gillian Merron told the House of Commons in July that the enhanced web and telephone-based NPFS would be available […]
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A tweet way to track disease
Social networking sites could be used to help track flu epidemics and other diseases by collecting information on people who do not go to their doctor, this week’s Health Protection Agency conference heard. Researchers from City University, London, told the annual conference that sites like Twitter and Facebook could be a useful addition to traditional […]
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QoF frozen as part of swine flu deal
No changes will be made to the Quality and Outcomes Framework next year and some indicators will be dropped in 2011-12 under a deal agreed by the British Medical Association and NHS Employers on the swine flu vaccination programme. The UK-wide agreement means GP practices will be paid £10.50 for every patient given the swine flu […]
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Twitter and YouTube to combat Swine Flu
The US Centres for Disease Control is to use a range of online social media tools, including Twitter, YouTube, to help spread flu-protection messages.
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EGMN launches Swine Flu channel
Elsevier Global Medical News (EGMN), the website that serves more than 30 million scientists, students ad health and information professionals worldwide has launched a new channel dedicated to providing information about the H1N1 Swine Flu virus. The channel has been added to the Elsevier Global Medical News (EGMN) wire service division of the International Medical […]
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