Videophones to Link Deaf, Interpreters and Health Professionals
A new remote sign language interpretation service which uses a network of videophones to provide interpretation services in consultations between health professionals and deaf people, has been launched by the Leicester Centre for Deaf People. The telecare initiative, backed by Leicestershire Health Authority, is the first such videophone sign translation service to be provided by […]
News
EMIS Launches Electronic Mentor Library
Leading UK primary care systems supplier EMIS has announced the launch of an updated version of its Mentor Library, which will be distributed free as a value- added service to the firms’ 5,000 primary care clients later this month. The Mentor Library can be accessed directly vie the EMIS clinical software, to support decision-making and […]
News
InferMed Partners with BMJ’s Clinical Evidence
The BMJ Publishing Group has teamed up with InferMed, a leading UK provider of clinical software, to assess the feasibility of developing a system that electronically mimics the process that doctors naturally use to make clinical decisions. The two organisations say their shared objective is to develop an electronic clinical decision ‘support system’ to help […]
News
UK Government Warms to Open Source Software
The Cabinet Office has published a consultation paper on use of Open Source Software (OSS) within the UK Government sector –- including the NHS — that concludes the development of OSS represents a fundamental change in the software market. OSS, software whose source code is openly published, is usually available at no charge, and is […]
News
Boxing Day Busiest Ever Day for NHS Direct
NHS Direct, the UK national telephone health advice service, had its busiest ever day on Boxing Bay, as the holiday season took its toll. The top enquiries were for vomiting, fever, coughs and diarrhoea. According to figures reported by the Guardian, the 24-hour nurse-led advice service took more than 24,000 calls on Boxing Day – […]
News
Fitzpatrick Steps Down From Health Media Group
Tony Fitzpatrick has stepped down as chief executive of Health Media Group PLC, the leading UK online health content firm, following the release of a trading statement last week which said revenue will be below market expectations for the full year resulting in an operating loss. The company said the shortfall is the result of […]
News
Milburn Pledges New IT Money and Partnerships
Health Secretary Alan Milburn used a Microsoft-sponsored Department of Health (DH) IT conference attended by Bill Gates to pledge an extra £85m for NHS IT in 2002-2003. Health secretary Alan Milburn admitted on 6 December 2001 that hard pressed hospitals had diverted IT allocations last year to meet other priorities. "I should have earmarked it […]
News
Department of Health awards £325m HR and Payroll Contract
The UK Department of Health (DH) has awarded a £325 million contract — the largest IT contract yet awarded within the NHS — for an integrated HR and payroll system for the NHS in England and Wales to a consortium led by US health IT firm McKesson. The HR and Payroll contract, described as the […]
News
Wanless on Information Technology
The UK health service has a poor record on the use of information and communication technology and spending in this area will need to grow at a faster rate over the next 20 years to catch up and keep up with other countries, according to the Wanless Report on NHS funding. Most of the headlines […]
News
GSK launch Respiratory Channel with Doctors.net.uk
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to support the launch of an online respiratory channel for chest medicine specialists and GPs on Doctors.net.uk, the UK doctor-only online community. The new channel has been developed to provide doctors with interactive information on respiratory medicine. The channel will host a number of online resources, including eContinuing Medical Education, online conferencing […]
News