Broadband Upgrade for NHSnet Signed
The NHS has signed a contract with BT and C&W to provide broadband upgrades to NHSnet, the NHS’s private data network. The total value of the contract between BT and the NHS Information Authority (NHSIA) for the upgraded network is £168m. Funded by the NHSIA, the upgrades will give every GP practice a 256Kbs fixed […]
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CSW Builds HRI Prototype
CSW Health has announced that it has developed a Health Records Infrastructure (HRI) prototype for South Staffordshire Healthcare NHS Trust in support of the NHS Information Authority’s development of a national HRI infrastructure. Currently undergoing final testing the new system, which provides an index of all records held on an individual patient in local clinical […]
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Scottish Universities Lead Virtual Medical School
A group of leading international medical schools, led by Scotland’s University of Dundee, have announced plans to create the world’s first online medical school. More than 50 institutions in 16 countries have helped plan the International Virtual Medical School, which is planned to open in the summer of 2004. All of Scotland’s five medical schools, […]
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IT Strategy – You Have Your Say
E-Health Insider’s request for fantasy IT strategies for the NHS struck a chord with many of you who sent in a range of suggestions over the course of the week. A common theme was the feeling that any new IT strategy must have a strong thread of cultural change and people management, and that a […]
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Virtual Consultations Could Save Unnecessary Tests
A large scale telemedicine trial published in The Lancet demonstrates that virtual outpatient appointments conducted using videoconference technology can reduce unnecessary and duplicated tests and improve patient satisfaction. Unexpectedly, however, the study did not produce a drop in the number of follow up appointments needed after the initial consultation. In fact 52% of patients in […]
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EDS is Preferred Supplier for NHS National e-Mail
EDS was named by the NHS Information Authority this week as the new preferred supplier for the NHS national e-mail service. The IT services multinational, which also handles substantial projects for the Inland Revenue and the Department for Work and Pensions and other government departments, was chosen ahead of Syntegra, the networking arm of British […]
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Survey Challenges Compulsory Patient Data Sharing
A new survey by ICM research finds that 95% of patients said they would not allow civil servants access to their medical records without having been asked first. The research, commissioned by the Patients Association, is published in the week the UK Government is expected to approve new laws that could provide the Secretary of […]
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Medicdirect and Tiscali Join Up for New Health Channel
Medicdirect, the UK health web site with content provided by NHS consultants, has signed up to provide a new health section for European internet company, Tiscali. The partners say the new section on the Tiscali portal offers information on everything from minor ailments to major operations, a virtual body tour and video clips illustrating medical […]
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CareZone Receives DoH Funding
The UK Department of Health has announced a £1 million investment in CareZone, an online initiative to provide range of secure online services for children in public care. CareZone will offer a package of child-centred Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services developed by The Who Cares? Trust, a national charity working to improve the lives […]
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NHSIA to Develop Infrastructure for Web Services
The NHS Information Authority has announced the launch of a new Health Records Infrastructure programme intended to make it possible to share patients’ healthcare details nationally by creating virtual patient records. The Health Records Infrastructure programme is intended to provide new services based on web technology. The new programme was first unveiled by new NHS […]
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