ETP should be fully operational by end of 2007
Electronic transmission of prescriptions (ETP) will be deployed over two releases and should be fully operational by the end of 2007, according to Connecting for Health’s newly published implementation strategy. The first release will involve paper and electronic systems working side by side and will be extended from the initial implementation sites to cover practices […]
News
PCT safety culture needed to prevent errors
A lack of understanding about IT systems and a failure to establish a safety culture are to blame for the publication of confidential information about 92 patients by a primary care trust, according to an investigation into the error. Melton, Rutland and Harborough PCT accidentally included identifiable information on 92 patients in its board papers […]
News
Adults with learning difficulties excluded
The first national survey of adults with learning difficulties in England has highlighted the extent to which they face hardship and social exclusion, with often little control over aspects of their lives such as where and how they live. The survey focused on what life is like for people with learning difficulties, including where they […]
News
Hospital reports over 2,600 e-referrals per month
The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is receiving over 2,600 electronic referrals a month using software that slots into Microsoft Word and replaces the print button, according to manufacturers Medisec. The e-referral system links 33 surgeries in northwest England and Wales to the hospital. GPs send the referrals to the hospital using a ‘Send […]
News
Stigma? What stigma?
Jim Thomson, chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health, strongly argues for greater regulations on online pharmacies and the sale of prescription-only drugs over the web.
Feature
Record-keeping weakest link in QoF scores
The worst performing indicator group in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QoF) last year was records and information, according to the English QoF data published last week. Practices did best in the clinical and patient experience domains of the Quality and Outcomes Framework and not as well in the organisational area, the figures reveal. Achievement […]
News
Predictive risk software launched for NHS
New predictive risk software which will provide the NHS with an ‘early warning’ system to help some patients avoid hospital admission was launched today by the Department of Health. The software, first reported by EHI Primary Care in July, uses a wide range of patient information to work out who is most at risk. […]
News
QOF publication due despite GP concerns
Publication of individual practice results for the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is likely to go ahead in England, Wales and Northern Ireland next month despite concerns from GP representatives. The results from three of the four countries in the UK are due to appear more than two months after Scotland became the first to […]
News
E-health and the EU
The UK’s presidency of the EU promises to be a significant one for e-health, Lyn Whitfield reports.
Feature
Patients need reminders for online depression self-help
Websites that only offer self-help for people suffering from depression can be effective as those that also offer external clinical guidance, as long as patients are reminded to use them, according to a new study published this week. Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research studied a group of 250 people with self-diagnosed […]
News