Menopause website wins information award
A website written by clinicians to help women through the menopause has come first prize in the Patient Information Website category in the BMA Medical Book Competition Awards 2004. Menopause Matters (www.menopausematters.co.uk) was set up by Dr Heather Currie, associate specialist gynaecologist and obstetrician, at the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, and run by her […]
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Geordie GUM website may spare patients’ blushes
Newcastle PCT have launched a website for their genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinic with the help of the local rugby team and a cartoon mascot, Blush. The site, which contains a self-diagnosis section, a step-by-step guide to visiting the clinic and an A-Z of infections, was opened by Stuart Grimes and Joe Shaw from the Newcastle Falcons. “Staff […]
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Patient experience website breaks mental health taboo
Dipex, a charity that runs a number of support websites that contains personal testimonies from people who have suffered from illness, has launched a new module on mental health. Journalist and newsreader Jon Snow, who chaired the launch in London, said: "This is an extremely important moment because Dipex is coming of age in a […]
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Interactive websites could reduce depression stigma
Research published in the British Journal of Psychology today has revealed that website walkthroughs and guides could be a useful tool in reducing personal stigma attached to depression, while simple documentation has little effect. The study, undertaken by Dr Kathy Griffiths of the Australian National University, Canberra, analysed a sample of 525 people who had […]
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Personal health record-keeping gets popular in US
Two in five adults in the US keep their own personal and family health records, with 13% of them keeping them electronically and 40% planning to do so in the future, a new survey has announced. The poll, conducted by Harris Interactive, asked 2,242 adults about the information they recorded about their health. 42% said […]
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Doctors’ support for NPfIT tailing off, says survey
A new survey has revealed that doctors’ support for the aims of the national programme has fallen to 54% from 65% in February, and that the majority of them are still in the dark about its aims. In their biannual poll of doctors, Medix UK asked 400 GPs and 450 hospital doctors about their attitudes to the […]
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NHS website becomes “gateway” in revamp
The NHS website, www.nhs.uk, has undergone a substantial refurbishment and has become a “gateway” page to give the public access to information, services and advice, underpinning the government’s agenda of “patient choice". According to the NHSIA, the site was redesigned to act as a one-stop point for information about all aspects of the NHS, from […]
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EMIS rolls out web-based GP appointment booking
EMIS have nationally launched their own online appointment booking service, EMIS Access, which allows patients to send secure messages or book appointments with their GPs over the web. The website www.patient.co.uk links into the EMIS system; however, GPs’ own websites will also be able to interface with the system. Patients will also be able to […]
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IT skills need improving to see savings, think tank warns
The Work Foundation has urged caution that the Chancellor’s plans to save money through IT projects in the NHS and in other government organisations could be flawed due to a general lack of IT skills by end-users and managers. “The public sector does not have an encouraging track record in the procurement and use of IT,” writes David Coats, […]
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Treasury plans £6.8bn NHS savings through IT
Today’s Gershon report, “Releasing resources to the front line: Independent Review of Public Sector Efficiency", has said that IT reform is critical to the NHS achieving its target of saving of £6.8bn by 2008. The report was published on the same day that Chancellor Gordon Brown announced the Treasury’s 2004 spending review in Parliament, which […]
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