Healthcare IT news in brief

This week’s round up includes news of think-tanks thinking that IT should transform GP practice, a link-up between Emis and a decision support provider, innovative work at BMI Healthcare, and a big LIMS consolidation project at Barts Health.

News

Reform think-tank demands GP shift to IT  

Reform has called for GPs to make more use of IT to cope with growing workloads and an aging population with more long term conditions. In a report issued this week, the think-tank argues that general practice needs to change, with practices becoming much larger.

It argues this would enable them to carry out more modelling and monitoring work, to pass more calls onto nurses and pharmacists, and to make more use of IT services, such as appointment booking, online triage, and telephone and video consultations. In total, Reform claims this would save around £2 billion a year.

HSCIC launches consultation on statistics

The Health and Social Care Information Centre has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the statistics it collects and the way that it publishes them over the next three years.

At the moment, the HSCIC publishes around 90 series of Official Statistics and National Statistics every year, but it is looking to trim some, make some less regular, and provide less commentary on others, both to save money and to respond to user demands. The consultation runs until 27 June.

Partnerships

Emis Health forms partnership with Hearst Health International

Emis Health and Hearst Health International have formed a partnership and launched OptimiseRX for Emis Web. OptimiseRx is a patient specific decision support tool for primary care, and the link-up means it will be able to apply data algorithms to the Emis Web patient record to present prescribers with clinical guidance on drugs and treatment decisions. The system has been shaped for the NHS by early adopters, including NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group.

Roll-outs

BMI Healthcare shortlisted for cancer innovation

BMI Healthcare has been shortlisted as a finalist in the IT Innovator of the Year category of this year’s HealthInvestor Awards, after becoming the first private hospital group to offer e-prescribing for systemic anti-cancer therapies at all of its hospitals offering these services. The group is working with Knowledge Medical Systems to roll out its iQemo e-prescribing system, which should be used by 150 consultants at 30 hospitals by this September. Other specialties will follow.

Southend live with Nervecentre

Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has deployed Nervecentre electronic observations software to 20 wards, using money from the Nursing Technology Fund. The trust will also be using the company’s clinical noting/handover and Hospital at Night solutions as part of its strategy of moving towards a digital patient healthcare record.  

Broomfield Hospital offers free wi-fi to patients

Broomfield Hospital, part of Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, has launched a new free to patients wi-fi service, paid for by ‘Our Charity.’ The service is provided by Hospedia in conjunction with The Cloud; a generalist provider of wi-fi services that also provides wi-fi hotspots to shops, café chains and stations.

Medway Community Healthcare latest to use Datix

Medway Community Healthcare has deployed Datix software to log incidents, claims and complaints, to record customer experience, to see the results on dashboards and to hold its risk register. Lesley Graham, information governance facilitator, said this had given “all staff immediate access to incidents… putting them in control of their patient safety environment.”

EHI Awards 2016

Two weeks to enter the EHI Awards 2016

There are just two weeks left to enter the EHI Awards 2016, which culminate in a black tie dinner at the Lancaster Hotel in London on 29 September. There are ten categories to enter in the only awards dedicated to great developments in UK healthcare IT; but submissions close on Monday, 2 May. Full details on the awards website.