IT news: News round-up

Published: 10-May-2011


Milestone for NHS Wales

This implementation is recognised as being one of the largest and most complex informatics projects in NHS Wales to date

A MYRDDIN patient administration system (PAS) has been successfully implemented into Swansea hospitals, taking another step towards the NHS Wales-developed system being rolled out across all health boards in the country. The move to the Myrddin PAS involved migrating patient administration, accident and emergency and maternity systems in two major hospitals; the equivalent of four major systems going live at the same time. Debbie Morgan, director of workforce and organisational development at Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, said: "This implementation is recognised as being one of the largest and most complex informatics projects in NHS Wales to date." The next health board to receive the system, continuing with the national strategy, will be Aneurin Bevan Health Board. Originally developed within Hywel Dda Health Board, the Myrddin system has already been successfully implemented within seven major hospitals in Wales.

St John Ambulance boosts productivity

ST JOHN Ambulance has deployed document management software from Invu to minimise the time spent searching for vital documents. The implementation of Invu Document Management has saved the staff of the Humberside branch of St John Ambulance more than six weeks every year on document retrieval alone, allowing the team to avoid non-productive searching for key information. Richard Wright, executive director of St John Ambulance, said: "We file documents and add indexing data to them and the search facility of Invu Document Management is magic. I can enter the name of a person or company and find what I need instantly. It saves a vast amount of time compared with trying to find anything in a filing cabinet." Prior to implementation, employees had previously spent, on average, around six minutes a time looking for documents within the storage area. In addition, the Invu software has also substantially reduced reliance on copying and printing, with paper costs down by a third.

Leicester hospitals get tough on bugs

This will lead to earlier treatment and more effective infection prevention management for our patients and will enable my team to work more efficiently

LEICESTER hospitals have launched a new computer-based infection prevention system that will help keep patients protected against bugs. The system, ICNet SSI Monitor, is part of a software package that combines information about patient movements in the hospital with data held by the laboratory and theatre systems, so staff are alerted when patients are either infected, or at risk of infection. Liz Collins, lead nurse for infection prevention, said: "This will be of huge benefit to assist us in improving patient care. It will lead to earlier treatment and more effective infection prevention management for our patients and will enable my team to work more efficiently." The deployment is the result of a £150,000 award from Department of Health to University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

7-year deal for System C at Gateshead

GATESHEAD Health NHS Foundation Trust has chosen System C Medway software as its core strategic patient administration and electronic patient record system. The trust signed a seven-year contract for the deployment and operation of the clinical PAS earlier this week, underpinning the delivery of a full range of local acute services for elective and emergency care across the area, as well as specialist services for people from the wider region. Under the terms of the contract, System C will supply the trust with MPI, inpatient, outpatient, day care and casenote tracking; a clinical departmental system for A and E; integrated data warehouse and reporting tools; integrated messaging and portal functionality offering a single view for the trust-wide patient record system; and clinical support tools. The deal also includes a complete implementation, data migration and integration service, together with support and maintenance for the life of the system. Future developments will include links to primary care and additional clinical modules including theatres, prescribing and care planning.

Breakthrough for care home market

GHM Communications, supplier of wireless technology to the care sector, has launched a new method of tracking residents, staff and equipment. The first of its kind developed specifically for the care market, it works through a simple wristband connected to wireless technology which can locate the wearer at all times, particularly when an alarm on the watch has been triggered. The alarm is also activated if the band is laid horizontal in unlikely locations, suggesting the wearer has fallen. In addition, it can track medical equipment such as defibrillators that may be needed in the event of an emergency. Company spokesman, Neil McManus, said: "This is a huge advancement from a panic button located in a bedroom or worn around the neck. It is great to be able to offer something our customers genuinely need and the response has already been overwhelming." As part of the package, GHM installs a WIFI infrastructure that can also be used to offer residents services such as telephone lines, WIFI internet access and on-demand TV.

ALSO IN THE NEWS:

Supply Direct, a contract caterer providing solutions for healthcare trusts, has implemented GXS's Application Integrator to aid with purchasing orders, invoices and to help set up trading partners to participate in today's B2B e-commerce marketplace.

LifeSize, a division of Logitech, has qualified its LifeSize Passport HD video conferencing product to be the first room-based, business-class video conferencing solution to be plugged into Skype, adding the ability for users to conduct video calls with other Skype users around the world. The company is hoping the move will prove popular with a number of industries, including healthcare, where it will enable teleconferencing to take place.

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