eHealth updates - 2 May 2013

New policy, guidance and e-health initiatives from across the UK. For more information about the e-health theme see Quality and Safety eBulletin: ehealth.

Some of the resources linked to are in PDF format - see how to access PDF files.

2020Health: Telehealth and Telemedicine: creating a new workforce. This learning lunch takes place on 20 May, 12.30-2.30pm and is free to attend. It will feature speakers such as MP Andy Burnham.

Commonwealth Fund: The Colorado Beacon Consortium: Strengthening the Capacity for Health Care Delivery Transformation in Rural Communities. The Colorado Beacon Consortium is one of 17 regions participating in an American funded programme which aims to demonstrate how strengthening local health information technology (IT) infrastructure can support improvements in the quality and efficiency of health care. Early results indicate increased provision of preventive and chronic care, improved workflow and teamwork in physician practices, and enhanced capability to prepare for health care delivery and payment reforms.

DH: Information: To Share Or Not To Share? The Information Governance Review. This document presents the results of the independent review of how information about patients is shared across the health and care system. Following a request from the Secretary of State for Health, Dame Fiona Caldicott carried out this independent review of information sharing to ensure that there is an appropriate balance between the protection of patient information and the use and sharing of information to improve patient care.
BBC health: Data-sharing ‘good for patients’.

DH: New child health app for health professionals. Public health professionals can now access local authority child health profiles from their smartphone or tablet. Child Health Profiles give a snapshot of child health and wellbeing for each local authority in England, using key health indicators. Users can compare this information to local, regional and national data. Data in the app covers a wide range of issues affecting child health, from levels of childhood obesity, teenage pregnancy and underage drinking, to hospital admissions, educational performance and youth crime.

DH: Health Secretary to strengthen patient privacy on confidential data use. The Health Secretary has responded to the Caldicott Review, outlining how technology can have a transformational effect on healthcare. The Health Secretary outlined that information and technology will only have a transformational effect on healthcare if this agenda respects the relationship of trust between a medical professional and their patient.

DH: Council access to health care data from the NHS: letter from the CKO. This letter from Professor John Newton, Chief Knowledge Officer to the Chief Executive, Director of Public Health, directors, and regional directors of public health, provides helpful information on the steps being taken to provide access to health care data.

eHealth Insider: Take part in the Big EPR Survey. eHealth Insider are running a survey to help inform their feedback to the government about the components required to achieve electronic patient records and a paperless NHS.

EHI Primary Care: Just 61 practices offer records access. Just 61 GP practices in England are offering patients full online access to their patient records. The government has said on a number of occasions that all patients who want online access to their GP-held records should have it by 2015.

Foundation for Assistive Technology (FAST): Assistive Technology (AT) Bulletin No. 114, April 2013. This monthly bulletin from the Foundation for Assistive Technology contains updates on telehealth and telecare and controversy about their benefits, the Prime Minister’s commitment to ensuring communication aids are made more widely available and other news relating to services for children, older people and social care. 

Health Informatics Scotland (HIS): Health Informatics Scotland conference 2013. The 2013 annual Health Informatics Scotland conference is now available for registrations (18-19 September 2013 in Edinburgh). Keynote speakers include Alex Neil MSP Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and Ros Moore Chief Nursing Officer. The main themes this year are: Nursing Impact in eHealth (run jointly with RCN and BCS Nursing group); Current Research in Health Informatics (run jointly by several leading university groups); Closing the Loop; Digital Health Innovation; and Mobile App Hack Event (run jointly with HANDI Health Scotland).

Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR): A new dimension of health care: Systematic review of the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media for health communication. “Social media brings a new dimension to health care as it offers a medium to be used by the public, patients, and health professionals to communicate about health issues with the possibility of potentially improving health outcomes. Social media is a powerful tool, which offers collaboration between users and is a social interaction mechanism for a range of individuals. Although there are several benefits to the use of social media for health communication, the information exchanged needs to be monitored for quality and reliability, and the users’ confidentiality and privacy need to be maintained. Eight gaps in the literature and key recommendations for future health communication research were provided.”

NHS Choices: NHS Choices syndicated content. NHS Choices provides partner organisations in health and social care with the ability to embed national health information into their websites and portals. This service makes it easy for users to search for local services, or find out how to manage their health. The service is free and partners benefit from being able to use the wealth of information available.

NHS Hack Day: Nationwide survey of wireless internet access for NHS staff. Members of the NHS Hack Day community are conducting a survey about the provision of wireless internet connections in NHs hospitals. They believe that such provision would benefit patient care through being able to access knowledge sources and use wireless enabled devices.

NI Direct: Northern Ireland Electronic Care Record (NIECR). Health and Social Care (HSC) in Northern Ireland is introducing a new computer system to make it easier for staff to get the information they need to look after patients – even if their treatment has been in a different hospital or other part of the service. The new system is called the Northern Ireland Electronic Care Record (NIECR).

Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB): A new Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB) for health and social care has been launched to ensure that the requirements of those who provide and receive care can be fully expressed in health and social care records. The PRSB will be led by and represent patient and care professional organisations, service providers, commissioners, policy makers and system suppliers for expertise and all matters relating to care records. The RCN is a founder member.

School of Education, University of Stirling: 3 Year PhD Studentships. The School of Education is now seeking applicants for two full-time three year PhD studentships funded by the Higher Education Academy and the University of Stirling. Both will be part of an innovative research project examining social media engagements - the dilemmas and the possibilities - in professional education and practice, with particular focus on medicine, social work, nursing and teaching. The studentships will begin on 1 October 2013. Deadline for application is 21 June 2013.

Scottish Telehealth & Telecare Community: New telecare resources. A number of new resources about MAST (Model for Assessment of Telemedicine) have been added to the Scottish Telehealth & Telecare Community resource library.

Telecare Learning and Improvement Network: The Telecare Learning and Improvement Network is a national network supporting local service redesign through the application of telecare and telehealth to aid the delivery of housing, health, social care and support services for older and vulnerable people. The April 2013 edition of their newsletter contains information on activities, conferences and workshops from the UK and Europe as well as news from the UK and around the world.