Healthcare informatics

The future is giving patients control over their own medication records

The patient is the only person present at every stage of their treatment as they move between different healthcare settings, meaning that patient-held information could plug holes in our records and contribute to medicines safety.…

Government invests £40m into speeding up IT logins for NHS staff

Hospital staff could soon be able to log into hospital IT systems with their fingerprint, following a government investment of £40m.…

Automation pilot cuts prescription checking time by two-thirds

A hospital in Wales has cut the amount of time it takes to check prescriptions by two-thirds by using robotic technology as part of a proof-of-concept trial.…

Antimicrobials in hospital — a development in advanced e-prescribing analytics

Rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a recognised threat to global health. There is a perception that poor prescribing practices contribute to the problem, although data confirming this are limited. Reliable data on the quality of antimicrobial prescribing in UK hospitals are not available, with…

‘Paperless NHS’ drive ignores community pharmacy

A lack of funding and the effects of the electronic prescribing system have meant that pharmacies are using more paper than ever.…

McKesson UK’s automated dispensing capacity to double by June 2020

The parent company of LloydsPharmacy, McKesson UK, has announced plans to double the number of items it dispenses through its centrally automated system by June 2020.…

Next set of hospitals to receive government funding for electronic prescribing systems announced

The government has announced the next wave of hospitals that will receive funding to help switch from paper to electronic prescribing systems.…

Electronic medication systems risk patient safety if not implemented properly, safety body warns

Incomplete use of electronic medication systems, such as electronic prescribing and medicines administration can risk patient safety, a report from the independent Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch has found.…

Electronic prescriptions to be introduced nationally from November 2019

Digital-only prescriptions will be introduced across England from November 2019, the pharmacy minister Jo Churchill has announced.…

First CCG enables all GPs to send prescriptions to pharmacies electronically

Portsmouth clinical commissioning group has become the first in the country in which all GP practices are able to send electronic prescriptions that can be processed by any pharmacy.…