Industry round-up 09.07.09

This month’s E-Health Insider industry round-up covers new products, system deployments, observed trends and other news from leading healthcare IT suppliers.

South Manchester utilises Hornbill’s Supportworks

The University of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust has applied Hornbill’s Supportworks ITSM service management software to manage the NHS Registration Authority smart card system that it is introducing as part of the National Programme for IT in the NHS. The hospital is using the software to record and manage the details of 4,000 NHS Care Record Service smart cards, including the user identifier, access rights, history of the card and expiry date. This software enables staff to call the service desk if they have any issues with their cards.

Luton and Dunstable becomes OneStaff early adopter

Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation trust has become an early adopter of McKesson’s eRostering, Open Shift Management and Time and Attendance solution, Horizon OneStaff, which integrates with the Electronic Staff Record the company delivers on a national contract from the Department of Health. Lynne Watson, director of personnel and development at the trust, said: “The bank system will be automated for the first time, supporting electronic links to the ESR and reducing paperwork. Staff will be able to self roster and it should cut down the time managers take in putting together and managing the rosters.”

Blue Prism and Destiny create digital pen

Destiny, a provider of digital pen business solutions, has joined forces with Blue Prism to create a digital pen for mobile healthcare workers. Digital forms completed using the pen can be sent to Destiny’s secure servers via a docking process or Bluetooth. Documents can then be integrated with trust systems.

GE Healthcare moves to Health Net Connections

Business start up Health Net Connections has secured the contract as the official distributor of GE Healthcare’s Viewpoint and TriumCTG software. HNC is based in Woking, Surrey, and is headed by maternity industry specialist Jonathan Raife, who worked for EuroKing Miracle until November 2008, when the two parted company after 12 years. “I have had a vision for maternity informatics in the UK for many years, and wanted the freedom to deliver this vision of a solution from conception to delivery and beyond. HNC is the vehicle that will allow me to do that,” he said.

OptoMize at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh

Digital Healthcare has recently implemented the latest version of its OptoMize software platform for diabetic retinal screening at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust. The software links workstations across three hospital sites to support the delivery of the screening service for up to 25,000 diabetic patients. Salim Natha, a consultant ophthalmologist at the trust, said: “OptoMize is proving to be invaluable in helping us to deliver a high quality service to the diabetic patients in our region.”

High speed health network deployments up by 60%

ntl:Telewest Business, part of the Virgin Media Group, has said that the number of networking deals that it has received from health and emergency services organisations is up 68%, from 98 in Q4 2008 to 160 in Q1 2009. David Astley, head of health and emergency services at ntl:Telewest Business said: “Our figures reveal that many organisations are taking steps to ensure that they have the basic technology building blocks and foundations in place to support the roll out of shared services and applications that will help deliver better clinical care, increase operational efficiencies and drive savings.”

NHS Direct gets CCA accreditation

NHS Direct has become the first NHS organisation to receive Customer Contact Association Global Standard accreditation across its 35 contact centres. The CCA Global Standard is the only industry standard that supports the core standards of telephone services set by the Department of Health. Patrick Clarke, head of programme management office and risk for NHS Direct, said: “This was a huge achievement for us, after nearly two years of challenging but rewarding work. Not only are we the largest multi-site accreditation, but we are also the only NHS organisation to be accredited, both of which are massive achievements.”

SpeechMagic goes live at Royal Free

The Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust has gone live with SpeechMagic speech recognition technology from Nuance. The system provides a fully integrated reporting solution for its radiology information system and picture archiving and communications system. More than 50 radiologists can now dictate their findings, which are automatically translated into text on a computer screen. Simone Towie, head of radiology at the Royal Free, said: “The system has already proven to offer a significant improvement to reporting workflow, which is further enhanced by improved desktop integration facilities. This allows the department to ensure delivery of reports to referrers, in some instances within minutes of the completion of an exam.”

Ayrshire and Arran goes live with System C MIS

NHS Ayrshire and Arran has gone live with System C’s Medway Sigma maternity information system. The Scottish health board has implemented the software at the Ayrshire maternity unit, which has 300 users and handles 3,500 to 4,000 delivers per year. System C has added a range of features for Scottish users, including the production of the Scottish maternity data set, the Scottish Woman’s Held Maternity Record, and support for the Scottish Care Information System, which provides demographic updates and the exchange of clinical documentation. The health board is now implementing Medway Sigma in its neonatal unit and community services.