A while back I commented on the rise of healthcare-related audio podcasts. I nearly missed the fact that the BBC have, since November 2004, been beta testing BBC News Player feeds. Among the test feeds is one for health stories. This feed contains footage from BBC's TV news reports so differs in content from the existing text-only health-news feed from the news.bbc.co.uk site.
Continue reading 'BBC testing health-news video podcasts'
Tag archive for 'Informatics'
Podcasting (from broadcasting + iPod) has become something of a phenomenon. As of today there are 304 podcasts in the "Health" category on the iTunes Music Store and most are free. True, some podcasts may be of dubious value, but there are some by well-regarded institutions. For example, the Mayo Clinic enlightens you on "Understanding infertility", or St. John Ambulance on "How to conduct a primary survey".
Continue reading 'Podcasting meets healthcare'
The New General Medical Services Contract (nGMS) for NHS general practitioners changes the way GPs are remunerated. Under the contract GPs are paid performance-related income according to a Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)—essentially a list of clinical and other standards associated with points (income) for achieving certain target thresholds. One of the informatics challenges of nGMS is therefore the recording of activity in a consistent and efficient manner.
Continue reading 'QOF checklist and Read Codes'
As previously raised, there are many competing guidelines (NICE, NSF, PCT, etc.) and formularies (Clinical Terms, prescribing) that clinicians must take account of at the point-of-care. Most clinical systems used in British general practice offer templates to prompt data entry and pick-list formularies for prescribing and coding, but these only go so far. How can a practice take account of this competing management advice to streamline and standardize patient care? The answer, somewhat paradoxically, may be to produce another guideline...
Continue reading 'Guidelines: a solution for guideline overload'
A list of sites syndicating their content via RSS, worthy of bookmarking. Have a favourite not on the list? Feel free to make a suggestion...
Continue reading 'Informatics-related RSS news feeds'
From a primary care viewpoint, a summary of NHS IT strategy from Jan 2001 to April 2004, outlining the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) and the implications of the New GMS Contract...
Continue reading 'NHS IT: the story continues'
