IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Airlie Silver Surfers has spearheaded the remote consultation concept. This has been recognised with a national award and has now been hailed by Tory MSP Murdo Fraser for showing what can be achieved — but only if appropriate technologies are in place.

Mr Fraser highlighted the Airlie initiative in a Scottish Parliament debate on clinical portal and telehealth development in the NHS and also pressed for better broadband in rural areas of Perthshire and Angus, where residents are working to build a business case for community provision, and said schemes such as that in Airlie were helping NHS Tayside to progress with the valuable programme.

The findings, by 4-Consulting and Verso Economics, are based on analysis of the Scottish Government’s own Input-Output tables, which give a detailed picture of the flows of goods and services in the economy for a given year.

This initiative is expected to reduce waiting times for local appointments and enable kidney patients to receive healthcare closer to where they live, saving time and avoiding the inconvenience and cost of travelling.

Moray’s first “virtual” surgery, designed to make people experts in their own healthcare, was launched yesterday.

Health-e-space.com enables patients to “visit the clinic”, chat to other Moray residents with similar medical problems, pinpoint local health information, read clinicians’ blogs on specialist subjects and link to recommended health sites.

Scotland’s electronic patient record is delivering clear benefits to patient care, according to the authors of a study into its use.

The comments, featured in a letter to the British Medical Journal, are in stark contrast to a report on England’s £12.7 billion programme, which found the records were delivering almost no benefit to patients in England and had failed to improve safety in any way. The English programme is awaiting news of its long-term future, expected in the autumn Spending Review.

In a two part report,‘Clinical portal and telehealth development in NHS Scotland’, the committee praises several Scottish health boards for developing clinical portal projects to enable greater access to patient information.

He was speaking at an award ceremony in Aberdeen as he presented graduation certificates to 12 successful students who have completed a diploma in the use of smart card technology.

The Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission (SCCRC) is joining an information systems shared services agreement with Skills Development Scotland and Scottish Enterprise, according to publicservice.co.uk.

It is the latest in a line of shared procurement deals by organisations in the public sector , as budget pressures are forcing cost-saving measures.

Scotland is set to become the first country in the world with an entirely paperless health service, as wireless hand-held computers allow doctors and nurses to check and update patient records wherever they go.

The machines let staff move from bedside to bedside downloading patient histories, test results, and digital x-rays on the electronic equivalent of a clipboard called a mobile clinical assistant (MCA), or toughbook.