[log in to unmask],Net writes:
>Funny you should say that!   As part of Darien Systems (best FH
>software in
>the UK until we closed down!) I was on the presentation party to the
>Eastern Health Board  multifund IT committee.   I won't go into details
>(unless you ask me to) but the finance officer and chief exec gave each
>other looks when we started. 

It is very heartening to hear that there is at least one area of
primary care NHS management where the senior administrative and
financial managers are so confident in their knowledge of IT as to
personally be involved in the assessment of the systems.

"Kate Johnson, who says she wrote the original spec for SM, "
Lots of people say that.  I know three of them<g>

"was actually our consultant on our approach to the multifund and she
contributed a hell of a lot. "
A tough and useful cookie.

It seemed to us from other things we had heard---but damned if I can
remember exactly what---that there could well be major problems with
clinical systems in the multifund "

Yes.  I had a chat to a GP who was persuaded to buy SUrgery Manager
just after Reuters had taken it and Icon over.  I cannot imagine that
anyone would have bought a system if they thought the supplier was
going to dump it within two years and press the users to buy a far more
expensive system which was only marginaly hardware compatible, so I
assume that the best that could have been said about the sales pitch
was that it exemplified the principle of caveat emptor.

The user group was of course quite unaware of this and the new user had
never heard of me until I contacted him.

In fact the first I heard of it was when it was announced at a Vamp
User National panel meeting that 5 new SM sales had been made.  

Anyway, that GP tiold me that the system wasn't working, had never
worked, no training had been provided and nobody would come and fix it.
 But then, he is in northern Ireland, which is a long way from the
bakery.  I havn't heard from him since, so he probably either gave up
on it or perhaps the board bought him another system.



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