>From SIM list, for interest

Trefor

-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of John Hearns
Sent: 29 July 1998 10:19
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [SIM-L] Is there a doctor in the mouse? - Scottish network


There is a very interesting article in today's Times newspaper in
the UK, on the second phase of an ambitious network for health
in Scotland.

Congratulations to all involved.

John Hearns



       Is there a doctor in the mouse?


 The NHS in Scotland is about to enter the
 second phase of a multimillion-pound
 technology programme that will eventually
 see GPs booking patients' hospital
 appointments "airline-style".

 The Government has promised that by 2002,
 patients will know the date of their
 hospital appointment before they leave
 their local surgery.

 The third phase of the project will go even
 further, offering public access to a wealth
 of health information on a self-service
 basis, from basics such as holiday jabs, to
 options for treating illnesses. Patients
 will also have access to home health care
 through a wide range of hi-tech devices.

 Donald Dewar, the Scottish Secretary, and
 Sam Galbraith, the Health Minister, have
 just announced the second phase of the
 project, which will install a £6 million
 high-speed communications network
 throughout the NHS in Scotland.

 This follows the successful completion of
 the £7 million first phase which has linked
 up every GP's surgery. "Health Boards and
 NHS Trusts will be linked up in the course
 of this year," Dewar said.

 "By the time it is all finished, we will
 have about 1,070 GP surgeries connected,
 along with 370 hospital and Health Board
 premises.

 "This project establishes a single standard
 for electronic communication between all
 members of the NHS family."

 Since June, about 1,000 GP practices in
 Scotland have been able to communicate
 electronically, sharing information and
 pooling knowledge wherever they are based.

 The GPs can also share the experience and
 expertise of colleagues based across the UK
 by connecting to the existing NHSnet, the
 NHS's own intranet which carries the latest
 medical and other health-related data.

 The use of electronic data transmission has
 replaced the need for vulnerable
 paper-based information.

 The second phase of the project will build
 on this new way of working by automating
 and streamlining previously time-consuming
 administrative tasks.

 There are currently 20 research and
 development health programmes running in
 Scotland which will be used as testbeds to
 develop the full potential of the
 established electronic links.

 The Scottish Office promises that, by early
 next century, hospital laboratory results
 will be copied straight into patients'
 computerised records; referral and
 discharge letters will be delivered
 electronically; and no patients will leave
 their local surgery without a date for
 their hospital visit.

 Automating such practices is intended to
 speed up the health system, make it more
 secure, and ensure guaranteed delivery of
 "paperwork".

 In the longer term, patients will be
 expected to play a greater role in looking
 after their own health by accessing
 websites offering health advice, for
 example on how to avoid a heart attack.

 Telemedicine devices will also enable
 health care to be delivered closer to
 patients' homes, or even in their homes.
 Mothers-to-be and midwives in Edinburgh are
 already testing a machine which, when
 plugged into a telephone line, can send
 scans back to the hospital for the
 obstetrician to see. "This is not just
 about technology - in some ways that is the
 easy part," Dewar said. "But about changing
 a culture and ways of working for the
 benefit of patients."


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