Connecting for Health
NHS Connecting for Health is the part of the Department of Health that will deliver the National Programme for IT – a multi billion pound programme which will provide new integrated systems and services across the NHS in England. The main deliverables of the programme are:
- The NHS Care Records Service (NHS CRS) – delivering an individual electronic record for each NHS patient
- Choose and Book – an electronic system for booking hospital appointments, which allows patients to choose the time and place of their appointment
- Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (ETP) , through the Electonic Prescription Service (EPS) - from the GP practice directly to a pharmacy, for example.
- Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACs) – which will enable digital images, like scans and x-rays, to be captured, distributed, stored and displayed electronically.
- NHSmail – The NHS email and directory service, formerly known as 'Contact'
- N3 – the broadband network infrastructure to support the programme
BMA Working Party on NHS IT Newsletter, February 2008
Newsletter describing the activities of the BMA's Working Party on NHS IT.Joint Guidance on Protecting Electronic Patient Information
Joint guidance from the BMA and NHS Connecting for Health on protecting electronic patient information.Making Choose and Book work for Community Paediatricians, October 2007
Guidance on the Choose and Book system for Community PaediatriciansChoose and Book guidance, August 2007
One of a series of guidance documents on the National Programme for IT (NPfIT). This guidance is relevant to England only and represents the current position. It will be updated to reflect future changes.Guidance on the NHS Care Records Service, August 2007
One in a series of guidance documents on the National Programme for IT which provides an update on the NHS Care Records Service (NHS CRS) - one component of the systems being delivered that comprise the overall programme. The programme and its deliverables are for England only.A letter to Ben Bradshaw, Minister of State for Health Services, on the National Programme for IT, August 2007
In the letter Hamish Meldrum, the chairman of the BMA says that the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) is an important but contentious aspect of health policy and takes this opportunity to express the BMA’s hopes, to raise our concerns and to suggest recommendations as to what the programme should deliver to support patient care.Recommendations on the National Programme for IT (NPfIT), August 2007
Paper sent to Ben Bradshaw, Minister for State for Health Services, covering issues such as renewing engagement with system users, generating confidence in the Summary Care Record, tackling implementation issues in Secondary Care and providing clarity about the Secondary Uses Service.BMA guidance on the Electronic Prescription Service, July 2007
Guidance on the EPS including a summary of the service, benefits, issues, scope and future releases as well as BMA involvement.BMA/NHS CfH Conference on IT, 1 February 2007
Information on the BMA/ NHS CfH Conference on Information Technology 'What's in I.T. for me?' held at the Birmingham NEC on 1 February 2007Ministerial Taskforce Report
Report of the Ministerial Taskforce on the Summary Care Record.Choose and book, January 2007
This briefing paper looks at 'Choose and Book', the electronic booking system, which allows patients in England to choose the location, time and date of their hospital or clinic appointment when they are referred by a GP. The paper also discusses the benefits and drawbacks of the Choose and Book system.The NHS Care Records Service, November 2006
Guidance for doctors in England on the NHS Care Records Service - the first of a series of guidance documents on Connecting for Health.NHS Care Records Service letter, November 2006
A letter from James Johnson, the chairman of BMA Council, to the profession about the NHS Care Records Service.The NHS Care Records Service in England - note to UK doctors, 17 November 2006
Information on the NHS Care Records Service in England for doctors in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.BMA statement on Connecting for Health, June 2006 (updated November 2006)
A statement on the BMA's concerns and views on 'Connecting for Health' in light of comments by Lord Warner on delays and costs of the National Project for IT. This includes the BMA position on explicit consent for uploading of data to the NHS CRS.National Programme for IT (NPfIT)
This briefing outlines the BMA's concerns about the implementation of the NHS National Programme for IT including concerns that there has been a lack of consultation with doctors and fears that it will harm the doctor-patient relationship and patient confidentialityFocus on Choice and Booking directed enhanced service (DES)
This Focus on Choice and Booking directed enhanced service (DES) covers the background, key points, payment, what will happen if problems arise, and what can local medical commtitees (LMCs) do?BMA response to 'Clinical development of the NHS care records service'
Whilst the BMA supports the sharing of information to improve patient care, the association is disappointed that the architecture of a system, which will have huge implications to the delivery of healthcare, was commissioned and built prior to stakeholder consultation.The NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) - guidance for GP practices, April 2004
This guidance is produced by the Joint GP IT Committee of the General Practitioners Committee and the Royal College of General Practitioners