Scotland invests £4m for faster NHS info

http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=15712

Scottish health boards are to get faster access to patient information
through a 'snapshot' IT system, after a £4m investment from the
Scottish Government.

The new clinical portal, will give healthcare professionals including
doctors and nurses, access to key patient information without the
needed to log on to multiple IT systems.

The system will cover more than 25 per cent of the Scottish population
across the four boards of NHS Lothian, NHS Fife, NHS Dumfries and
Galloway and NHS Borders.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said investment new technology was
delivering benefits for patients and staff across the Scottish health
service.

"Healthcare workers across four boards will have access to the same
snapshot of information on patients," she said

"That not only helps make patient care quicker and safer, but also
makes patient information more secure. It saves time for staff – and
making care more efficient is always good news for patients.

"The clinical portal system means patients from Fife to the Borders –
working out at around 1 in 4 Scots – will soon be covered by the same
unified, single system of IT access.

"This is in addition to the clinical portal covering around 1.2
million people in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, which is already
delivering for patients and clinicians."

NHS Lothian's director of eHealth Martin Egan said the new clinical
portal would help reduce costs and improve patient care.

"The portal is widely supported by clinicians and the prototype proved
that it can integrate with the different systems used across the four
health boards," he said.

"It will deliver secure and accurate real-time patient information,
improving patient care and reducing our dependence on paper records."

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