+++ 4:56 pm | Secretary of State for Health addresses HC2011 +++
Andrew Lansley, Secretary of State for Health addressed HC2011 on the theme 'No information about me without me -- information and empowerment'. He said, "The extent of meaningful scrutiny has been constrained by lack of information or control of information by vested interests. Accountability can only be achieved by being open and transparent about what we do. We should make information and data freely available." This represents a fundamental shift in thinking. The potential benefits for patients are only limited by our imagination. That is what the Information Revolution is about."
+++ 1:28 pm | Laitek and Bridgehead Software announce partnership +++
PACS storage systems supplier Laitek and data management specialist Bridgehead Software have announced a global partnership. "The union is highly complementary," said Tony Cotterill, President and CEO of BridgeHead Software. "We have the capability to store healthcare data, whether clinical or administrative, safely and securely while making it truly accessible to hospitals. Laitek is one of the best at moving a hospital's complex data into vendor neutral archives like ours, and between legacy and new PACS applications."
+++ 1:13 pm | Healthcare ICT portal launched +++
The HealthICTPortal has been launched today at HC2011 It takes an "evolutionary approach to the improvement of healthcare through shared communities of interest". It already has early adopters in the Department of Health Informatics Division: Interoperability Toolkit; Clinical Data Standards Assurance (CDSA); QIPP Digital Technology & Vision Work Stream. Nick Booth, Clinical Director of the Clinical Division, DH Informatics Directorate said, "CDSA has chosen to use HealthICTPortal as a space to help enable part of their vision of creating a community of practice to allow the sharing of knowledge and learning."
+++ 1:00 pm | Harris Corporation completes takeover of Carefx +++
Florida-based Harris Corporation has announced it has completed the US$150m takeover of HC2011 exhibitor Carefx Corporation. Carefx Chairman and CEO Andrew Hurd will continue to lead the business, which will become part of the company's Healthcare Solutions business. Jim Traficant, vice president and general manager of Harris Healthcare Solutions, said, "This acquisition marks an unprecedented opportunity to establish Harris and Carefx as the global leader of interoperability solutions."
+++ 12:30 pm | IMS MAXIMS launches charging and billing solution +++
IMS MAXIMS has launched a charging and billing system at HC2011. The company says the new system integrates with a healthcare provider's existing EPR systems and simplifies processes. Shane Tickell, CEO of IMS MAXIMS, said, "We identified a need in the market for a solution that would make charging and billing much quicker and easier, as well as ensuring its accuracy. This could make a substantial contribution to the efficiency of independent healthcare providers and help them remove significant costs."
+++ 12:00 pm | CSC wins contact with Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospitals +++
CSC, the new owner of iSOFT, has announced it has won a contract to supply its clinical portal solution to Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust. CSC says it will work with Carefx to deploy the portal, which is built on the Carefx Fusionfx platform. Professor Patrick Chu, Consultant Haematologist at the Trust said: "The portal will allow clinicians to call up patient information whenever and wherever it is required, in order to provide safe top quality care." James Norman, Director of IM&T at the Trust said, "We decided to opt for a portal solution as we felt it would be easier and quicker to deploy alongside out existing systems, minimising disruption"
+++ 10:00 am | Bridgehead software announced that it has won a contract +++
Bridgehead software announced that it has won a contract to provide data backup and protection solutions for The London Clinic, the UK's largest independent non-profit hospitalto provide data backup and protection solutions for The London Clinic, the UK's largest independent non-profit hospital.
Tony Tomkys, Director of Sales EMEA, for Bridgehead, said, "What the London Clinic is doing with data is what Bridgehead suggests all hospitals do: remove static data from the primary backup stream and put it into a safer, more cost effective storage environment where it can be accessed by clinicians and hospital staff."
+++ 9.00 am | HC2011, the UK's largest event for healthcare IT has opened +++
The exhibition has sold out and 1.100 delegates and visitors have already registered for the event. Mike Sinclair, Chairman of the HC2011 organising committee said, "We have tried to build an event this year that gives those attending real opportunities to learn from others, witness examples of good practice and gather strength by sharing experiences"
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Source: HealthTech Wire
