News & media
News & media
Please find detailed below the latest five news items. Please visit the
Archive for all news items covering the past two years.
Clinical Solutions and Men’s Health Forum to partner to provide safe, online access to healthcare for men
15 June 2009 In the midst of National Men’s Health Week, clinical decision support software company Clinical Solutions is announcing a partnership with not-for-profit organisation, Men’s Health Forum, to provide safe online access to healthcare for men.
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In response to a growing number of websites praying on the vulnerability of men and profiting from the sale of counterfeit or unregistered medication, or providing out-of-date advice, Clinical Solutions will be providing the charity with two of its software applications: Symptom Enquirer and Health Educator, due to go live on www.menshealthforum.org.uk later this summer. The applications will enable users to access reliable and trusted, on-demand symptom assessment and health information on the web at any time and from any location.
Dr. Ian Banks, president of Men’s Health Forum, explains, “We have long known that many men are uncomfortable accessing healthcare from traditional services. But the internet is littered with websites that take advantage of this fact and capitalise on men’s health attitudes; promising miracle cures and delivering products or information likely to seriously risk the individual’s health and wellbeing.
“Our partnership with Clinical Solutions will provide men with a safe, anonymous and reliable source of health information and support and take us one step closer to realising the internet’s potential of bridging the gender gap in healthcare provision - paving the way for better health outcomes for men.”
Marce Colucci, Business Development Director, Clinical Solutions adds, “The volume of websites providing inaccurate health information and/or counterfeit medication is staggering. And with many men turning to the internet as a first point of reference when they’re concerned about their health, it’s essential that trustworthy services like these are made available and relevant to individual needs. We’re confident that Symptom Enquirer and Health Educator will play a significant role in realising the internet’s potential as a tool for the delivery and improvement of men’s health.”
This year’s National Men’s Health Week will concentrate specifically on men’s under-use of primary health services. The Men’s Health Forum will be challenging policy makers in the health sector and wider government to develop services to close the gender gap, in addition to challenging men themselves to make small changes to their lifestyle which will help to improve their long-term health.
Expert Group calls for shake up of primary care services to ensure improved patient access and care
03 June 2009 The Expert Group on Access to Primary Care will today launch its in-depth report, 'Access all areas: Making better use of primary care services', which provides recommendations on how the access agenda can be delivered whilst promoting greater quality and continuity of care.
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Managing Swine Influenza: the technology approach - Dr Jean Challiner, Clinical Solutions
28 April 2009 “Whilst healthcare agencies and international communities are now better prepared to deal with the threat of public health incidents such as the current swine influenza outbreak, the rate at which the virus has the potential to spread will test our ability to put plans into action.
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“In an emergency situation traditional access to healthcare is not always an option and in a Pandemic situation, healthcare resources that cope at other times will be overwhelmed.
“Unprecedented health and security incidents are, by their nature, unpredictable and we must be prepared for every eventuality and be ready to use new ways and means of managing the situation.
“Making available the right tools to support patients and healthcare professionals, as well as ensuring that there is the ability to collect and analyse information gathered, is an essential part of forward planning - and this is where technology can lend a hand. Some healthcare provider organisations around the world have been using such tools for several years and based on this experience, are developing multi-channel pandemic servives to provide rapid web and telephony based assessment, direction of care, advice, guidance, and where appropriate, authorisation of antiviral medicine treatment to the general public in the case of a domestic outbreak.
“Whether technology is utilised to streamline symptom assessment or to manage a pandemic outbreak, access to credible health information via the Internet enables government and healthcare organisations to act at the right time and in the right way to health incidents. Preparation is everything – having the tools to react quickly and effectively to these situations can really make the difference between life and death.”
ACS and Clinical Solutions partner to help local governments better prepare for public health outbreaks
07 April 2009 First-of-its-kind fully managed pandemic solution assists local government in assessing symptoms and planning for public health incidents.
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Government organisations looking to better prepare for a public health outbreak will now have access to a complete pandemic management solution thanks to a new partnership between Affiliated Computer Services (NYSE: ACS) and Clinical Solutions.
In the event of a pandemic outbreak, this fully managed solution would help local healthcare professionals, governments and citizens safely and consistently assess symptoms and direct patients to the most appropriate level of care – thereby alleviating strain on local primary care providers during a public health crisis.
“As a leading provider of government healthcare solutions, ACS is pleased to add this end-to-end pandemic management solution to its wide variety of government offerings,” said Chris Deelsnyder, managing director and senior vice president of ACS’ Government Healthcare Solutions. “ACS’ mature global infrastructure and extensive customer care capabilities serve as the perfect complement for Clinical Solutions’ Web-based products. Together, we can equip local governments with the necessary tools to better prepare for and manage possible public health outbreaks.”
Under the partnership agreement, ACS will provide the infrastructure, telephony and call centre services to complement the Clinical Solutions IntefleCS™ Health Watch tools and software. With nearly 30,000 customer service representatives and 118 call centers that offer support in 20 different languages, ACS can provide an instant pool of operators that can help assess symptoms, provide further information and direct citizens to the most appropriate level of care.
Richard Craven, director at Clinical Solutions adds, “This partnership provides local governments with the combined expertise of specialists in telecoms and call centre services with Web-tools and software. The Clinical Solutions and ACS technologies offer effective tools for assessing symptoms and planning for public health incidents, pandemics and bio-threats; giving governments confidence and peace of mind that they’re fully prepared.”
IntefleCS™ Health Watch is a suite of Web-based tools used to detect, assess, contain, communicate, manage and report during a public health incident. The software was piloted in 2006 in Exercise Cumpston, Australia’s largest ever health simulation exercise, which tested the country’s preparations for a pandemic flu outbreak.
Clinical Solutions is also working alongside a number of healthcare provider organisation helping to deliver multi-channel pandemic services. Such services will provide rapid Web- and telephony-based assessment, direction of care, advice, guidance and, where appropriate, authorisation of antiviral medicine treatment to the public.
About ACS
ACS is a national leader in state healthcare program administration, offering a full spectrum of systems and complementary services through an integrated solution; from care management solutions and child health programs to pharmacy benefits management and traditional Medicaid fiscal agent services. ACS supports more than 23 million program recipients and processes nearly 550 million Medicaid healthcare claims annually, representing close to $50 billion in provider payments. As the nation's largest government program pharmacy benefits administrator, ACS serves 28 states, the District of Columbia and the Department of Labor with drug expenditures totaling more than $13 billion.
ACS, a global FORTUNE 500 company with 74,000 people supporting client operations reaching more than 100 countries, provides business process outsourcing and information technology solutions to world-class commercial and government clients. The company's Class A common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ACS."
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Clinical Solutions and Fujitsu join forces to deliver improved access to healthcare in Spain
17 March 2009 Clinical software specialist Clinical Solutions is today announcing a partnership with Fujitsu Services, which will help improve access to healthcare and advice for the people of Spain.
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With an ageing population and chronic conditions on the rise, the escalating cost of healthcare provision is a growing concern for the Spanish Government and regions. In addition, patients’ expectations are high: demanding access to the right healthcare resource, at the right time, and in the right place.
The partnership aims to transform the delivery of quality healthcare through the use of intelligent systems and data analysis - enabling efficient management of resources and appropriate use of emergency, urgent and primary health care services. The Clinical Solutions software, branded IntefleCS™, has been designed by clinicians and uses flexible, rules-based programmes that provide clinical decision support in either a telephony, in-person or web environment.
Jose Maria Moyano, director of health at Fujitsu Services, comments, “The partnership with Clinical Solutions underpins Fujitsu Services’ strategy in Spain, providing innovative healthcare solutions which have already been proven in other countries. The partnership also represents a significant opportunity to improve access to healthcare in Spain, resulting in lower costs, lower risks, higher quality care and ultimately greater patient satisfaction.”
Richard Craven, director at Clinical Solutions, adds, “This is an exciting opportunity for us to expand our presence in Europe and use our experience, in collaboration with Fujitsu Services, to demonstrate the benefits of technology as a means of improving access to healthcare.”
The Clinical Solutions’ IntefleCS™ Telephone Triage software is already used in the UK by NHS Direct, the largest telephone triage system in the world, and benefits over 55 million people in England and Wales. The IntefleCS™ Health Watch solution is also playing a role in government initiated national services to help with preparedness in planning for pandemic outbreaks and national emergencies. Such services will provide rapid Web- and telephony-based assessment, direction of care, advice, guidance and, where appropriate, authorisation of antiviral medicine treatment to the public.
Adopted by the Department of Health in the UK, the solution is a key component to delivering a multi-channel National Pandemic Flu Line Service to the entire UK population. In addition to these national services, the IntefleCS™ Face to Face solution is used by a large number of UK Walk-in Centres, helping to provide the general public with a convenient way to access healthcare services.
About Fujitsu Services
Fujitsu Services is a leading European information technology services company. Its business is helping its customers realise the value of information technology through the application of consulting, systems integration and managed service contracts. It serves customers in the private and public sectors across Europe including retail, financial services, healthcare and government. With an annual turnover of £2.56 billion (€3.22 billion), it employs over 21,000 people across 20 countries. Headquartered in London, Fujitsu Services is the European IT services arm of the US$53 billion (€32.9 billion) Fujitsu Group.
