Social care

Designing a digital home for older people
Technology can have a big impact on the health and well-being of older people. Very few electronic products for use in the home, however, are designed for ease of use by older people eg TVs, phones, mobile phones, radios. With the rapidly aging population in all developed countries it even makes economic sense for companies to design specifically for this market. Chris Millington of Doro UK, outlines the key factors that product designers should consider. February 2008. read more ...

Enabling self-directed adult care
The Putting People First framework for adult care announced in December 2007 will lead to large changes in the provision of care in England. Denise Harrison, Director at Liquidlogic outlines the challenges facing all parties involved in the care process and the role of technology as an enabler for delivering care. February 2008. read more ...

OT Direct reduces Hampshire's occupational therapy wait times
Hampshire Adult Services Department used a business process management solution to develop a collaborative call centre and case management system that streamlined services and reduced wait times by 50%. December 2007. read more ...

Information to support shared care
In the second of a series of articles on the technical background to interoperability, Ann Wrightson from the CSW Group Technology Office reviews recent work on information sharing in health and social care and summarises the important factors that make information sharing work. December 2007

Making it personal: the challenge of multi-agency care
Warwickshire County Council’s Information Strategy Manager for Social Care, Penelope Hill, maps some of the changes needed to achieve integrated person-centred care. March 2007. Read article ...

The challenge of making healthcare and socialcare information systems interoperable
David Johnstone shares his analysis of the present situation in England and offers some ideas for a way forward. March 2007. Read article ...

Integrated working puts discharge delays to bed at the Countess of Chester Hospital
NHS and Social Services organisations in Cheshire joined forces some three years ago to counter hospital-bed blocking by means of an electronic patient-referral system. Medisec Software’s Managing Director, Tom Rothwell, highlights what he believes enabled the new way of working that has delivered desirable outcomes for all involved. March 2007. Read article ...