Cynthia Bower, head of the Care Quality Commission, has quit after a critical review. The CQC and Ms Bower have been under fire during the public inquiry into failings at the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust and over the Winterbourne View care home where three staff members admitted ill-treatment of residents.

Dame Fiona Caldicott has agreed to lead an independent review of the balance between protecting patient information and its sharing, to improve patient care the Department of Health has announced.

The government has attempted to regain the initiative in the battle over the health bill. The DH is promoting fact sheets which attempt to explain its benefits. But a summit, hosted by the PM at Number 10, backfired when one of the groups attending, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), called for the bill to be dropped.

England’s doctors are accused of earning £162m from 2.5 million ‘ghost patients’. The Daily Mail says that non-existent or duplicate patients, including some who died 30 years ago, remained on lists – attracting annual payments of £64.49 each.

Healthcare apps could soon be prescribed by GPs to help patients manage their conditions. The greater use of smartphones is being seen by the DH as the ‘next step’ in giving patients more control over their own health.

Twitter Founder, Biz Stone gave the keynote address at HIMSS this week and claiming that the world needs social tools to make sense of ‘infinite information’ and to transform information into understanding and action.

Nine London trusts are tendering for what may be the largest EPR deal outside the National Programme. Worth £250m to £400m, industry experts suggest that Cerner is in poll position to take the contract.

An editorial on the influential Conservative Home website claims the health bill could be fatal to the party’s electoral chances. Meanwhile a GP’s e-petition to have parliament drop the bill has past 100,000 signature mark, meaning it must be considered.

The social media revolution has reached the DH with official guidance having now been issued urging staff to get Tweeting as part of the department’s digital communication strategy.

The Department of Health has signed a concordant with Medilink UK to work together to accelerate the adoption of telehealth and telecare technology in the UK, reports the  British Journal of Healthcare