The Information Commissioners Office is studying the government’s decision to defy a second court order to publish the risk register outlining the dangers of the Lansley reforms. Pharma Times quotes shadow health secretary Andy Burnham as saying it was ‘a cover-up of epic proportions’.

The government has published plans for a new child care record. There will be no single IT system and the market will be open to suppliers to compete for contracts.

Brighton and Sussex hospitals are investing £30m for a full EPR from Portuguese firm Alert Life Sciences. EHI says it will cover everything from urgent care to care planning, decision support and integration.

Bradford teaching hospitals could give clinicians 1,000 iPads for viewing patient records. The contract with Kainos Evolve will bring swifter data sharing and access.

British Journal of Healthcare Computing reports that Citadel Events has formalised its strategic alliance with HIMSS having worked closely together at the HEALTH+IN4MATICS 2012. This is to strengthening the expansion plans of both organisations within the UK healthcare IT market.

IT will move from being a ‘back-room service to a critical front-room service’ when the much-delayed NHS Information Strategy is published this month. Better data sharing is also expected to be a core concept, according to Guardian Government Computing.

New research shows that one in 20 prescriptions contain mistakes. EHI quoted GMC chair Professor Sir Peter Rubin, as saying: ‘Using effective computer systems to ensure potential errors are flagged and patients are monitored correctly is a very important way to minimise errors.’

The Guardian has reported on confirmation that North Bristol NHS Trust has overspent on its IT budget by almost 100% as a consequence of the roll out of its Cerner electronic patient record system. The trust has spent £4.5m implementing the Cerner system to date, the majority of which was spent during this January and February.

Companies are failing to bid for NHS 111 call service contracts amidst concerns about its ‘rushed’ and ‘shambolic’ procurement process. HSJ claims that Serco has decided not to bid for any contracts while Capita and Care UK remain undecided.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham has piloted a system from its own informatics team which lets patients update their records. Feedback shows that patients have responded well, taking more control over their conditions.