Case Notes | News and Events

BJHC&IM A series of articles on interoperability in the British Journal of Healthcare Computing and Information Management (BJHC&IM) continues this month with an article by Ann Wrightson from the CSW Group Technology Office. The article entitled “Integrating disparate computer systems into the NHS” looks at current thinking in the international interoperability community and strategies for coping with the problems of integrating the diverse computer systems in use in healthcare services.

Ann looks at complementary integration paradigms for healthcare information systems integration and examines datatypes and common information models to support meaningful sharing of information.

To view the article visit: http://www.bjhcim.co.uk/features/2008/806001.htm

20/05/08 - CSW achieves Gold status for a second year

MS Gold CSW Group has achieved Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status today for a second year gaining a total of 143 partner points (Gold status requires 120 points). Microsoft Gold Certified Partners are among the most highly qualified in the industry and have achieved the highest level of technological excellence, marketplace impact and customer satisfaction.

As part of the assessment criteria, CSW has worked towards gaining Microsoft competencies which each require a combination of approved customer reference sites, MCP exams and product tests. CSW has so far this year successfully gained the Data Management Solutions and ISV Software Solutions competencies and are currently working towards the Networking Infrastructure Solutions competency.

Microsoft Gold partnership status gives CSW a rich set of benefits including software licences; access to training and support; PR and marketing; and enables a close working relationship with Microsoft that benefits CSW’s customers and gives CSW a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

The Microsoft Partner Program was launched in October 2003 and represents Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to the success of its partners worldwide. For further information on Microsoft Gold Certified Partnership status and what this means, visit: www.microsoft.com/partner

09/05/08 - CSW appointed to new ASCC Framework Contracts

CSW Group Ltd, a leading provider of patient-centric electronic healthcare records products, has been appointed to the new Additional Supply Capability and Capacity (ASCC) framework contracts to provide clinical information systems to deliver a range of IT products and services to the NHS.

Lot 2 of the ASCC Framework supports the delivery of existing clinical IT systems and the provision of new clinical IT systems and services as business requirements emerge. CSW was successful in twenty categories and has been appointed to the framework contracts as a specialist SME for categories such as clinical integration, social care, community services, integrated care pathway and care planning, order communications, e-prescribing, as well as the provision of clinical consultancy services.

The procurement of the ASCC Framework Contracts was initiated with the publication of an OJEU Notice in March 2007. The Frameworks are for a four year duration and will enable the streamlined procurement of IT systems and services from suppliers who have demonstrated experience in the health sector and can be used to support both National Programme for IT (NPfIT) related work and wider IT related projects.

These contracts are not intended to replace the contracts already let for the National Programme for IT. They will supplement the existing supply capacity and enable new requirements to be met through a readily available approved Framework. This will mitigate the risks of existing suppliers being unable to meet contractual commitments.

John Chelsom, Deputy Chairman of CSW added,
“This is a tremendous achievement for CSW. We are committed to working with the NHS in England under the new framework to deliver new and innovative products to support integrated, patient-focused healthcare. CSW’s inclusion in the ASCC framework contracts is an important step in our plans for growth over the coming years so that we can continue to make a real difference to the quality and delivery of healthcare across the UK”

14/04/08 - CSW Group in UK's 'Hot 100' for second year

Hot 100 CSW Group is once again ranked in the Real Business/LDC Hot 100 league table, which charts the UK’s fastest-growing privately owned businesses. This follows the award of ‘SME Organisation of the Year’ given to CSW at the prestigious British Computer Society (BCS) IT Awards at the end of last year.

Together, the companies in this year’s Hot 100 have pulled in sales of £4.3bn and boast profits of £280m. With sales having increased from £1.7m to £8.1m over the past four years, CSW has grown by an impressive 59% per cent annually and ranks at position 83.

Grant Berry, regional managing director for LDC, the private equity company that sponsors the Hot 100 survey, says the variety of businesses on the list is an encouraging sign for the UK economy. He adds “People with the right approach to business who keep their focus and recruit the right management team, stand a great chance of becoming successful.”

CSW is one of only five companies in the Hot 100 that sell to the healthcare market. Since the original product development of its Case Notes product began in 1999, CSW has continued to sustain growth over a number of years and has completely transformed its business from a consultancy/services-based company, to a leading product development company for standards-based electronic health records and knowledge management in the UK.

At the end of 2006 CSW extended its operations with the incorporation of its US subsidiary, based in New York, as part of its ongoing strategy to become a global market leading product supplier for electronic health records and knowledge management.

For more information on the Real Business Hot 100 and to see the full listings, visit http://www.realbusiness.co.uk/hot100

07/04/08 - CSW speaking at Intellect 2008 Healthcare Conference

Dr John Chelsom, Managing Director, CSW Group Ltd will be examining the architecture and approaches of Regional and National Electronic Health Records (EHR) at this year’s Intellect 2008 Healthcare conference on the 28th April in Russell Square, London.

The healthcare conference will look at strategic perspectives on EHR and offer a unique industry insight into some of the most advanced EHR implementations in the world today. It will identify the basic building blocks needed to create effective large-scale EHR systems and look at real life case studies.

Dr Chelsom’s presentation will give an insight into the technology and experience gained from the implementation of national and regional systems in England and Wales, with reflections on the different approaches being taken in the US.

For further information on the event and to book a place, click here.

28/03/08 - Case Notes customers lead by example in HC2008 case histories

CSW Group Ltd, recently awarded the title of ‘SME Organisation of the Year’ at the prestigious British Computer Society (BCS) IT Awards, will be exhibiting at Healthcare Computing 2008 this year in Harrogate at stand number B70.

CSW’s leading standards-based electronic health record product – Case Notes - will be the focus of two case history sessions at the event.

The first case history supported by CSW looks at “Accurate and timely doctor to doctor discharge communication” at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. Olubunmi Fajemisin, Lead CE Pharmacist, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust will give an insight into how Case Notes has been used to achieve a business process that enables ward-based doctors and pharmacists to work together successfully - supporting consistent, accurate and on time discharge communication. The case history takes place on Monday 21st April at 2pm.

The second case history by Steve Thomson, National IHR Project Manager, Informing Healthcare,Wales, will take place on Tuesday 22 April at 11am and is entitled “An Electronic Health Record to improve out-of-hours care in Wales”. The session looks athow North-West and South-West Wales are developing information sharing between GP practices and the local out-of-hours service, improving the safety and quality of care for patients.

These case histories demonstrate once again CSW’s ability to successfully manage and develop innovative solutions in partnership with their customers. Using the Case Notes product, customers are able to improve all aspects of health delivery throughout the patient journey – from improved efficiency, communication, patient safety and accuracy of patient data, to better quality of patient care.

To find out more, come along to the free case history sessions or visit CSW in person at stand number B70. See the event website at http://www.healthcare-computing.co.uk

20/02/08 - CSW showcase Case Notes at HIMSS 08 in Orlando

CSW North America will showcase its patient-centric interoperable Electronic Health Record (EHR) system - Case Notes™ - at the HIMSS Annual Conference 2008 at Orlando, FL.

Case Notes is a proven, end-to-end EHR system that displays a single patient record across multiple care providers, empowering health professionals to deliver the best possible healthcare throughout a patient’s lifetime. Used by physicians, hospitals, labs, radiology centers, skilled nursing facilities and emergency departments, Case Notes seamlessly coordinates clinical processes and connects users across multiple care settings.

“One of the biggest barrier to EHR adoption in a hospital is the resistance from physicians and other health professionals due to difficulties with technology such as multiplicity of screens, options and navigational aids.” says John Chelsom, CEO of CSW, “Case Notes is a web-based system that addresses this issue as it is designed by experienced clinicians for ease of use, keeping in mind the work habits and routines of health professionals. Knowledge of browser based navigation is sufficient to operate Case Notes which makes it physician preferred EHR system.”

Completely web-based, Case Notes provides secure access to a patient’s medical history via a one-stop portal from any connected location and device. Case Notes is ideally suited for mid-sized hospitals as it easily integrates with existing systems across the hospital and adopts an incremental deployment approach, adding new functionality as it is required, as opposed to rip-and-replace. This protects existing IT investments and also lowers the total cost of ownership which the hospital can see the clinical value taking effect almost immediately.

To see Case Notes in action at the forthcoming HIMSS 08 conference, visit CSW at booth #1721.

11/12/07 - CSW is SME Organisation of the Year

BCS Award Winner CSW was awarded the title of ‘SME Organisation of the Year’ at the prestigious British Computer Society (BCS) IT Awards ceremony last week. The awards, which took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, were presented by BBC news broadcaster Kate Silverton in recognition of excellence, professionalism and innovation in IT. CSW’s winning entry entitled ‘Taking Electronic Health Records Worldwide’ was quoted as having “…demonstrated strong company growth in a difficult market, with staff and Investors working closely on product development.”

The BCS IT Industry Awards are a central element of the BCS professionalism programme and have very quickly established themselves as the leading hallmark of success amongst practitioners in the IT industry today. As standards of sophistication, business acumen and skill in the IT world are continually developing, the role of IT and its effective management is critical across the whole spectrum of business. The cross-industry awards recognise, promote and acclaim excellence, professionalism, innovation and the outstanding achievements to which individuals and groups contribute.

CSW wins CSW’s award winning entry for ‘SME Organisation of the Year’ was selected amongst over 600 nominations that were received for the 23 awards categories. Since the original product development of its Case Notes product began in 1999, CSW has continued to sustain growth over a number of years and has completely transformed its business from a consultancy/services-based company, to a leading product development company for standards-based electronic health records and knowledge management in the UK. At the end of 2006 CSW extended its operations with the incorporation of its US subsidiary, based in New York, as part of its ongoing strategy to become a global market leading product supplier for electronic health records and knowledge management.

David Clarke, BCS Chief Executive, said: “This year’s awards are a fitting culmination to our 50th anniversary year which has been exceptional. Technology has enabled unparalleled improvements in productivity and business efficiency over the last 50 years and today IT drives business. These winners have embraced this concept and proven their excellence in innovation and professionalism; they exemplify the importance and value that technology brings to business, society and the economy.”

John Chelsom, Managing Director of CSW added: “This award is a huge achievement for CSW and is recognition once again of our ability to successfully manage and deliver innovative IT products for our customers, achieving impressive growth and performance in a challenging market. The hard work and dedication of everyone at CSW has succeeded in creating a company that is quite special.”

For more information on the BCS IT Awards, visit http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.16272. Photos of the awards ceremony can also be seen at http://www.derekgeorgephotography.com/gallery/dg/index.html.

03/12/07 - Wales select CSW for Individual Health Record

Informing Healthcare has awarded a three-year contract to CSW Group Ltd to commence implementation of the Individual Health Record in out-of-hours care in north west Wales (Gwynedd and Anglesey) and south west Wales (Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion).

The Individual Health Record (IHR) will be based on CSW’s Case Notes product for electronic health records management which has already been proven in deployments in the NHS in England, in the National Programme for IT and in the Technical Proof of Concept (TPoC) for the IHR in Wales.

The new system will allow patient information held on GP practice computer systems to be viewed by medical staff in the local out-of-hours service. This will enable medical records to be shared and viewed by health professionals, wherever care takes place, to help make important clinical decisions about the best care and treatment of a patient. This improves patient safety and the quality of care.

The contract was awarded to CSW by Informing Healthcare following a competitive procurement process. The new service is scheduled to be available for the 390,000 patients in the north west and south west of Wales by spring 2008.

This implementation builds on the successful use of the Individual Health Record in out-of-hours care in the Gwent health community. The project is in line with both Informing Healthcare's strategy of incremental deployment of service improvements that produce patient benefits very quickly and the Welsh Assembly Government's Delivering Emergency Care Services (DECS) strategy.

For further information, visit http://www.wales.nhs.uk/ihc/page.cfm?pid=13294

27/11/07 - CSW in Deloitte Technology Fast 500

CSW is listed in this year’s Deloitte Technology EMEA Fast 500 ranking of fastest growing technology companies for 2007.

The Deloitte EMEA Fast 500 program recognises technology companies that have achieved the fastest rates of annual revenue growth across Europe, the Middle East and Africa during the past five years. It is the most objective industry-ranking standard to focus on the technology field in EMEA and includes both public and private companies from all areas of technology: from Internet to biotechnology; from medical and scientific to computers.

The awards, which have been running in EMEA for seven years, are based on an organisation’s five-year average percentage revenue growth. CSW achieved a ranking at number 370 with an impressive five-year percentage growth of 412%. This growth has been achieved at CSW through various implementations of our popular Case Notes product for integrated shared care records management and our XML-based Knowledge Management Suite (KMS) for content and knowledge management.

Average growth rates across the entire rankings were impressive and were the highest since the Fast 500 began in 2001, illustrating that confidence in technology remains high despite economic uncertainties.

To view the full report, visit http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/dtt_tmt_EMEAFast500_2007%282%29.pdf

12/11/07 - CSW's Tower Hamlets project wins award

Award The London Borough of Tower Hamlets (supported by CSW and BT) won a prestigious award at the e-Health Insider Awards Ceremony in London last week, for the implementation of their e-SAP system.

The award for Community and Mental Health Care ICT Team of the Year went to Tower Hamlets for its implementation of the NHS London Programme for IT electronic Single Assessment Process (e-SAP), which allows over 200 staff from the NHS and social services to electronically share information about people in their care. This award is a huge honour and demonstrates the success of the system and the hard work of all of those involved.

Polly Wicks, Tower Hamlets Social Services SAP project manager, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this award. It is recognition of what was very much a collaborative effort. The award is going to go on a tour now to all the users – everyone will be thrilled!”

Jon Hoeksma, Editor of E-Health Insider said: "Congratulations to all the winners and finalists. They provide a very heartening picture of the talent, innovation and resourcefulness that is moving information technology forward in our health services.”

Further coverage of the awards can be seen at:

http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/3200/winners_announced_in_bt_e-health_insider_awards

http://www.e-health-insider.com/comment_and_analysis/272/cheers_and_tears_at_bt_e-health_insider_awards

31/10/07 - Interoperability series by CSW in BJHC&IM

The new online version of the British Journal of Healthcare Computing and Information Management (BJHC&IM) has published the first article in a series on the technical background to interoperability.

The article, by Ann Wrightson from the CSW Group Technology Office, is entitled ‘Interoperability of Healthcare Information’ and looks at two key factors that make interoperability standards work: maturity and harmonization.

The article recognises the current trends towards the maturity of XML-based interoperability standards along with the growing recognition that standards need to be not only available and adoptable, but also harmonized across all the major standards providers. It looks at traditional concepts such as clinical notes and letters versus new technology such as Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). It also considers issues such as sustainability and future-proofing so that clinical information is able to move freely and safely across many different system architectures and platforms, present and future.

To view the article visit: http://www.bjhcim.co.uk/features/2007/710008.htm

05/10/07 - CSW leads Interoperability Workshop

A workshop on ‘The interoperability of standards-based EHRs’ will be presented on Tuesday 9th October by CSW as a pre-conference session for the Clinical Informatics conference from the 10th-11th October at The Hatton, London.

Ron Summers, a founding member of CSW and Professor of Information Science in the Research School of Informatics, Loughborough University will Chair the workshop and will be joined by Ann Wrightson, Principal Consultant and Dave Nurse, Technical Director at CSW.

This workshop will enable healthcare IT professionals, planners, managers and clinical IT users to understand how standards-based Electronic Health Records are supporting information management and exchange in healthcare, both in the UK and internationally. Delegates will gain an overall view of the progress towards standards-based health information systems across the world, the lessons being learned and the places to watch in future. Topics covered will include:

Standards-based interoperability in patient records and shared care
How XML supports clinical governance in shared care
The interoperability of standards-based EHRS – the international picture

The workshop will conclude with an open discussion, enabling delegates to explore matters raised in the formal presentations in the context of their own experience.

For further information on the workshop, visit the website here.

01/10/07 - CSW shortlisted for two BCS IT Awards

BCS IT Awards CSW has been shortlisted as a finalist for the prestigious British Computer Society (BCS) IT Awards in the categories ‘SME Organisation of the Year’ and ‘Supplier Organisation of the Year’.

The awards embrace IT innovation and business achievements combined with organisational excellence and are recognised as a leading hallmark of success in the IT industry in the UK. The judges were drawn from representatives of BCS, NCC, Intellect, Award sponsors and practitioners of equivalent status with extensive experience in the IT industry.

CSW was selected amongst over 600 nominations that were received for the 23 awards categories. These awards recognise once again CSW’s ability to manage and deliver innovative IT products, pioneering the use of XML-based technology both in its Case Notes and KMS products to improve business processes and information management across industries such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, publishing, e-government, and news and media.

The winners of the BCS IT Awards will be announced at a gala event on 6th December at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

For further information on the awards, visit http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.5818

25/09/07 - Tower Hamlets project nominated for e-Health Insider Award

EHI Awards CSW's Tower Hamlets project has been shortlisted for the e-Health Insider Awards 2007 in the category 'Community and Mental Health ICT Team of the Year’.

Tower Hamlets is the first care community to go live using the CfH Shared Care system for the Single Assessment Process (SAP) across the London Cluster. The system, implemented by BT and based on CSW’s Case Notes product, was deployed across Tower Hamlets partnership in the autumn of 2006. It provides a ‘patient centric’ electronic health record supporting pan community communication across both the health and social care community of Tower Hamlets with a scalable, shared-cared SAP solution for Older People. All professionals share the same single, comprehensive base of information. This visibility brings an accurate assessment of current needs and care provision, which supports a rapid response to emerging problems.

This award recognises the work of staff delivering ICT services in a community and mental health care setting in the UK. The judges selected Tower Hamlets based on their ability to deliver excellent services that improve the standard of community and mental health care; enhance patient services; and increase the efficiency of their healthcare organisations.

The winners of the e-Health Insider Awards 2007 will be announced at a presentation dinner on 7th November at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London.

For further information on the awards, visit http://www.ehealthawards.com/categories/3. Full details of the finalists can be seen here.

20/09/07 - CSW celebrate launch of Oxford/India business exchange programme

Exchange students Inspired by a chance meeting at a cricket match, Oxford-based healthcare IT specialist CSW Group has teamed up with Mastek (India) and St Edmund Hall (University of Oxford) to create a student exchange programme between Oxford and India.

The first summer of that exchange programme is now coming to a close. Two students from St Edmund Hall completed six weeks of work experience at CSW at the start of the summer, including attending the XML Summer School that CSW hosts each year at Wadham College. Following their work in England, the students then went out to work at Mastek in India for another six weeks.

Coming the other way, CSW has recently welcomed to Oxford the three students that John Chelsom, Managing Director of CSW, initially met at the cricket match in Nagpur as the first participants in the programme from India. Mr Jambulkar, one of the three Nagpur students, said: "It is a big ambition for Indian students to work in England and we want to gain experience to help improve our technical knowledge and marketing skills."

The launch of this exchange programme was celebrated with a cricket match in Oxford earlier this month with the Ranauk Jambhulkar Cup presented to the winners (Mastek). CSW hope that this will become an annual fixture to celebrate and promote a sustainable exchange programme that aims to provide opportunities for students from both Oxford and India, so that they can experience for themselves the revolution that has turned software development into a global collaboration.

22/08/07 - Top Training Quality Award given to CSW

CSW's Knowledge Transfer training team (KTT) has been awarded accreditation by the Institute of IT Training (IITT). The company became an accredited training provider first time, with no non conformances against the IITT strict code of quality of training excellence. This places CSW alongside the top IT training providers in the UK, including Oracle, Unisys, RM and Business Objects.

The Institute of IT Training is dedicated to increasing IT skills within today's workforce and promoting the importance of those skills at the highest business and government levels. Accreditation represents independent recognition by the industry’s foremost professional body on the quality of training processes and the knowledge and skills of the trainers themselves.

IITT accreditation is increasingly becoming a standard that CSW's customers demand and recognise as mark of endorsement, ensuring the highest quality training services. CSW’s key customers - including many NHS Trusts and NHS Connecting for Health - look for IITT accreditation from their suppliers.

As an IITT-accredited NHS supplier CSW now delivers training backed by independent quality assurance on key areas such as sales and marketing, training processes, training materials and trainer skills. It provides CSW with objective benchmarking of our training services and enhanced recognition for the services that we provide.

The IITT report summary stated,
"CSW is applauded for its commitment to quality, its receptiveness to new ideas and the desire to continuously improve in a commercially sensitive manner.”
And confirmed that,
“…the Knowledge Transfer Team within CSW is entirely worthy of initial accreditation with the Institute."

Mark Stone, Knowledge Transfer Team Leader at CSW, added,
“The accreditation is recognition of CSW’s professionalism, quality and customer focus. It's really important to us that we keep improving the quality of our training services to support the delivery of our Case Notes and KMS products and we are already working towards achieving Gold status.”

Further information on the benefits of IITT accreditation both to buyers and suppliers can be found at http://iitt.vbnlive.com/pws/area.asp?sss=accrwhy

15/08/07 - CSW contribute to new Data Archiving Best Practice Guide

Ann Wrightson, Principal Consultant with CSW Group Ltd, was one of the ‘EDA SIG Core Group’ that developed the recently launched Good Practice Guide: Electronic Data Archiving, published by ISPE (http://www.ispe.org/), the world's largest not-for-profit association dedicated to educating and advancing pharmaceutical manufacturing professionals and their industry. Ann's expertise with metadata and her experience as an advisor to the Digital Archive project at the National Archives led to her being invited to join the group and she has since been involved with development of the Guide from initial concept to publication.

EDA Guide The Data Archiving Guide provides a rational and scalable approach to electronic data archiving through the development of an archiving strategy. The implementation of this strategy should help organisations to achieve and maintain regulatory compliance, especially in the US, and will help to manage electronic records more effectively in the long term.

For further information on the guide visit http://www.ispe.org/cs/gamp_publications

02/08/07 - XML Summer School success

Dining Hall CSW’s XML Summer School 2007 concluded on Friday 27th July, following a week of enlightening seminars and entertaining social events. Delegates from across the world congregated to be tutored by our expert speakers, to the backdrop of historic Wadham College at the University of Oxford.

Despite the unprecedented amount of rain and associated floods, the XML Summer School ran smoothly. The seminars themselves were extremely well-received, eliciting glowing feedback from delegates. One commented on the two-day course on XSLT, XSL-FO and XQuery by Bob DuCharme: “Excellent! I got a tremendous amount of knowledge from these talks”.

The XML Summer School is a five-day residential course brings together some of the world's leading industry experts to deliver an informative and challenging curriculum on XML related technologies. Split into three tracks, the curriculum is flexible, so that delegates can combine individual seminars giving them a truly tailor-made learning programme.

Bob DuCharme Many delegates were very impressed by the amount of world-renowned speakers in open standards and related technologies in their midst; one delegate remarked that “…you get to sit at the feet of the masters!”

The social events at the XML Summer School provide the ideal platform for networking with fellow delegates or extracting information from the speakers on a one-to-one basis. Some delegates argue that the networking and learning experiences outside the classroom are as valuable as that in the classroom.

Highlights of the week included an exclusive tour of the Bodleian Library, where delegates took in the stunning architecture and incredible history of the Divinity School, Convocation House and Duke Humfrey’s Library; and a dinner and tour of Rhodes House.

Overall this year’s XML Summer School was a great success and CSW look forward to hosting an even better event next year. To register your interest now in the XML Summer School 2008, please email your details to summer.school@csw.co.uk or visit the event website at www.xmlsummerschool.com

29/07/07 - KMS launch online exhibition site at ECM365

CSW’s Knowledge Management Suite (KMS) now has its own online exhibition stand at ECM365 (www.contentmanagement365.com).

ECM365 is the largest online event site for the UK web/enterprise content management and document management marketplace. It is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and provides a one-stop information resource for business professionals looking for new content and document management services. The site includes a virtual exhibition of industry vendors, independent news/features and respected industry research. As a visitor to ECM365 you can benefit from the following:

Compare the leading enterprise content management and document management vendors
Source suppliers relating to all aspects of information management
A one-stop information source - independent white papers, product launches, press releases etc
A free educational programme
No travel time or costs involved
All the facilities of a physical event
Archived information on the industry searchable by category

CSW’s KMS exhibition stand is based in Hall 1 and can be found under the ‘knowledge management’ and ‘content delivery’ product categories. It provides permanent access to CSW’s company information, KMS product brochures, white papers and other announcements - such as new product releases and events.

KMS at ECM365

To visit the exhibition stand directly, go to http://www.contentmanagement365.com/Stands/CSWGroup/ or the KMS product website can be found at www.xmlkms.co.uk

11/07/07 - XML Summer School selling out fast - register now!

Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to learn all about XML and related open standards technology at this year's XML Summer School. With only just over a week to go before the event starts, places are selling fast.

Wadham The innovative curriculum is split into three main tracks. The Introductory Track is perfect for newcomers or as a refresher course before moving onto more advanced seminars. The Technical Track is aimed at a more advanced audience and gives detailed insight into specific technical topics, and the Applications Track offers excellent industry-focused application of XML for delegates of all levels.

With one, two, three and five day training options - both residential and non-residential - there is something for everyone, whether your budget is small or large. Visit the website to see full descriptions of the seminars and register now to ensure your place at this prestigious event while places are still available.

26/06/07 - CSW acquires software assets of H2HCare

CSW Group Ltd has acquired the software assets of H2HCare, a health IT company, specialising in the ‘business of healthcare’ – providing web-based billing, contracting and financial management capabilities to support effective patient care for public and private healthcare organisations.

H2HCare products will be incorporated into CSW’s Case Notes product suite, extending it from an Electronic Health Record for cross-agency shared care into a complete service management system for scheduling care delivery and meeting the extended contract quality challenges in the new Commissioning environment.

The new software will be released this Autumn in Case Notes v5.2 as the Case Notes Financials, Patient Administration and Enterprise Booking modules. CSW is in discussion with former customers of H2HCare in Ireland on upgrades to the new Case Notes versions of the product.

Eamonn Furniss, former Chief Executive, H2HCare said,
“I am delighted to see our software incorporated into CSW’s Case Notes. CSW and H2HCare have worked as partners in the past and have very complementary product offerings for Private and Public healthcare. The combined product offering will be unique in offering a fully integrated enterprise solution for both clinical and administrative users, and will ultimately improve the patient experience. “

Case Notes Enterprise Booking allows GPs access to day wards so that they can refer and book patients in directly - automating the patient booking and scheduling process throughout the hospital and other health or social care settings. Case Notes Financials is an integrated suite of web-based components which support each stage of the revenue lifecycle from patient access through to billing and claims processing.

John Chelsom, Managing Director, CSW Group added,
“The new added features and functionality make Case Notes one of the most comprehensive web-based electronic health records systems on the market”

There is increasing pressure on the NHS to use Commissioning to effectively drive patient pathway redesign, improve service delivery and quality of care. Case Notes’ EHR ensures optimal resource utilization, improving outpatient effectiveness and efficiency, meeting patient needs and measuring care outcomes.

Utilising the new features and functionality in Case Notes v5.2, users will be able to capture timely and appropriate health information, and maximise its potential as powerful Commissioning information. Organisations will have a better understanding of demand and capacity across agencies, regardless of location and will be able to identify trends and determine how this should influence Commissioning decisions.

Deborah Hagger, Clinical Director at CSW explained,
“The new qualitative checks to be managed by the SHA’s are the main additional layer in the new Commissioning Framework. Outcomes of Care must be measured to ensure the service used has not only been cost effective but clinically effect too. Our new Case Notes suite of modules can now set the standard for achieving this”.

Further information on the Case Notes product can be found here.

22/05/07 - CSW signs OEM agreement with Visbion

CSW Group has signed an OEM agreement with Visbion Ltd, whereby Visbion’s DICOM imaging technology will be incorporated into CSW's Case Notes product for Electronic Health Records and sold as its new Diagnostic Image Management and Diagnostic Image Viewer modules.

Visbion specialises in medical image management and display solutions that support the acquisition, storage, archive and display of a wide range of medical images. This functionality will now be available through new Case Notes modules, which extend its capability to handle any diagnostic images - including X-Ray, CT and MRI - using the international DICOM 3.0 standard.

screenshot

CSW holds a small shareholding in Visbion Ltd, a UK company that owns digital imaging technology originally developed over a fourteen year period at Imperial College, London. Visbion’s technology integrates images from a wide range of clinical disciplines and provides specialist tools for radiologists, ophthalmologist and other healthcare professionals.

John Chelsom, Managing Director at CSW, commented, “The incorporation of Visbion’s DICOM technology into Case Notes, is a further step towards its development as a cross agency care records system with full clinical functionality. Using Visbion’s technology, Case Notes is now fully DICOM enabled, allowing it to handle a full range of diagnostic images within its single patient centred record.”

Stefan Claesen, Chief Executive, Visbion Ltd added, “The Visbion technology gives the clinician access to all imaging from the single patient-centric record within CSW Case Notes. It delivers a truly distributed diagnostic image review capability and shares a proven, highly-scalable web-based platform with the Case Notes products. It is the perfect complement for the existing clinical functionality for order communications, results reporting and clinical noting in Case Notes.”

Further information on the Case Notes product can be found here.

02/05/07 - CSW listed in 'Hot 100'

Hot 100 CSW has been ranked at number 70 in the Real Business/LDC Hot 100 league table, which charts the UK’s fastest-growing privately owned businesses. This follows CSW's listing in the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 league table of fastest growing privately owned technology firms, which was published at the end of last year.

The annual Hot 100 league table ranks growth in sales over the last four years across all industry sectors – from plumbing suppliers, to online fashion stores and car dealers. To qualify, the latest accounts needed to show sales of more than £5m and be profitable. With sales having increased from £1.6m to £8m over the past four years, CSW has grown by an impressive 71.1 per cent annually.

Grant Berry, UK regional managing director at LDC, the private equity firm which sponsors the survey described the success of the Hot 100 companies, "To be growing profitably when the market is so competitive is a testament to the determination of the country's entrepreneurs."

John Chelsom, Managing Director of CSW added, “This listing is yet further recognition of CSW’s achievements as we move closer to our strategic ambition of becoming a leading supplier of products to the global market in Electronic Health Records and Knowledge Management.”

For more information on the Real Business Hot 100 see http://www.realbusiness.co.uk/Hot100/

18/04/07 – HL7 UK members elect CSW to Board

Ann Wrightson, Principal Consultant at CSW Group, was elected yesterday as a member of the Health Level Seven (HL7) UK Management Board for 2007-8. Ann is the second CSW staff member to serve on the HL7 UK Board following the position held by Dave Nurse, Technical Director at CSW, from 2004-6.

Ann has specialized in open standards technologies since 1985. Over the last few years she has worked mainly in e-Government and Healthcare, providing strategic IT advice and developing interoperability standards both in the UK and internationally. Ann has also been an active member of HL7 UK for some years now as HL7 UK Sub-group Co-chair on Electronic Care Pathways & Decision Support and HL7 UK representative on the UK Electronic Social Care Record forum.

HL7 UK is a voluntary association of interested parties drawn from the supplier, user, provider and technical expert members of the UK healthcare community. Its mission is to “…support the development, promotion and implementation of HL7 standards to meet the needs of healthcare organisations, health professionals and healthcare software suppliers in the UK”. HL7 UK is managed by an elected Management Board, with three ‘Members at Large’ elected each year at the AGM and who each serve for two years. ‘Members at Large’ are not elected to a specific role but all Management Board members are expected to volunteer to take responsibility for leading or contributing to particular tasks, areas, activities or events - including technical development and discussions related to HL7 standards.

Ann’s new role on the Management Board continues CSW’s active participation with HL7 UK as a ‘Member at Large’ and demonstrates our ongoing strategic commitment to open standards in healthcare, enabling CSW to continue to set the standard for good practice in these areas. Open information standards are used throughout CSW’s e-records products/services and our technical teams are acknowledged as experts and opinion-leaders in the field of XML-based technology, HL7 and open standards. CSW is also actively involved in international debates regarding the nature and role of XML implementation of HL7 interoperability standards and the evolution of interoperability standards for multi-agency working across Health and Local Government.

For further information on HL7 UK and other Management Board members for 2007-8, visit: www.hl7.org.uk/board/board.asp

To find out more about XML and open standards technology, visit: www.xmlsummerschool.co.uk

03/04/07 – Registration now open for XML Summer School 2007

XML Summer School logo CSW is pleased to announce that the XML Summer School registration is now open. Delegates who register before April 30th 2007 will receive a 15% early bird discount, so book now to avoid disappointment.

Oxford The XML Summer School, now in its seventh year, is a five-day residential course taking place at Wadham College, University of Oxford from 22nd-27th July. It brings together some of the world's leading industry experts to deliver an informative and challenging curriculum. The event goes beyond that of a traditional XML training course, offering delegates a unique learning experience in the picturesque settings of Oxford.

The innovative curriculum caters for all levels and is split into three main tracks: ‘Hands-on Introduction’, ‘Technical’ and ‘Applications’. The world-renowned speakers explore the latest trends in these technologies and illustrate how they can be applied in specific industry settings.

For further information and to register for the XML Summer School, go to www.xmlsummerschool.com

05/03/07 – CSW Group launches US subsidiary at HIMSS 2007

CSW at HIMSS UK-based healthcare IT software provider CSW launched its new US subsidiary, CSW North America Inc, last week at the HIMSS 2007 conference and exhibition in New Orleans.

CSW incorporated the US subsidiary, based in New York, at the end of 2006 as part of its ongoing strategy to become a global market leading product supplier for electronic health records and knowledge management.

The US subsidiary is headquartered in New York City, acting as the distributor for CSW's Case Notes and Knowledge Management Suite (KMS) products in the US. It services new customers in the US, including integrated hospital systems and global pharmaceutical companies. The company acts as CSW Group's exclusive agent for all operations in North America including distribution and resale of all products; development of channel partnerships; and delivery of associated services.

The company’s highly experienced management team includes:

Dr. Steve Arnold, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of CSW North America Inc. Steve has more than 17 years of senior level healthcare experience and is a recognised consultant to the healthcare industry for the implementation of EHR systems and development of Integrated Delivery Systems. In addition to his role with CSW, Steve is President and CEO of Healthcare Consultants International

Jake Nadler, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of CSW North America Inc. Prior to this appointment Jake has held various senior marketing positions, growing successful product and systems integration divisions. He also founded Blackbook Software, a publisher of client relationship management applications for private equity managers.

Tony Stewart, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of CSW North America Inc. Tony has over 15 years' experience in helping organisations improve their business processes, on both sides of the client/consultant fence.

John Chelsom, Managing Director of CSW Group, and President/CEO of CSW North America Inc commented,” We are confident that the North American healthcare and pharmaceutical markets hold great potential for our company and our products. CSW will be bringing our unique, proven experience in delivering standards-based health records management on a national scale and applying it to the US. This will be supported with our content and knowledge management product, KMS, to provide the basis for the next generation of clinical decision support systems.”

For further information on CSW North America Inc., please visit www.cswna.com

20/11/06 – New Case Notes website goes live

CSW Case Notes CSW Group has now launched a dedicated product website for Case Notes v5 at www.casenotes.co.uk

The website reflects the modern design of Case Notes’ new user interface and includes the primary features and benefits of the Case Notes base system, core services, modules and packages.

The website provides in-depth information about Case Notes’ innovative functionality and details information on the four main areas of the product:

- Care Records and Shared Care Systems
- Regional Repositories and Frameworks
- Clinical Modules and Overlays
- Clinical Service Improvement

The new design provides visitors to the site with the opportunity to download case studies on various Case Notes implementations. The case studies reveal the tangible benefits of the system and lessons learnt, while highlighting the flexibility of the product and the ways in which it can be applied to healthcare problems today.

Over the coming months, new Case Notes features will be added and will be announced as they become active on the new site.

25/09/06 - CSW recognised as one of Britain’s fastest growing technology companies

Techtrack 100 CSW has been named at number 30 in the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 league table of fastest growing privately owned technology firms, which was published on 24th September 2006.

The Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 first began in 2001 and ranks Britain's fastest growing, innovative private technology companies by their sales growth over a two year period. The Tech Track 100 adopts the London Stock Exchange’s Techmark definition of a technology company. Its definition is one ‘whose business growth and success is dependent on the development of one or more technologies’. Techmark also requires evidence of significant technological innovation in a company’s product or service.

CSW’s position at number 30 in the Tech Track 100 is based on sales growth between 2003 and 2005, which shows an impressive average annual increase of 95%. Sales grew from £1.6m in 2002/3 to £6.1m in 2004/5 after the NHS picked CSW’s Case Notes product as a key component of its National Care Records Service three years ago. Since then CSW has continued to grow, recording sales of £8.0m in 2005/6.

CSW was also one of the 69 businesses in the league table that showed a profit. CSW has continued this success more recently with our partners through the implementation of a shared-care Single Assessment Process (SAP) solution for Tower Hamlets and a contract to design the Finnish National Healthcare Information System.

John Chelsom, Managing Director of CSW added, “The Tech Track 100 has become one of the main measures of success for innovative technology companies. The key to long-term success is to sustain this growth over a number of years, as CSW has done since first appearing in the Tech Track 100 in 2002.”

For further information on the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 see: http://www.fasttrack.co.uk

For further information, please contact:
Sara Price, Marketing Manager, CSW Group Ltd, Email: sara.price@csw.co.uk

19/09/06 - e-SAP goes live in Tower Hamlets

Caring The deployment of e-SAP is a major milestone for the NHS Care Records Service in London; it is the first system that allows staff from the NHS and Social Services to share information on the individuals in their care.

The new solution, implemented by BT, is based on CSW’s highly successful Case Notes product. Case Notes provides a ‘patient centric’ electronic health record supporting pan community communication across both health and social care community of Tower Hamlets with a shared-cared Single Assessment Process (SAP) solution for Older People. The patient centric view provides all health and social care professionals with a single, comprehensive view of a patient’s care. This visibility facilitates an accurate assessment of current needs and existing care provision which in turn is able to prompt a more speedy response to new patient problems.

The Single Assessment Process (SAP), introduced in the Department of Health’s National Service Framework (NSF) for older people, aims to make sure older people's care needs are assessed thoroughly and accurately, but without procedures being needlessly duplicated by different agencies. In Tower Hamlets, the new e-SAP solution is shared by 227 users from Tower Hamlets PCT, Tower Hamlets Social Services, Barts and The London NHS Trust and East London and The City Mental Health Trust. The SAP process promotes a multi-disciplinary care team approach, spanning all those Health and Social Care organisations providing care input to its clients.

With this in mind, the e-SAP solution provides the integration that binds such a distributed team together in an effective way not seen before. It provides a single source of person care information through an easy-to-use portal front end and offers a conduit for communication across organisational boundaries for referrals - supporting the management of care that drives the Single Assessment care process.

Security and confidentiality are of paramount consideration when building a shared care record solution and the stringent information governance rules laid down by Connecting for Health (CfH) are embedded in the new e-SAP application. Staff log-on using Smartcards that hold information on the owner of the card. Once a user logs in to the e-SAP system, he or she is assigned a job ‘role’ based on their chosen access point. Role-based access then restricts their view of that record to display only what is relevant to their role. The e-SAP system is also integrated with the NHS Care Record Service (NHS CRS) or Spine and meets the required Connecting for Health (CfH) compliance standards for connection.

The benefits of using the national Patient Demographics Service (PDS) for a single source of service user demographic information has also now been realised in Tower Hamlets. One of the most frustrating elements of health and social care documentation is the amount of time wasted keying in the same personal details multiple times. The new e-SAP solution includes a simple patient tracing facility which quickly yields the required information, ensuring consistency across the care community and avoids any re-keying of this basic information.

This Tower Hamlets e-SAP solution has been initially deployed as a pilot. Following the successful take-up by the first users, phase two of e-SAP in Tower Hamlets will take place later this year. Other London Communities have also been closely monitoring the rapid progress made by the e-SAP solution in Tower Hamlets and are now keen to have the solution deployed in their areas.

Polly Wicks, Tower Hamlets Social Services SAP Project Manager says: “We are getting very positive responses from staff across the borough. The people who used the old SAP process definitely find e-SAP an improvement. Staff are also finding e-SAP easy to use, even when using it alongside existing computer systems.”

Further Information on this story can be seen on the Connecting for Health website at:
http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/london/News-and-Events/aug2006-news/towerhamlets-esap
and
http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/news/firstlondonesap

14/09/06 - CSW to work with Consortium to specify Finnish National Healthcare Information System

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has chosen the consortium headed by WM-data, to specify the Finnish national healthcare information system architecture. The consortium includes: Avain Technologies, Commit;, CSW Group and Medici Data. This specification work will provide the foundation for a logically integrated healthcare service information system nationwide.

The key goals will include:

Archiving of electronic patient records
Data-secure nationwide availability of medical records
The adoption of electronic prescriptions
The opportunity to provide electronic healthcare services on a nationwide basis

The Social Insurance Institution of Finland will act as the major implementer of the national architecture. The national architecture requires the development of an electronic patient record system in accordance with national specifications and specifications from the national information system services.

“The project forms a significant share of the whole package, which includes legislation, financing and the specification work. As soon as the Act governing the processing of electronic patient data takes effect, we will be able to prepare a detailed project plan in co-operation with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland and healthcare centres. As a whole, this project will be the most remarkable one in the healthcare sector for years,” explains Pentti Itkonen, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

“This is a highly important project for the future of our entire healthcare system. The development of healthcare services requires integrated interoperable information systems using nationwide information system services. This solid basis will enable the creation of new, innovative services, for example: self-treatment of chronic illnesses.

“The consortium’s members are at the forefront of developing Finnish healthcare service solutions. Enabled by innovative and proven information systems, healthcare service organisations have been able to improve their service quality and develop proven processes. This expertise will underpin the design of the national information system architecture. It will provide both the healthcare sector and their patients, with substantial value and benefits,’ says Matti S. Häkkinen, VP Healthcare Solutions, WM-data Finland.

The national information system architecture specification work is scheduled for completion by 28th February 2007.

For further information, please contact:
Pentti Itkonen, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
Tel. +358 50 387 7600

Matti S. Hakkinen, VP Healthcare Solutions, WM-data Finland
Tel. +358 40 734 1417

WM-data was founded in 1969 and is one of the leading IT companies in the Nordic region. Through industry expertise and close customer relationships, WM-data develop, provide and maintain a broad range of IT services and solutions improving our customers’ efficiency and enhancing their competitive edge. www.wmdata.fi

Established in 1997, Avain Technologies is a Finnish software company specialising in the development and marketing of software for electronic forms, electronic signatures and long-term electronic archiving, based on open international standards. www.avaintec.com

CSW Group Ltd, a leading provider of electronic health records and knowledge management products for the healthcare industry in the UK. CSW's Case Notes product, combined with its expertise in HL7, XML and other open standards, has played a major role in the design and implementation of the NHS Care Records Service in England and in the Technical Proof of Concept for the Single Record in Wales. www.csw.co.uk

Established in 1989, Commit; Oy is a growing company leading the field in the development of solutions for the healthcare sector supplying customised electronic e-business solutions. Working within the healthcare-service, public and industrial sectors. www.commit.fi

Established in 1991, Medici Data Ltd. is a software and service company specialising in healthcare information technology. It develops, supplies and maintains key systems for the planning, control, monitoring and documentation of patient care and nursing, and integrates with other systems seamlessly to create a well-performing whole. www.medicidata.com

21/07/06 - TeesPath go live with Lab-Links system

Lab Stirrers TeesPath, a clinical network of pathology services spanning the Co Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authorities, has gone live with a new Lab-Links system using CSW’s Case Notes™ Electronic Health Records (EHR) product. The new system enables the linking together of information contained in the previously disparate pathology systems across the whole of County Durham and the Tees Valley, covering three acute trusts, six acute hospitals, eight primary care trusts and two mental health trusts.

The new Lab-Links system has been developed and implemented by CSW together with TeesPath as part of the Government's 10-year programme to modernise and reconfigure NHS pathology services. CSW’s Case Notes™ product for shared care health records management has been used by TeesPath to take silos of pathology results constrained by the physical boundaries of individual software systems and locations, and deliver a single integrated Lab-Links system that is indexed on NHS numbers and available to all authorised clinicians across the NHS Net.

CSW have combined the Case Notes™ EHR product with ICE…Messaging software from Anglia Healthcare Systems Ltd into an integrated architecture for laboratory networking. The existing system is capable of being used for any other type of clinical data where there is a need to share data through an EHR to support patient care. The next phase of deployment is to roll out the remote transmission of orders and results between laboratory systems.

At TeesPath, 55% of pathology testing is performed for clinicians outside of the acute sector who do not have on-line access to local pathology or acute hospital computer systems. The new Lab-Links system permits authorised clinical staff to view an integrated patient result file from anywhere in the area, regardless of where the testing took place and where the clinician is located. With greater emphasis in the NHS on dealing with patients in a ‘home’ environment - the new Lab-Links system enables specialist staff to treat patients in this way, supporting specialty group working and freeing up hospital beds for those that need it most.

Pathology plays an essential part in delivering the NHS Plan and Cancer Plan, meeting National Service Framework targets and protecting public health. With approximately 70% of patients’ diagnosis currently dependent on pathology results in the NHS, the new Lab-Links system has become a crucial element in the improvement of patient care. By using Case Notes™ to provide a single, web-enabled pathology results system which shares information across the region, TeesPath are beginning to make major improvements. By minimizing duplication of patient data and excessive clerical input, errors are reduced and there is a noticeable improvement in data quality.

Dave Nurse, Technical Director at CSW explained “This system provides a solution for the sharing of diagnostic data in a safe and secure manner. We have worked closely with TeesPath project staff to ensure that the system provides a robust strategic solution to the sharing of diagnostic data to support shared care.”

Dave Bottoms, Teespath IT Project Manager commented, “Although the project is still in its early stages it is already giving benefits to community hospital staff who have found it difficult to gain access to up-to-date results. Tertiary care staff are also gaining benefits as they are often dealing with referrals from other local NHS Trusts and without any other form of computerized access to the remote primary Pathology database.

The project has been demanding and has taken place against a backdrop of uncertainty relating to the NHS Care Record and what would/ would not be provided for to cater for these needs. The pilot users are reminded of their ‘legitimate relationship’ responsibilities throughout the process and only results bearing the NHS number are incorporated into the database in an effort to make it as ‘clean’ as possible.

Although the system is only being used in a few pilot areas at the moment, it has huge potential and with more details now emerging about the Detailed Care Record being held at a more local level, this system has already provided the bedrock for Pathology.”

Further Information about the TeesPath modernisation programme is available at:
www.teespath.co.uk

14/07/06 – CSW gets Microsoft Gold

CSW is proud to announce our new status as a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner following successful completion of both the Data Management Solutions competency and ISV/Software solutions competency.

The Microsoft Gold Certified Partner program provides market recognition to vendors that demonstrate a capacity to deliver consistent high-quality software applications built on Microsoft technology. CSW has met the program’s rigorous requirements including customer references, employees with Microsoft Certified Professional certification and Microsoft Competencies - demonstrating our in-depth technical and business expertise and our ability to apply this to our customers’ needs.

Microsoft Gold Certified Partners receive a rich set of benefits, including early access to Microsoft products, training, technical support and peer-networking opportunities that allow a variety of partners to come together and provide end-to-end customer solutions.

As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, the real winners are our customers. CSW now has additional resources and business critical services at our disposal to support all stages of solution development, implementation and support. Customers can expect a high level of support for Microsoft products combined with the knowledge, skills, and commitment to help implement technology solutions that match your exact business needs.

For further information on the Microsoft Gold Certified Partner program, visit https://partner.microsoft.com/global/program/goldcertpartner/