Dealing with the press
WALL-to-wall coverage of the coronavirus pandemic has put health professionals squarely in the media spotlight – and it may seem helpful and straightforward enough to engage with the press but MDDUS urges caution
Providing routine primary care during COVID-19
WHAT are your professional responsibilities in providing routine healthcare in a primary care setting where service demand and modes of delivery are drastically different?
Are you ready for online patient access to medical records?
THE new GP contract in England commits to all patients having online access to their full record by April 2020. The rest of the UK is not far behind. Is your practice ready?
Practices in England face the clock on online consultations
THE new GP contract in England calls for all practices to offer online consultations to patients by April 2020 and video consultations by April 2021. But what about the risks?
Data concerns when texting patients
TEXT messaging patients has become almost routine in healthcare today but robust processes are still needed to monitor and control both message content and intent, as well as protect patient confidentiality.
Opioid prescribing risks
OPIOID addiction has reached crisis proportions in the US – but UK prescribers also face increasing risk.
Brexit patient safety risks
BREXIT looms ever larger as the UK faces yet another crucial deadline – and MDDUS has received numerous calls requesting advice in regard to the potential for disrupted patient care and service provision in the event of a "no deal".
Employer rating sites
WEBSITES that encourage employees to review a former (or current) workplace may be useful for job seekers – but for healthcare professionals there are risks in posting on such sites.
Covert video recording
CAN patients video record consultations or staff undertaking a clinical procedure without permission?
Burnout is also a patient safety issue
THERE is well-established evidence of a causal relationship between reduced wellbeing of clinicians and patient safety risks within secondary care – and a recent study suggests the same is true in primary care.