Journalist, editor, analyst and trainer on computing, government, climate and data
A technique developed by the car industry could help staff, patients and reduce costs, says SA Mathieson
Since this event, the concept of lean healthcare does not appear to have spread widely across the NHS, unfortunately. In August 2012, the New Yorker reported on a few US hospital chains thinking of the same ideas.
Continue reading “NHS should embrace lean times”
An innovative exercise in electronic mapping aims to bypass the block on access to data subject to Crown copyright
Researching this meant spending a memorable day with some great OpenStreetMap volunteers on the Isle of Wight, in the early days of what has become a massive wikimap.
Continue reading “A sidestep in the right direction”
Local authorities are keen to widen participation in democracy through the use of technology, but many campaigners are sceptical, says SA Mathieson
This article was based on a Bristol city council e-democracy conference, held to discuss the potential for more online participation in the democratic process. Continue reading “Pushing the button”
David Cameron has built up a strong rapport with his constituents in the small towns and villages of Witney, a safe Conservative seat with high hopes for his future, says local resident SA Mathieson
A profile for the politics section of the Guardian website on David Cameron and West Oxfordshire, the area covered by his Witney constituency, when he became Conservative party leader.
I still live in the area, and write about the likes of its tweeting chief policeman and the romance of its long-distance A-roads for community newspaper Chipping Norton News.
Continue reading “‘It’s our David!’”
First published in Health Service Journal, 8 September 2005
Across continental Europe, patients visiting a doctor take a plastic card to prove their entitlement to healthcare. Increasingly, these cards hold a microchip allowing payments for treatment to be processed and if necessary refunded more quickly than in the past.
But smartcards can also be used as electronic keys to patient records, boosting security and demonstrating consent.
Continue reading “Smart move: use of health smartcards in EU countries”
