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Four fifths of NHS trusts still using pen and paper for record keeping

A paper-free NHS remains a distant reality, suggests BMJ analysis Twenty-five years after the government's first push to digitise the NHS, an investigation by The BMJ reveals that only about a fifth of hospital trusts in England are using fully electronic systems for clinical record-keeping. Responses to freedom of information (FOI) requests show that just 39 ...

2026-08-05T16:24:42+01:006 August 2026|Press release, The BMJ|

Patient letters from UK hospital eye health services likely too difficult to understand

They are largely college level readability, which isn’t recommended for patient content Communication quality may influence clinical outcomes, but dual purpose makes improvement challenging, say researchers Letters to patients from ophthalmology services—-the highest volume outpatient specialty in UK healthcare—include too much complex language and medical terminology which patients are likely ...

2026-08-04T16:53:44+01:005 August 2026|BMJ Health & Care Informatics, Press release|

Mechanical restraint linked to small increased short term blood clot risk in psychiatric hospitals

Absolute risk is low, but findings support ongoing efforts to reduce use and duration of mechanical restraint where feasible Mechanical restraint is associated with a small increased short term risk of blood clots among inpatients at psychiatric hospitals, finds a Danish study published by The BMJ today. Although the absolute risk remains ...

2026-07-01T16:28:35+01:002 July 2026|Press release, The BMJ|

Little evidence that Australia’s under-16 social media restrictions have curbed use among adolescents

Longer term evaluation needed, but current age verification checks are “suboptimal” and being bypassed by many under 16s, warn researchers There is little evidence that Australia's Social Media Minimum Age Act has led to any immediate reductions in social media use by under 16s, finds an early analysis of survey data published by The BMJ today. ...

2026-06-24T16:43:21+01:0025 June 2026|Press release, The BMJ|

Routine exposure to harmful levels of formaldehyde risking health of thousands of NHS staff

Levels of this carcinogen regularly top 8 hour EU limit in 70% of NHS pathology departments Urgent regulatory intervention now warranted, say researchers  Routine exposure to harmful levels of the human tissue preservative formaldehyde are risking the health of thousands of NHS staff working in pathology departments across the UK, ...

2026-06-09T14:15:23+01:0010 June 2026|Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Press release|
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