Improving the public's ability to understand complex health information empowers patients and cuts down on medication errors. With MEPs currently debating the Information to Patients Directive, health literacy has never been more important.

That great Stalinist monolith, the National Health Service, appears to want to sack employees if they discuss their religious beliefs with colleagues or patients. "A little-noticed document published by the Department of Health last month gives warning that attempts by doctors or nurses to preach to other staff or patients will be treated as harassment or intimidation under disciplinary procedures...

The new leadership team to take forward theConnecting for Health NHS IT programme has been announced by the Department of Health.

An excellent Editorial piece here from the Lancet of 15th November. No further comment is necessary. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is one to be proud of: free care for all at the point of delivery. But a proposal last week by the Department of Health to allow NHS patients in England...

From the Department of Health comes this news: Patients will be offered more choice and control over their healthcare with the launch of the first direct payment scheme, Care Services Minister Paul Burstow announced today. Eight Primary Care Trusts will begin to road test direct payments for personal health budgets. This will allow Primary Care

NHS patients will be allowed to delete electronic summaries of their treatment records from a new national medical database, the Guardian has learned. The decision represents a significant concession in data protection policy following talks between health service officials and the Information Commissioners' Office (ICO). Until recently the Department of Health had resisted pressure from scep...

The health ministry will be renamed the department for public health if the Conservatives win the election, with earmarked budgets for illness prevention and health improvement

The health department believes putting patients in control of their own care will lead to innovation and competition, with patients 'seeking novel ways' to meet their needs

From the Health Service Journal: A comparison of health services in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland shows marked differences in the likelihood of emergency admission to hospital, staying overnight or being operated upon. Healthcare information providers CHKS analysed statistics from the four nations exclusively for HSJ. Differences included the fact that patients having an elective o...

The Department of Health is stimulating development of important medical devices like hip and knee replacements, pacemakers and stents, as a new agreement makes it easier to get approved trials in patients underway.