Good information governance will become increasingly crucial for hospital Trusts. Patient data should always be held under a 'Lock and Key' system where the key is only available to the right person. Healthcare specific IT solutions exist to manage and provision access to data in a manner that provides strong authentication capabilities and auditing features.

Cerner Corporation (Nasdaq: CERN) and Siemens AG have signed a definitive agreement for Cerner to acquire the assets of Siemens' health information technology business unit, Siemens Health Services, for $1.3 billion in cash. By combining investments in R&D, knowledgeable resources, and complementary client bases, the acquisition creates scale for future innovation.

Leading NHS business support specialist, NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) is developing an NHS-wide framework for the procurement of healthcare clinical information systems that will save Trusts both time and money compared with procuring these specialist systems individually.

Leading software provider, Advanced Health & Care (Advanced) has won a major contract with Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust), one of the UK's largest mental health trusts, following a formal tendering process.

HIMSS Europe just announced the newly appointed board members of the HIMSS Europe Governing Council, Pilar Raro-Garnes, MBA, PMP, Michiel Sprenger, PhD , and Professor Philippe Kolh, MD, PhD, commenced their work on 1 July 2014. They will serve a three-year term until 30 June 2017.

eHealth is a rapidly-growing exciting and innovative interdisciplinary field concerned with the use of digital information and communications technologies (ICT) in the contexts of health service management, patient care delivery, citizen-centred health and healthcare research. Edinburgh Masters in Global eHealth online learning programme provides a unique opportunity to study health informatics with reference to global health challenges.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) in Harlow, Essex, and Cambio Healthcare Systems headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, specialists in providing integrated electronic patient record (EPR) systems, have worked together for 18 months aiming to transform the provision of frontline care, ensuring better outcomes for patients and increased efficiencies for the trust.