N - O
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N3
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(The National Network) The new fast, broadband communications network for the NHS. N3 is delivered by BT and replaces the existing private NHS network, NHSnet.
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NASPs
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(National Application Service Providers) Groups of commercial suppliers who are contracted to deliver national services such as Choose and Book and the Electronic Transmission of Prescriptions.
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Network
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A way of linking several computers together so that their users can share resources such as documents and printers, often via a server. See also LAN, WAN, Ethernet.
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Network card, Network Interface Card
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An expansion card which lets the PC communicate with a network, required for broadband Internet access. See also Ethernet.
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Newsgroup
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A public area where you can read and post messages or have discussions either on the Internet or on a Bulletin Board. Similar to a forum. Most newsgroups cover specific topics.
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NHS CRS
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(NHS Care Records Service) Currently under development. This will be an electronic store of over 50 million health and care records which can be accessed by health professionals where and when they are needed. It will also give patients secure internet access to their own health record.
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NHSmail
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NHS mail is a secure national email and directory service. It was developed specifically to meet NHS and BMA (British Medical Association) requirements for clinical email between NHS organisations.
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NIC
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(Network Interface Card) An Expansion card which lets a PC communicate with a network or use a broadband internet connection. See also Ethernet.
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Notebook
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A portable PC, with system unit, screen and keyboard crammed into one small package. They can do anything a desktop PC can do, but are more expensive because of the extra miniaturisation required. Also called a laptop.
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NPfIT
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(National Programme for IT) Responsible for procurement and delivery of the
multi-billion pound investment in the new information and technology systems to improve the NHS.
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OCR
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(Optical Character Recognition) A program which attempts to convert a scanned image (i.e. a picture) of text into text that can be edited in a word processor. The result is rarely 100% accurate.
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Online
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Connected to the internet.
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OP2
(Outpatients Module)
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This is the Outpatients function within PAS (Patient Administration System). All Outpatient activity can be recorded in this function.
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O - P | GLOSSARY OF TERMS |
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Operating System
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Every computer has an operating system, which is a sort of master program that runs automatically when you switch the computer on, and continues running until you switch it off. It is responsible for the many routine tasks required to keep a computer running: moving the pointer when you move the mouse, providing icons and menus, running other programs such as a word processor or a game, controlling the various disk drives, the screen, etc. The most widely used operating system is Microsoft Windows.
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Overwrite
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Replace a computer file such as a document or picture with a newer version, destroying the earlier version. If you make changes to a document and save it with the same filename, the previous version is overwritten and usually cannot be restored.
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PACS
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(Picture Archiving and Communication Systems) A system enabling images such as X-rays and scans to be stored and sent electronically so that doctors and other health professionals can access the information with the touch of a button.
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Palmtop
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A small computer which fits into the palm of your hand. They run similar software to conventional PC's, but unlike notebook PC's are more limited in what they can do than desktop PC's, because of the constraints of miniaturisation.
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Parallel Port
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A socket for plugging devices into the computer. Originally intended just for printers, but is also sometimes used for add-on devices, such as scanners. The computer usually refers to the parallel port as LPT1.
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PAS
(Patient Administration System)
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This is the application that Portsmouth Hospitals uses to record all their patient’s demographics and episodes of care. PAS also links into other systems, such as Protos, EDM (Blueware), Apex Pathology, etc.
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Patch
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A program which makes updates to computer software, usually to fix bugs not detected when the software went on sale. The best place to look for a patch is on the software manufacturer's website.
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PC
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(Personal Computer) Originally just short for "personal Computer", PC is now an industry standard.
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PCI
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(Peripheral Component Interconnect) A standard for PC expansion cards, currently the most popular.
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PCT
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(Primary Care Trust) Responsible for commissioning all health care in their community.
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PDA
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(Personal Digital Assistant) A small handheld computer used for taking notes on the move, keeping contact information and so on. See also palmtop.
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PDF
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(Portable Document Format) A popular document format used mainly for online manuals, which retains the look of a printed book onscreen. PDF's are created using Adobe Acrobat, but can be read and displayed by many different programs, the most popular being Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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Peer-to-peer
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A type of network where computers are connected together directly, rather than via a server, allowing them to access each other's hard disk, etc.
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P | GLOSSARY OF TERMS |
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Pentium
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The best known PC processor (or CPU), manufactured by Intel.
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Peripheral
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Anything that plugs into the computer, such as keyboard, printer, etc.
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Pixel
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(Picture cell) All computer screen or printed images are made up of pixels, small square dots - the smaller the pixels, the higher the image quality.
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Plasma
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A type of very large screen, either TV or computer monitor. At present plasma screens aren't very suitable for computing because the images, although bright and colourful, aren't very sharp especially when depicting motion.
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Platform- independent
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If something is platform-independent, you don't need a particular type of computer or particular software to use it. Perhaps the best example is the internet, which you can access from a PC, Mac or just about any other type of computer, and using a huge range of different software.
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Plug'n'Play
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(Plug and Play) a system where Windows automatically detects any new hardware that is plugged into the PC and adjusts to it without human intervention. Sometimes it even works.
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PMI
(Patient Master Index)
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A function within PAS (Patient Administration System) that allows the user to add or revise a patients’ details. The PMI (Patient Master Index) is also a huge database that holds demographic and episodes of care information about every individual that has received treatment both Acute and Community related within the area.
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POP3
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(Post Office Protocol version 3) A protocol for transmitting and receiving email, but mostly used just for receiving. (Transmitting is still mostly handled by it's less powerful predecessor, SMTP).
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Port
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A socket on the back (usually) of a computer which allows you to plug in extra hardware such as a printer or modem.
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Portal
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A virtual gateway between computer systems, or a website that provides links to lots of useful sites on a particular theme, e.g. shopping, news, etc.
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POST
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(Power On Self Test) A routine PC's go through when first switched on, before loading the operating system, to ensure the hardware is working properly.
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Power-on password
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A password which the computer will prompt you for whenever the computer is switched on, a good security measure provided you don't forget the password. Power-on passwords can usually only be bypassed by taking the computer apart. This is not the same as the network log in screen.
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PPA
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(Prescription Pricing Authority) A national provider of managed services to the NHS. Its main functions are to calculate and make payments for amounts due to pharmacists and GPs for supplying drugs and appliances prescribed under the NHS. It also produces information for NHS organisations and stakeholders about prescribing volumes, trends and costs and manages a range of health benefits, e.g. the NHS Low Income Scheme.
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