Again, in the last week, I have come across a few reports and news items which are worth passing on.
These include first:
Major announcements from iSOFT at Healthcare Computing
Stand A40, Harrogate, 21-23 April 2008
Published: yesterday
LONDON, UK - (HealthTech Wire) - Highlights of iSOFT’s attendance at this year’s Healthcare Computing include the UK launch of one of Europe’s leading laboratory information systems and the first UK outings for LORENZO Clinicals, RadCentre Speech Recognition, and the latest GPSoC-accredited Synergy GP system.
A modern, scalable system proven at 400 laboratories across Europe and developed by iSOFT, i.Laboratory Enterprise is a major advance in laboratory systems. It serves traditional needs but also uses leading-edge database design for easier adoption of emerging and evolving standards and technologies such as SNOMED CT. i.Laboratory Enterprise supports flexible workflows to improve efficiency and supports ever-changing demands for clinical safety and laboratory accreditation. It is highly scalable to meet specific laboratory requirements and operates across multiple sites. i.Laboratory Enterprise currently runs some of the largest distributed, integrated laboratory services in Europe.
A key feature is the ability to configure the software to support specific organisational processes so improving both workflow efficiency and staff utilisation. Its powerful rules base allows the user to control the transfer of specimens from requesting through to reporting. A wide range of processes can be automated including results validation, queue allocation, cascade requesting, report formatting, and electronic results notification. The configuration can be modified easily to reflect user experience or changes in working practices.
LORENZO Clinicals gives doctors ready access to up-to-date patient notes, prescribe drugs, order tests, access results and knowledge-bases in real-time, thereby reducing adverse drug events, dosage mistakes, lost and mis-prescribed medications and litigation. iSOFT is showing the version developed for international markets and installed at hospitals in Germany and The Netherlands.
iSOFT’s RadCentre radiology information system now features speech recognition so dictations appear instantly as screen text, which speeds the time to produce critical radiology reports and share patient diagnoses.
Using Intelligent Speech Interpretation technology from Philips, the solution produces highly accurate radiology reports with a minimum of human intervention for improved workflows, a faster turnaround of reports, and reduced waiting times.
iSOFT’s strategic primary care solution for England, Synergy is an advanced system providing general practices with information to support their patient-related clinical and administrative processes. Synergy supports GP System of Choice, CAP GP compliance, GMS contract reporting, monitoring and QMAS submission, and the National Compliance programmes of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
More here:
http://www.healthtechwire.com/Pressrelease.146+M5e98f51f531.0.html
This is an important announcement for iSOFT and its parent IBA Health. It will be delivery of these solutions over the next year or so that will either make or break IBA in my personal view. It would be good to have a local company as a major contributor and competitor in our e-Health local market to help keep other local companies and the international competitors honest!
(Disclosure – your blogger holds a few IBA shares)
Second we have:
More UCLA records abuses
A hospital worker checked files of 61 patients, including Maria Shriver and other celebrities.
By Charles Ornstein and Dan Morain
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
April 7, 2008
A UCLA Medical Center worker who sneaked into the confidential medical records of '70s TV icon Farrah Fawcett last year also improperly viewed the electronic files of 32 other celebrities, politicians and high-profile patients, including California first lady Maria Shriver, according to interviews with hospital and state officials Sunday.
The breaches expose UCLA to state sanctions and amount to a major embarrassment for one of the nation's preeminent medical centers. The UCLA employee allegedly looked up information on non-celebrity patients as well, accessing 61 patients' records without permission in 2006 and 2007, state and hospital officials said.
"We are very concerned by what appears to be a pattern of repeated violations," said Kim Belshé, secretary of the state's Health and Human Services Agency.
"It's not a question of will we take action," she added. "It's determining what level of action to take."
UCLA said it learned about the widespread breaches last May and terminated the employee the same month. Officials would not provide her name or title but said she did not work in direct patient care. Employees in such departments as billing and admitting also have access to medical record systems.
Continue reading this long article here:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ucla7apr07,0,7549228.story
This really has to be a wakeup call for any hospital that uses electronic patient records and ever has even the most minor celebrity visit (i.e. virtually all hospitals). There is a real need to a strong policy response on the part of senior administrators to this problem both in health and in other domains (e.g. Centrelink, Child Support Agency etc).
Third we have:
Robot anaesthetist developed in France: doctor
April 13, 2008 - 1:42AM
A prototype robot that can induce a general anaesthetic for operations has been developed in France using American equipment and tested on some 200 patients, the project team leader has announced.
"The automatic pilot system relieves the anaesthetist of one of his tasks so that he can devote himself to the extremely important job of monitoring the patient's state," said Professor Marc Fischler, head of anaesthetics of the Foch Hospital in Suresnes, who developed the system with two other specialists.
The anaesthetist's task would otherwise include administering anaesthetic drugs and pain-killers, as well as overseeing the patient's condition during the course of the operation.
The French system has been tested on more than 200 patients in 10 French hospitals, as well as one in Belgium and one in Germany.
"We have been fine-tuning our version for the last four years," said Fischler, speaking Friday.
"In the short term it's still a research tool, but I can imagine that in the longer term it will become an instrument in everyday use," he commented.
"We didn't actually invent the system, but we developed it further and we're still the only team in the world so far to have actually induced a general anaesthetic by means of the system, as well as using it during the operation," he added.
More here:
http://news.smh.com.au/robot-anaesthetist-developed-in-france-doctor/20080413-25r5.html
This is a really fascinating report. Having spent a decade as an specialist anaesthetist I must say I would be very interested to know just how the ‘robot’ can alert a real human when the patient has an unexpected change in condition. This happens from time to time even with the most apparently trivial surgery. I would really be a bit nervous if live human anaesthetists were reduced too much in number.
Fourthly we have:
Action to prevent deaths by medicines
Louise Hall Health Reporter
April 13, 2008
MORE than 5200 Australians died in the past decade after taking legal medications.
Most were accidentally poisoned by drugs such as anti-depressants, sedatives, painkillers, and blood pressure medication.
Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare also shows 330 people died when the drugs were specifically prescribed to them to treat or prevent illness.
There are at least 140,000 patients admitted to hospital each year after suffering side effects or serious allergic reactions to prescription drugs, herbs and over-the-counter medicines.
An estimated 2million Australians annually experience an adverse reaction to drugs.
The problem is so concerning, the Federal Government's health safety body has now made it one of four key priority areas for patient safety.
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care chief executive officer Chris Baggoley said the lack of effective systems to ensure the right patient got the right dose of the right drug was a major cause of medical misadventure in hospitals.
More here:
And in the USA.
Medical Errors In Treating Medicare Patients Costing U.S. Billions
Boston (dbTechno) - According to a new study, the medical errors taking place during the treatment of Medicare patients is costing the U.S. billions of dollar each year. The study stated that over the three years from 2004 to 2006, the medical errors cost the Medicare program $8.8 billion.
The study was carried out by HealthGrade. They looked at the patient records of 41 million people.
They found that out of all of the patients, 3% experienced errors. This comes out to about 1.1 million medical errors over the three-year period.
Those who suffered an error were found to have a 20% chance of dying.
More here:
The full report can be found here:
http://www.healthgrades.com/media/dms/pdf/PatientSafetyinAmericanHospitalsStudy2008.pdf
Just a reminder of just how dangerous prescribed medicine therapy is. The scale of the problem is really staggering. Doing something to reduce these risks is a very important part of the case for further adoption of e-Health.
Fifth we have:
Gartner: 7 'grand challenges' face IT in next 25 years
Wireless powering of remote devices, natural computing interfaces, automated speech translation in IT's future
Jon Brodkin (Network World) 10/04/2008 07:42:43
Gartner has identified seven technologies that will "completely transform" business over the next 25 years, including parallel programming, wireless power sources for mobile devices, automated speech translation, and computing interfaces that detect human gestures.
"Many of the emerging technologies that will be entering the market in 2033 are already known in some form in 2008," Gartner said in a press release issued Wednesday from its Emerging Trends Symposium/ITxpo in Las Vegas.
Gartner says each of the seven technologies represents a "grand challenge" for IT researchers and CIOs, who should pay attention to the emerging research today so as to be ready for the changes they will bring.
"Gartner defines an IT Grand Challenge as a fundamental issue to be overcome within the field of IT whose resolutions will have broad and extremely beneficial economic, scientific or societal effects on all aspects of our lives," the analyst firm writes.
CIOs should chart which of these emerging technologies means the most for their businesses and track progress by reviewing related patents, the firm recommends.
More here:
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php?id=449088010&eid=-255
It is really interesting what Gartner sees as the “Grand Challenges”. As far as e-Health is concerned mobile devices, natural computer interfaces and really understanding the value of IT would be my top three.
Sixth we have:
Windows is 'collapsing,' Gartner analysts warn
The researchers damn Windows in current form, urge radical changes
Gregg Keizer 11/04/2008 07:20:42
Calling the situation "untenable" and describing Windows as "collapsing," a pair of Gartner analysts this week said Microsoft must make radical changes to the operating system or risk becoming a has-been.
In a presentation at a Gartner-sponsored conference in Las Vegas, analysts Michael Silver and Neil MacDonald said Microsoft has not responded to the market, is overburdened by nearly two decades of legacy code and decisions and faces serious competition on a whole host of fronts that will make Windows moot unless the Redmond, Washington developer acts.
"For Microsoft, its ecosystem and its customers, the situation is untenable," said Silver and MacDonald in their prepared presentation, titled "Windows Is Collapsing: How What Comes Next Will Improve."
Among Microsoft's problems, the pair said, is Windows' rapidly-expanding code base, which makes it virtually impossible to quickly craft a new version with meaningful changes. That was proved by Vista, they said, when Microsoft -- frustrated by lack of progress during the five-year development effort on the new OS -- hit the "reset" button and dropped back to the more stable code of Windows Server 2003 as the foundation of Vista.
Continue reading here:
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php?id=1870375122&eid=-255
This is fascinating – I wonder does this leave the way open for improved adoption and use of Linux and the Mac OS?. I must say, having Vista on one of my machines, I much prefer XP. A personal view that many seems to agree with on the basis of the howls of protest that emerge whenever MS tries to get rid of it.
Last we have:
Effort to Promote Open Source Apps
HDM Breaking News, April 7, 2008
Organizations in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States have formed a new consortium to promote the use of open source software in health care.
The initiative, called Open Health Tools Inc., is based on the model of the Eclipse Foundation, which is an open source community of developers who provide software components that others can use to build software products. Skip McGaughey, a co-founder of Ottawa-based Eclipse, is executive director of Asheville, N.C.-based Open Health Tools.
The goal of Open Health Tools is to bring together stakeholders to develop software that enables different information systems to interoperate and share data. The initiative brings together national consumers, standards development organizations, health care professionals, commercial vendors and open source programmers. “All plans and codes will be developed in the open,” McGaughey says. “It’s like Linux and there will be lots of different software components.”
More here:
More information is available at openhealthtools.org
This is a very good trend that will hopefully allow the development of some useful and high quality e-Health applications.
More next week.
David.
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