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Healthcare Informatics Technology Trends February 29, 2004

Posted by Hans in : news, research , add a comment

Here’s an interesting article published by Healthcare Informatics Online. The authors present what they believe are nine technology trends in health care informatics.

  1. Clinical Decision Support
  2. Consumer-Driven Healthcare
  3. CPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry)
  4. Disease Surveillance
  5. National Standards
  6. Open Source
  7. Security
  8. Web Services
  9. Work flow Automation

It’s interesting to see this list of trends compared with the compilation of predicted eHealth developments presented by the IPTS Report.

Regardless of the predictions, I think the most important steps are the ones we are taking now in terms of building the foundation(s) for future development.

Popularity: 14% [?]

A sign of things to come? February 25, 2004

Posted by Hans in : news , add a comment

An article from the E-Health Insider reports that Microsoft is in discussions with National Health Service/National Program for IT on how Microsoft “software can be best configured to support delivery of the national programme”. Nothing too spectacular about the article in and of itself, but I think this type of report may be foreshadowing things to come.

I’ve noticed a flurry of news reports, articles, and speeches on the need for continued and strategic investment in health care IT/ehealth. While the message itself isn’t new, but I think the people who are starting to say it requires a bit of attention. There seems to be greater interest from technology developers on improving healthcare. Just because there is more attention doesn’t mean it’s a good thing, but perhaps there will be greater opportunities in the near future to really address some of challenges that we face today.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Health care leaders lag on IT policy February 24, 2004

Posted by Hans in : nature of ehealth, news , 1 comment so far

I came across an interesting news article talking about Newt Gingrich and his frustration with the health care system’s unwillingness to adopt IT. He gave a presentation at this year’s HIMSS conference. Basically, he tells a story of how the youngest in our society are at ease with technology, pushing for more technology, and yet our health care system is somewhat of an anachronism in today’s information-driven society. He uses an example of how a certain state is mandating printed/written prescriptions over electronic ones.

Question: Just because the rest of society is moving in one direction, does it mean that health care should? Should health care move at the same pace, or to the same degree? What about those who choose and prefer paper-based solutions? Do we leave them “behind”? One last thought…how come we always talk about those six-year old kids using technology, and not about what technology can do for the elderly, homeless, or disenfranchised?

I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t use technology. It’s just that we haven’t demonstrated that we know how to use technology effectively within the context of health care. We’re all still banking on the *potential* benefits of using more ICTs. I guess after reading Neil Postman’s Technopoly some of my doubts took form. Also, as a “scientist”, I adhere to the principle that new interventions do not make a difference (i.e., null-hypothesis) until proven otherwise. This particular lesson was learned during my on-going discussions with my thesis committee.

Centre for Health Transformation

Came across this site based on the article listed above. You can find information at http://www.healthtransformation.net. Apparently, the goal of this centre is to provide options that will help accelerate the transformation of the health care system “to an individual-centered 21st century system of health and healthcare characterized by better outcomes and more choices at lower cost”. There may be an interesting opportunity for the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation to collaborate with this group. I’m going to contact them to see if there’s any interest. Will keep you updated.

Popularity: 19% [?]

eHealth in the news…. February 20, 2004

Posted by Hans in : news, telehealth , add a comment

Where is telemedicine going?

An interesting article that discusses the current state, challenges, and future of telemedicine. The author concludes that “telemedicine has already demonstrated many possibilities for the future. Those delivering healthcare have in many cases yet to understand those possibilities, and to take advantage of them”. It will be interesting to see what happens to telemedicine.

US states push for e-health networks

Looks like the rest of the world is starting to follow Ontario’s and Canada’s strategy of creating large-scale eHealth networks. Political leaders in Florida and Kentucky have announced similar plans to create state-wide e-health networks, to enable family physicians, hospitals, health insurers and patients to exchange clinical and financial information more easily. It’s about time…

This news article was provided by the e-Health Insider.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Special issue on eHealth by IPTS Report February 16, 2004

Posted by Hans in : research , add a comment

The most recent IPTS Report (a monthly report published by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies affiliated with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre) is titled “Aspects of eHealth“**. There are several interesting articles and is available in four other languages other than English.

Seven articles are available online:

This information was provided by the E-watch on Innovation in Health Services newsletter Database on Knowledge Utilization (CHSRF/CIHR Chair on Knowledge Transfer and Innovation).

** Note: This journal seems to load slowly, so please be patient.

Popularity: 12% [?]

What makes a healthy house? February 15, 2004

Posted by Hans in : conferences & conventions , add a comment

I attended the 2004 Interior Design Show and there was an exhibit that caught my attention. The theme of this exhibit was “What makes you wealthy?”. I saw quite a bit of creativity and brilliance at the show designing and applying new materials, new designs, and new shapes.

My question after visiting the design show is: what makes a house healthy? Or to put it another way, what makes our environment healthy? The Lalonde Report in 1976 first articulated the socio-environmental factors that affect health. Can we articulate factors that are immediate to the home environment? I ask because I participate on a home care review group (led by Dr. Peter Coyte) that examines some of the issues related to providing health care services in the home.

My first thoughts are in making the home more accessible. Simple things like making doors wider so that people with wheelchairs or walkers can easily move about. My grandmother uses a walker and my “eyes have been opened” to the many challenges of living in a average, normal home. I wonder what other ehealth applications could be applied…

Popularity: 13% [?]

Spending up through 2013… February 11, 2004

Posted by Hans in : research , add a comment

Health Affairs just released an article titled Health Spending Projections Through 2013 .

I found the article very interesting because there is no mention of technology/ehealth spending. If we consider that spending on ehealth/technology is in the area of 2-5% of hospital operating budgets and probably something similar for other health groups, how come we aren’t monitoring spending more closely? My next thought is that Guerriere wrote an article on the different “forces for change in Canadian healthcare” (reference)
arguing that the pressures (financial, human resources, consumerism, technology, and drugs) can only be addressed through use of ICTs. It will be interesting to see if technology can in fact address these “forces”.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Most Wired…. February 9, 2004

Posted by Hans in : research , add a comment

I came across some interesting resources by the American Hospital Association (AHA). They run an annual survey of hospitals called “Health Care’s Most Wired“. The survey collects information on the use of ICTs by hospitals and creates a list of “most wired” hospitals in a variety of different categories. One of the main purposes of the survey is to identify best practices in addition to providing benchmarking information for each individual hospital.

Investing in ICTs

I found another interesting report from the main AHA site titled, “The value of investment in health care: Better care, better lives”. For hospitals trying to justify or rationalize investment in ICTs, this may be an interesting read.

Recently, I was sitting in a meeting and all of the participants were trying to come up with ways of justifying investing in ICTs to improve health care services. Some of the statements that were made got me thinking about the relationship (or causal pathway) of technology, process, and outcomes. One of the assumptions that we all seem to make is that increased use of ICTs lead to better outcomes (however loosely defined). My concern is that we are biased towards finding positive outcomes when in fact we haven’t really established any causal relationships. What we some evidence from studies like Most Wired and others that identify an association between good clinical performance in hospitals and the investment, adoption, and use of eHealth. How do we determine if this is a causal relationship?

Popularity: 12% [?]

Telehealth Resources February 8, 2004

Posted by Hans in : resources, telehealth , 1 comment so far

Here are some interesting telehealth resources that I’ve come across in the past few days:

I will try and post some interesting articles on telehealth in the next few days.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Ontario Hospital eHealth Council website v2 February 3, 2004

Posted by Hans in : news , add a comment

Here’s a link to the revised Ontario Hospital eHealth Council website. The Ontario Hospital eHealth Council “was established to provide hospital industry leadership in eHealth and support the implementation of eHealth solutions which can improve health outcomes and the management and delivery of care across the entire health system”. This council represents the hospital sector in the broader eHealth Council as Ontario moves to implement eHealth at the provincial level.

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On another note, a copy of the draft Ontario health privacy legislation is being circulated. This new legislation is to take effect 01 July 2004. There are a few specific implications for hospitals, but the legislation is still open for discussion. I’m sure that the health sector is working hard to comply with the new guidelines for protecting and maintaining people’s information private.

Popularity: 12% [?]