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Publication #1 - update February 24, 2005

Posted by Hans in : academics, research , 1 comment so far

Ok, so it’s official. Here is the link to the article “What is eHealth (3): A systematic review of published definitions” (http://www.jmir.org/2005/1/e1/). Many thanks to my co-authors/friends/mentors (Carlos, Murray, and Alex). Okay - first one’s down, and now it’s time to focus on getting several others out there this year.

It’s weird, but I thought I would be far more excited about getting my first publication. In fact, there’s something almost anti-climactic about seeing it in “print”. Perhaps the publication process has something to do with things. We, the authors, originally had a different title - “What is this thing called eHealth? A systematic review of published definitions”. Unfortunately, it didn’t survive the review and editorial process. I can’t speak for my colleagues, but I would have accepted almost any change or revision if we could have kept the original title. I was quite fond of it. The title alluded to AF Chalmers’ book “What is this thing called science”, and (we felt) that there was some charm around the title. Actually, we also didn’t want readers to think that our paper was part of a series of articles or solicited (reference to the 3 in the title) in any way.

Oh well, I guess I’ll chalk this one up to a learning experience. In many ways, I suppose the editor(s) has ultimate power over her/his journal, and the title of an article is just one aspect.

On a very positive note, I was very pleased at how easy the electronic manuscript tracking system was to use. Actually, I’m pretty much convinced that electronic publishing is the way of the future. JMIR is doing some very interesting things, like using open-source products. I think other open access journals like www.biomedcentral.com will start to change how information is stored, accessed, and shared.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Can you see me now? February 23, 2005

Posted by Hans in : news , add a comment

Looks like real-time telemedicine is starting to become a reality. Use of camera-phones for health-related purposes may change how we interact with the health care system.

You can read the article from CNN.com titled “Camera phones may make a doctor’s house calls“.

Popularity: 7% [?]

This just in: E-health Records Slow to Catch on February 23, 2005

Posted by Hans in : news , add a comment

Computerworld.com reported that “interoperability problems and lagging adoption of electronic health record technology are challenging the federal government’s efforts to foster the creation of a national information health network”. The past twenty years of the health care industry seems to suggest that health care is a different from other industries, especially when it comes to adopting and using information and communication technology. While I applaud the initiative to create a national “system”, I think that we all need to learn from one another’s experience.

In Canada, we have Canada Health Infoway that is charged with similar things as the American counterparts. Now that Richard Alvarez is in charge, hopefully things will move along. But, I am still amazed that people are surprised at how difficult it is to make progress. What has changed in the culture of health care that would make us think any differently?

You can read the full article at titled “E-health Records Slow to Catch on“

Popularity: 7% [?]

February 22, 2005

Posted by Hans in : news , add a comment

Here’s an interesting article from MSBNC.com titled “Doctors going wireless with souped-up PDAs” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6987913/). I think that this type of story is a win/lose account of things happening in the health industry.

On the “win” side, I’m encouraged to see increasing coverage of the use of technology in health care. I think a benefit is that this type of popular press coverage can pique interest from other physicians and may also create a type of “peer pressure” to adopt new technologies. Also, news reports tend to only report success stories, so the advantages and benefits are pressed into the mindset of the readers.

On the “bad” side, I think that there may be some unreasonable expectations that can be created because all we read are the “positives” (i.e., saves money, time, etc) without going into some of the process changes and implementation issues that most certainly had to be addressed. Also, I don’t like how proprietary software applications are profiled rather than focusing on the functionality. I suppose that this is just a reflection of how fragmented and new the field is.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Making technology more friendly February 21, 2005

Posted by Hans in : news , add a comment

I’m always surprised at how little press usability issues get. This article on Marketwatch discusses how technology companies seem to be ignoring the aging population’s needs. The emphasis is obviously on sales and the impact on revenues, but the part about Intel’s use of social anthropologists really caught my attention (page 2):

They told the researchers they didn’t mind a wireless home or a digital entertainment system, said Robert Manetta, a spokesman at Intel, but that what they really wanted was to use technology “to check in on my mother in Denver (because) helping my mother out is a bigger priority.”

Now Intel is studying the ways emerging sensor technology might be used to help Alzheimer’s patients stay home without a caregiver.

I find it fascinating the usability issues seem to lead to health care issues. I always remind myself that technology is a tool for us to do something, and that we are not slaves to new features and products (Neil Postman talks about this in his book Technopoly).

Here’s the link to the article on Marketwatch:
Retirement Living: Are gadget makers shortsighted to ignore older buyers?

Popularity: 7% [?]

A coming wave? February 20, 2005

Posted by Hans in : analysis , 1 comment so far

I must say that I’ve become very impressed with the software created by open-source community. Three projects that I’ve recently used come to mind: Firefox/Mozilla, Open Office, and Filezilla. What amazes me is how quickly these projects have evolved into stable, high quality products. In fact, I have used Firefox as my primary browser for well over a year now, in place of Internet Explorer. I’ve started using Open Office and Filezilla more frequently now, and I’ve been very pleased with them both.

I’ve been having this on-going debate with a colleague of mine, Khaled El-Emam, about the actual value of open source products. His argument is that it’s still too soon to jump to go open source because there are still many issues. I’m not a software expert like he is, but my investigations into open source lead me to believe that there is a role for it to play. We already see the impact of things like Apache and Mozilla. Eric Raymond’s book, The Cathedral and the Bazaar, provides an excellent documentation of the history and evolution of the field.

So my question is: why don’t we use more Open Source development in health care? I’m sure that if the health care institutions got together and pooled even a fraction of the resources they currently pay for maintenance and licensing, a great project could be launched. I’m told that there is a project called “vista” for the Veterans Administration institutions. I think that I may need to learn more about the project.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Planting seeds and making connections February 19, 2005

Posted by Hans in : academics, conferences & conventions, research , 1 comment so far

Our “Monday morning discussion group” met yesterday. The plan was to discuss Ivan Illitch’s book, Medical Nemesis, but we ended-up discussing an opportunity that has opened up. One of our members is on the program committee for the eHealth2005 conference, and she asked about what services/events were geared toward students. Since there wasn’t anything officially planned, she was asked to spear-head some activities. As a result, the rest of the group was asked to help out - so, now I find myself potentially attending this year’s conference.

Quite a number of ideas were tossed around and debated, but I think we settled on creating an opportunity to allow students to think, to connect, to imagine, and to discuss ideas on what they/we want in our health care system. We talked about how too often, students are viewed as being a “follower” or being *just* a student. But, the future opportunities are ours, and we need to encourage one another before we get cynical and caught-up in the bureaucracy. I’ll share more as things develop. We are thinking of allowing people to present their ideas and to provide ample time to discuss.

On another note, one of the co-authors and I spent the afternoon responding to editor’s comments and making final corrections to the copy-edited manuscript. Honestly, I never realized how involved the publishing process is.

Knowledge translation anyone?

I’m thinking of starting up a small knowledge translation project. Inspired by some of the work of Peter Coyte (one of my committee members), I’m thinking of creating and publishing a small newsletter that is produced four times a year. The intended audience would be senior managers and decision makers regarding ehealth. The idea is still pretty raw, but I’m thinking this may be a great opportunity to develop my knowledge translation skills and also provide a service to decision makers who may not follow the academic literature.

Humorous diversions

I stumbled onto this interesting comic strip depicting grad student life. It’s called “Piled higher and deeper”. The comic is pretty witty and reminds me of the comic-strip Dilbert. You can see the comics at www.phdcomics.com

cy. .

Popularity: 8% [?]

Grad student fun February 17, 2005

Posted by Hans in : academics , add a comment

I came across this funny comic site that’s about graduate student life. The artist writes in a Dilbert-like way that I find absolutely hilarious. It’s called “Piled higher and deeper” (www.phdcomics.com).

Popularity: 8% [?]

The teaching portfolio February 17, 2005

Posted by Hans in : academics , add a comment

In yesterday’s class, Prof. Guy Allen gave a talk on how to prepare the teaching portfolio. The basic message that I got out of the talk was that you need to take care in preparing the document to communicate a particular message. He gave some helpful tips on what you should try to do:

Prof. Allen’s specialty (well one of many) is in communication. Sharing tips from being on both sides was very helpful.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Of interest… February 16, 2005

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

I just scanned the preliminary program for this year’s Coach conference held on April 30 - May 3, 2005 in Toronto. The title of the conference is “Realizing the vision” and the topics, guest speakers, and presentations sound very interesting. From my quick glance, the topics range from practical issues like negotiating with vendors and privacy/security issues to more conceptual/research oriented issues like human factors testing and public engagement. For more information, you can go to the conference website at http://www.e-healthconference.com.

Popularity: 8% [?]