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Publication #1 February 14, 2005

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

Great news! My first article will be published later this month in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org). I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say any more at this time. I’ll post a link to the article once it’s officially released.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Another teaching resource… February 14, 2005

Posted by Hans in : academics , add a comment

I came across another great online teaching resource called “facdev” (http://www.facultydevelopment.ca). It’s meant to be a resource for university faculty to upgrade their skills by participating in online learning units and reading about teaching.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Health care not so far behind… February 13, 2005

Posted by Hans in : opinion , add a comment

There seems to be a truism about the health care industry being 10-20 years behind other industries in terms of information and communication technology adoption and use. I’ve never really challenged this truism, but events of the past few days make me wonder.

I’ve started exercising again and even joined a private fitness gym/club. Well, upon joining, I had to complete an entire battery of forms. We complain about duplication in health care, but I was writing out my basic information again and again on several forms. Also, when trying to make arrangements for fitness testing and to meet with a trainer, there was no such thing as “online acces”.

Now that I think about it, even the financial services industry doesn’t have complete electronic scheduling that we all seem to demand in health care. I mean, if you want to meet with a consultant, you still need to pick-up a phone (or email) someone and make arrangements. As far as I know, you can’t just go to a web-site and peruse the schedules of available consultants and pick a time. I suppose you can do the most in the airline/auto rental industry by just going on the web and clicking to your fancy.

My point is that maybe we’re not so far behind in health care as everyone likes to state or think. That doesn’t mean that the status quo is acceptable. Maybe we’re not doing as bad as some think.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Power to the people … sort of. February 13, 2005

Posted by Hans in : news , add a comment

Here’s an interesting twist announced by the NIH and NLM. Basically, PubMed is trying to provide access to full manuscripts within 12 months of acceptance from a peer-reviewed journal. Those who receive support from NIH/NLM grants are encouraged to submit electronic version of their manuscripts to be accessible via PubMed. Unfortunately, this directive is voluntary with no penalties for non compliance. It’s a step in the right direction…

You can read the news article titled “US institute announces initiative to put all its research on the web — Marwick 330 (7487): 328 — BMJ” from the BMJ.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Put your hands up! This is a robbery! February 12, 2005

Posted by Hans in : opinion , add a comment

Earlier, I had an interesting conversation with a couple I had met about some of the security issues related to online transmission of health information. I was of the opinion that health care institutions should be more permissive in providing online access to their health information - be it lab tests, history, etc. I mean, are most people *really* that concerned about identity theft? How much security do we need if it gets in the way of allowing people to connect with one another?

The gentleman with whom I was speaking indicated that security for online banking is insufficiently secure, and also thought that health care institutions shouldn’t allow people to view information over the web. He was a computer expert and indicated that it is much easier to break into a system than generally perceived. But, the interesting thing is that he does his banking online even though he has many concerns. He also mentioned that he was a victim of debit-card fraud, but that his bank reimbursed him for the fraudulent charges. What was interesting was that his wife felt that the security risks were acceptable, and that she would like to have more access to her health info.

I guess the conversation sums up the issues with which the health industry wrestles with each day. How do we balance security (and privacy) concerns with the need to enable access to health information? Perhaps the barriers are in appropriation of liability (it’s usually the health care provider’s ass on the line) and also in the consequences of having one’s information published. I hear about these doomsday/nightmare scenarios of being discriminated against, and perhaps they shouldn’t be dismissed so lightly. Which makes me wonder: how secure is enough?

Popularity: 3% [?]

Teaching resources on the web February 11, 2005

Posted by Hans in : academics, resources , add a comment

I came across this great resource on teaching while preparing for one of my assignments. I specifically used the section on creating a syllabus, but the entire site is good. The resource is called the Center for Teaching and Learning Services at the University of Minnesota (http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/).

Popularity: 6% [?]

The tyranny of time February 9, 2005

Posted by Hans in : academics , add a comment

It’s been a while since my last post. Not really sure why, but I didn’t have anything to “say”.

I find it amazing how I’ve become a slave to time. I’ve been feeling this for a few years now - feeling the pressure to produce, produce, produce. Compared to my supervisor (Alex Jadad) and some of the other members of my committee, I’m in slow motion. Do I trick myself by repeating the mantra “quality over quantity”? Carl Honore’s book, In praise of slow, would seem to suggest that we all need to slow down a bit. But, that assumes that we were at a *fast* pace. Hmm…

Well, I have a manuscript that has been accepted and should be published soon. In addition to my thesis work, here are a few other papers that I’m currently working on:

I’m also developing a few course outlines/syllabi as part of this teaching course I’m taking (THE500H - Teaching in higher education). I may publish them once the course is over. Also, I’m working on a redesign of my homepage, so hopefully this is a sign that I’m going to be making some more regular posts.

So many things to do, so little time…

Popularity: 3% [?]