Healthcare Informatics

2023-03-21T00:17:00.001+11:00

Leveraging Machine Learning in the Medical Device Field: A Deep Dive into Practical Applications and Emerging Innovations

Abstract

Machine learning (ML) has emerged as a transformative technology in various industries, including healthcare and medical devices. This white paper provides an in-depth look at the applications of ML in the medical device field, focusing on diagnostics, treatment, patient monitoring, and manufacturing. Through the examination of specific examples and case studies, this paper highlights the potential of ML to revolutionize patient care and the medical device industry's future.

Introduction

The healthcare industry is continuously evolving, and technological advancements play a critical role in enhancing patient care, diagnosis, and treatment. Machine learning (ML), a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), has emerged as a promising technology in the medical device field. By leveraging large amounts of data and advanced algorithms, ML enables devices to learn and improve over time, leading to more accurate and efficient solutions. This white paper explores the applications of ML in medical devices across various domains, highlighting specific examples and emerging innovations.

Diagnostics

ML has shown great promise in enhancing diagnostic capabilities, as it can analyze complex patterns and large volumes of data to identify anomalies and make predictions. Some examples include:

Medical Imaging: ML algorithms have been developed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of image analysis in radiology, pathology, and ophthalmology. For instance, the Arterys Cardio AI platform leverages ML to detect and quantify cardiovascular diseases from MRI scans, while Google's DeepMind has demonstrated success in detecting diabetic retinopathy from retinal images.

Genomic Analysis: ML can be used to analyze vast amounts of genomic data, enabling the identification of genetic markers associated with specific diseases. For example, ML algorithms have been employed to predict cancer risk and response to treatment based on genomic data.

Treatment

ML-powered medical devices have the potential to revolutionize treatment by providing personalized and adaptive solutions. Some applications include:

Robotic Surgery: ML algorithms can improve the precision and accuracy of robotic surgery systems. Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci system, a pioneer in robotic surgery, is continually improving its capabilities through data analysis and ML techniques.

Prosthetics: Advanced prosthetic limbs use ML algorithms to learn and adapt to the user's movements, providing a more natural and intuitive experience. Examples include the DEKA Arm, a prosthetic arm controlled by electrical signals from the user's muscles, and the Open Bionics Hero Arm, which utilizes ML to interpret muscle signals for precise movement control.

Patient Monitoring

Remote patient monitoring and wearable medical devices are rapidly growing areas where ML can provide significant benefits. Some examples include:

Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM): ML algorithms can help CGM devices, such as Dexcom's G6, predict glucose levels more accurately, allowing for better diabetes management.

Wearable ECG Monitors: Devices like the Apple Watch and the KardiaMobile ECG monitor use ML algorithms to detect irregular heart rhythms, such as atrial fibrillation, providing real-time feedback and alerts to the user and their healthcare provider.

Manufacturing

ML can also be applied to optimize the manufacturing processes of medical devices. Some applications include:

Predictive Maintenance: ML algorithms can analyze data from sensors on manufacturing equipment to predict failures and schedule maintenance, reducing downtime and costs.

Quality Control: ML-powered computer vision systems can inspect medical devices for defects or irregularities, ensuring product quality and reducing human error.

Conclusion

Machine learning holds significant potential in revolutionizing the medical device field by enhancing diagnostics, treatment, patient monitoring.

Unlocking the potential of Data in Life Science and Medical Equipment Industry

2023-03-03T04:53:00.011+11:00

Introduction

The Life Science and Medical Equipment Industry is a vast and complex industry that has been growing rapidly in recent years. This industry encompasses a broad range of products, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and diagnostic equipment. As the industry grows, it is increasingly relying on data to drive innovation, improve patient outcomes, and enhance operational efficiency.

In this blog post, we will explore the ways in which data is being used to unlock the potential of the Life Science and Medical Equipment Industry. We will look at the challenges that the industry faces in managing and analyzing data and the opportunities that data presents for improving patient care and advancing research. We will also examine the technologies and tools that are being used to harness the power of data in this industry.

Challenges in Managing Data

One of the primary challenges that the Life Science and Medical Equipment Industry faces in managing data is the sheer volume and complexity of the data that is generated. With advances in technology, the amount of data generated by medical equipment and patient records has increased exponentially. This data can come in a variety of forms, including structured data such as electronic medical records (EMRs), unstructured data such as physician notes and lab reports, and images such as X-rays and MRI scans.

In addition to the volume and complexity of the data, there are also challenges related to data quality and security. Medical data is highly sensitive and must be protected from unauthorized access or use. Ensuring data quality and accuracy is also critical, as incorrect or incomplete data can have serious consequences for patient care.

Opportunities for Data in Life Science and Medical Equipment Industry

Despite the challenges associated with managing data, there are many opportunities for data in the Life Science and Medical Equipment Industry. By leveraging data, companies in this industry can:

Improve Patient Outcomes: Data can be used to identify trends and patterns in patient data, which can be used to develop personalized treatment plans and improve patient outcomes. For example, by analyzing patient data, clinicians can identify which treatments are most effective for different patient populations and adjust treatment plans accordingly.

Enhance Operational Efficiency: Data can be used to optimize workflows and processes, reducing costs and improving efficiency. For example, by analyzing data on supply chain management, companies can identify areas for improvement and streamline operations.

Advance Research: Data can be used to identify new research opportunities and accelerate the pace of discovery. For example, by analyzing genetic data, researchers can identify new targets for drug development and personalize treatments based on a patient's genetic profile.

Technologies and Tools for Data Management and Analysis

To manage and analyze the vast amounts of data generated by the Life Science and Medical Equipment Industry, companies are leveraging a variety of technologies and tools, including:

Big Data Analytics: Big data analytics involves processing and analyzing large and complex data sets to identify patterns and insights. By using big data analytics, companies can extract meaningful insights from the vast amounts of data generated in this industry.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: AI and machine learning algorithms can be used to analyze and interpret medical data, identifying patterns and predicting outcomes. This technology can be used to develop personalized treatment plans and improve patient outcomes.

Cloud Computing: Cloud computing provides a scalable and flexible infrastructure for storing and processing data. By leveraging cloud computing, companies can store and access large amounts of data quickly and efficiently.

Blockchain: Blockchain technology provides a secure and transparent way to store and share medical data. By using blockchain technology, companies can ensure the security and privacy of patient data and improve data quality.

Conclusion

Data has the potential to transform the Life Science and Medical Equipment Industry, improving patient outcomes, enhancing operational efficiency, and advancing research. However, to fully realize the potential of data in this industry, companies must address the challenges associated with managing and analyzing data

Technology is revolutionizing Healthcare

2018-01-23T04:58:00.003+11:00

Avaya Solidifies Hold on Healthcare Systems With Nortel Acquisition

2011-06-06T14:59:00.001+10:00

** A Past Article**

Avaya recently acquired Nortel’s (NRTLQ.PK) Enterprise Division through a bankruptcy process, and in the process, has uncovered tremendous opportunities in the healthcare sector.
Gerard Dass, who is the Director Healthcare Solutions ( Asia Pacific)at Avaya has explained exactly what is occurring and what Avaya is doing to help solve major problems.
Presently, there are over 5000 healthcare providers, and they all face a common set of issues. The trend in decreasing operating margins are a huge issue, payments for services are decreasing, the number of patients is increasing, and costs are going up, so they have to increase revenue with the same amount of assets. There is a shortage of employees as well, specifically nurses, and so one solution is to make employees more productive.
Studies show that nurses spend 1/3rd of their time on caring for patients while the other 2/3rd’s is for administrative work. Administrative work is a clear example of manual processes that can be expedited with automation.
Gerard gave me a very specific problem – long wait times in emergency facilities at an oncology facility with over 700 beds. Even with an EMR (Electronic Medical Record) System and a bed management system, a lot of the care in this oncology facility still required the coordination of discharge to be handled by nurses.
The actual discharge process can’t begin without approval from a primary care physician, after which the nurse could talk to the specialist to make sure they were okay with the discharge. After receiving that approval, they have to talk to the pharmacy, the outpatient pharmacy, nutrition and dietetics, call maintenance to wheel the patient out, and finally inform the patient’s family of the time they will be discharged. The average discharge time was around 6PM in the day.
Avaya has found that the process can be changed so that nurses go into a standard system, and an application handles the administrative processes for them. That’s all they have to do – initiate the process.
In the background, the software makes numerous phone calls, and the nurse can continue working.
The result? 4 hours was shaved off of the discharge process, and every 1-hour equates to about a $1M net benefit, or $4M saved in this specific application. You’ve also let the nurses focus on their work and not the administrative processes that support it.
Digging a little deeper into discharge processes, we learned about another situation where EMR systems are enabling lots of new technologies. Discharge is not always to the patient’s home as our example above illustrated. Another option is that the patient needs care at another place, and the hospital isn’t the best place to do it because of the significant costs involved.
This means that the patient might be moving to a medium/short term care facility, in the local area. Authentidate (ADAT) offers patient placement services for Avaya’s Discharge customers where they have a database of local providers, linked into the hospital discharge system, and can coordinate all the manual work and send patients to the right facility. Both systems work in coordination here, because the discharge process is the same, however what changes is that Authentidate can point them to the next place the patient needs to go.
What else is Avaya working on? You’ve learned about patient discharge, but they are also working on patient admition processes, patient contact processes, follow-up processes, patient flow processes, and other solutions around mobility so that nurses can have all their information wherever they are.
Looking at the macro-economic environment, there has been a lot of talk about healthcare from the government. In the stimulus package, $19 billion was allocated for electronic medical record adoption. The bill targets “meaningful use” areas, specifically, quality of care for patients. However readmissions are a critical part of this – the more readmissions you have, the lower the reimbursement amount, thus care facilities want people to be healthy when they leave the hospital. Hospitals are now adopting EMR systems, but finding that there is still a lot of care coordination that is done by the nurses. Avaya is able to interface into those EMR systems and Gerard is finding that as the EMR adoption rate is increasing, so is the willingness of hospitals to adopt technologies to improve processes like patient discharge.
Virtually every large hospital (200+ beds) can use patient discharge, while patient placement depends on the certain departments that utilize these functions.
With a clear understanding of their offering and the macroeconomic environment, let’s take a look at the market potential here.
There are approximately 2,000 hospitals with 200+ beds in the US, and you can double that for the global market. If the average selling price of a discharge process is $200,000, which is a low number, you have a ½ billion dollar opportunity on your hands, or a solid billion globally. Combined with their other services, it’s easily a $2-3 billion opportunity.
Avaya is currently implementing the technologies in a hospital in Orlando. Gerard says that these are intense and involved processes, which they are perfecting in Orlando. They’re finding that this requires a change of culture, however they will be moving from incubation to scale mode with a large pipeline. As they make progress on these fronts, Avaya will be issuing press releases and we can expect that they will ramp up their customer base as quickly as they can, and already have clients in the pipeline.
Competitors? Avaya’s competitors include the traditional call server market for voice applications. This means that Cisco (CSCO) and Siemens’ Enterprise Network (SI) are both competing, however they offer horizontal solutions marketed into healthcare, and neither really has a solution for these specific problems. They have aspirations to be in healthcare, however haven’t yet made the leaps necessary to take advantage of these coming changes. The advantage that Avaya offers is that they bring a whole suite of solutions together, and not just the voice application to handle phone calls.
Partners – Avaya does not compete with EMR providers, but rather works with them to have their applications link together. These EMR providers might include McKesson (MCK), Cerner (CERN), Allscripts (MDRX), AthenaHealth (ATHN), Authentidate (ADAT), etc.
Avaya and Nortel’s healthcare division, combined, are able to expand the customer base and further their reach. The acquisition means that their customer base almost doubled in North America because of their top 500 companies, there was less than a 10% overlap in identical customers. Some hospitals, like Johns Hopkins, were using 2/3rd’s Nortel’s solutions and 1/3 Avaya’s solutions, however they now have a complete presence in hospitals like this. Gerard ended our discussion by saying, “We are very excited with the coming together of the companies, and we have many more opportunities thanks to this.”

Stretched clinical staff worries IT professionals

2011-05-25T15:53:00.000+10:00

Overextended staff is the top concern among healthcare IT professionals surveyed recently concerning obstacles to providing better patient care.

Avaya's survey found that respondents focused primarily on staff issues. Asked about the biggest challenge healthcare providers currently face, 32 percent cited “overextended clinical staff spending too much time performing non-patient care activities,” followed by "poor or lack of effective communication among staff," and "bottlenecks in patient flow."

“We're seeing concerns among healthcare technology professionals about staffing and time being spent away from patients, which greatly impacts patient care and efficiency," said Gerard Dass, Avaya's Asia Pacific healthcare practice leader. "To address these challenges head-on, industry professionals are turning to communications solutions that drive faster and more productive collaboration, which makes all the difference in an industry where every second counts."

When asked, "What results do you expect to gain from your technology investments?" the majority – 74 percent – cited "improved level of care and response to patients."

Asked what they considered to be the most beneficial value of mobile communications, the majority – 67 percent – chose: “improving patient care by improving response time to patients.”

According to the survey, improving patient care and satisfaction through collaborative communications – which includes mobile communications, automated outreach, and technologies for driving workflows – was top of mind for most healthcare technology professionals.

The survey also asked about video-based communications in the healthcare industry. Survey respondents indicated this technology could make the most significant impact in two key areas – physician consultations and distance telemedicine – both of which tied for first place in terms of impact.

According to Gerard, video adds an important new dimension to the healthcare industry, with group consultations gaining real-time visuals and enhanced document and image sharing capabilities. This can speed and improve collaboration for doctors, medical professionals and patients, he said.

Looking ahead, healthcare professionals were asked which issues facing their healthcare organization would be most important to address in the next three years, considering meaningful use and accountable care requirements.

Survey respondents ranked "communication and workflow integration into healthcare information systems" as the most important, with 95 percent responding "extremely importan"' or "very important." Respondents also ranked automated patient followup and multi-modal collaboration as important.

Emergency Notification + Mobility = Better Response and Care

2011-05-25T12:02:00.002+10:00

While the need to rally teams quickly in your hospital is certainly not new, there are an increasing number of ways to reach the right people when time is of the essence. Although pagers were once the standard for simultaneous communications, now staff can specify a wide range of devices on which they can be contacted.

For example, if you have a critical code, such as when a heart attack patient arrives, you probably have to let many people know that they will play a role in the very near future. The Cath Lab, cardiologists, nurses, lab technicians, and more can receive the appropriate message and respond with their availability. This is the key – being able to track responses easily and let alternate staff know if someone can’t make it. All of this can happen using common communications devices and systems such as smartphones, pagers, email, desk phones, and others. Logging all correspondence throughout the process also comes in handy when the Joint Commission asks for audit trails.

Best of all, better communications during emergencies helps improve patient care as staff focus more on doing their jobs and less on making multiple phone calls. Case in point, Amcom customer Goshen General Hospital in Indiana reduced its average time for treating heart attack patients (the “door-to-balloon time”) from 129 minutes to 68 minutes – a 47 percent reduction.

Five steps docs can take to avoid 'social media missteps'

2011-05-20T08:56:00.000+10:00

1. Know the rules. HIPAA's privacy prohibitions not only protect the disclosure of a patient's name and "individually identifiable health information," but also requires the safeguarding of any information where there is a "reasonable basis to believe it can be used to identify the individual."

2. Develop a social media policy. A social media policy, written in plain language, with clear dos and don'ts, should be established to provide guidance on what is and is not permitted.

3. Training. If physicians are going to use social media, they need to learn the tools, techniques and strategies of social media. An unintentional disclosure of information due to a misunderstanding about how a social network or mobile application works may have the same consequences for a doctor or institution as intentional disclosure. A doctor's staff should also be given training so that they are equally equipped to understand the rules of social media engagement.

4. Get written authorizations from patients. Anytime a physician wishes to profile a patient online, obtaining a written authorization from the patient is the safest route. Thinking of posting "happy" photos online from a health screening? Be sure to get written authorizations. "Really?" Really.

5. Monitor your social media sites for compliance. Training your staff on the rules of social media engagement will equip them to monitor your social media sites and keep your social media presence on the right of HIPAA. Having someone monitor the accounts throughout the day also makes good sense and is not as burdensome as it sounds. A glance at a screen by someone who knows what to watch for is all that is required.

Docs fear productivity loss with EHRs

2011-05-17T10:32:00.001+10:00

Loss of productivity is the top worry for doctors thinking about switching from paper medical records to electronic ones, according to a new survey by the Medical Group Management Association.
The online survey drew responses from 4,588 practices, representing about 120,000 physicians.

Of practices still using paper records, more than 78 percent feared there would be a "significant" to "very significant" loss of provider productivity during implementation, and two-thirds (67.4 percent) had similar concerns about the loss of physician productivity after the EHR transition period.

The practices still using paper medical records described the other significant to very significant barriers to EHR adoption as “insufficient capital resources to invest in an EHR” (71.7 percent) and “insufficient expected return on investment” (56.9 percent).

"The EHR incentive program seeks to address implementation costs, a critical barrier to medical groups' adoption of EHRs,” said MGMA President and CEO William F. Jessee, MD. “While the majority of groups plan to have their eligible professionals participate in the program, including those organizations that have not yet implemented an EHR, it is clear that groups face significant system optimization challenges.”
Jessee said he hopes future stages of the incentive program will take into account the difficulties medical groups face in meeting the meaningful use requirements.

The survey found that independent medical practices are more likely to have a fully implemented and optimized EHR than those owned by hospital systems.

“Integrated systems are much more complex environments than independent physician practices and their information systems often have to encompass both in-patient and physician components,” said MGMA Innovation and Research Vice President David Gans, who directed the research.

He said the added complexity, combined with the geographic dispersion of most hospital-based physician practices, has hindered the advancement. In addition to redesigning how patient care is delivered, practices must redesign workflow, more fully use the system’s capabilities, integrate the EHR and practice management systems and fully coordinate system interoperability with systems used by hospitals – all activities that are much more difficult to achieve in hospital systems, he added.

One of the hurdles in optimizing any new technology is adequately training new users. More than half – 53.2 percent of respondents – said they either "mildly" or "severely" under-allocated the training time needed during the implementation of their EHR systems.

What is most often missing is a commonsense approach to workflow – how the typical physician’s day flows as he or she interacts with patients and the practice’s support staff, said Rosemarie Nelson, principal of the MGMA Consulting Group.

“The EMRs could be better at taking advantage of the well choreographed dance between doctor and clinical support staff to accomplish seeing patients in the office and attending to the aftercare communications (results and calls) associated with taking care of patients,” Nelson said

2011-04-29T09:31:00.001+10:00

iPhone to dominate U.S. physician smartphone market

2011-04-29T09:06:00.000+10:00

According to a recent survey of U.S. physicians, 61 percent intend to own an iPhone by the end of 2011. This is up from 39 percent at the beginning of the year and compares with the iPhone’s 24.7 percent adoption among general U.S. smartphone users.

Aptilon Corporation, a leader in online access to and interaction with HCPs on behalf of pharmaceutical sales and marketing programs, used its ReachNet Physician Access Channel to recruit HCP participation in a survey on mobile technology and convenience options for HCPs. ReachNet provides access to over 450,000 HCPs through multiple channels, including the Internet, email and through mobile and tablet devices. Between February 7 and February 16, 2011, 341 HCPs from throughout the U.S. participated in the survey.

The research found that by the end of 2011, 84 percent of U.S. physicians will be using a smartphone; corresponding with Manhattan Research’s forecast of 82 percent smartphone adoption during this same time period. Segmenting smartphone users by major platform, the Aptilon survey data revealed that 61 percent of healthcare professionals (HCPs) will be using an iPhone, 16 percent a regular cell phone, 9 percent Google's Android platform and 9 percent RIM's BlackBerry platform.

"HCPs have signaled a clear preference for their smartphones," remarks Mark Benthin, Aptilon COO, "Professionals are taking advantage of the latest advancements to connect with information, tools and live resources when, where and how it suits them.”

EHR: Advice for your next CIO

2011-04-24T12:26:00.000+10:00

With all the efforts underway with EHR, it’s only natural that some efforts will have problems, and those leading the efforts may be replaced.

If you’re the new EHR lead, how do you know what to do tomorrow? You walk in to your new office; a withered Ficus tree is leaning awkwardly against the far wall, vestiges of a spider’s web dangle from a dead leaf.

You place your yellowed coffee mug on the worn desk, change out of your sneakers, and after rubbing your feet, slip on a pair of black Bruno Magli pumps. The feel of the supple leather relaxes you.

You spot the three envelopes that are stacked neatly on the credenza. A hand-written note on Crane stationary reads, “If there is an emergency, open the first envelope”. You place the three envelops in your YSL attaché case, and go about trying to salvage the EHR implementation.

Three weeks pass. Things are not going well. You are summoned to meet with the hospital’s COO. After checking your makeup, you retrieve the first envelope and read it. “Blame me,” it reads. You were going to do that anyway.

Two more months. The vendor has become a sepsis in the lifeblood of the organization—pretty good word for a math major. You are summoned to meet with the CEO. After checking your makeup, you bang your first on your desk, tipping over your coffee, and spilling it all over your Dolce & Gabbana suit. You don’t have time to change. You retrieve the second envelope and read it. “Blame the budget,” it reads. You were going to do that anyway.

Six months. Deadlines missed. Staff quit. Vendor staff doubles. Vendor output cut by half.

You are summoned before the board. You no long check your makeup—you haven’t worn makeup since the day you publically went mano y mano with the head of the cardiology department inside the surgical theater, demanding to see his updated work flows. You still haven’t been able to get the blood off of your Hermès scarf that he used as a towel. You are dressed in a pair of faded jeans and your son’s black AC/DC T-shirt, the one with the skull on the back. You don’t care.

As you reach in the desk drawer for the third envelope, you realize you haven’t had a manicure in four months. You feel like a disenfranchised U.S Postal employee. You have become the poster child for the human genome project run amuck. Somebody is going to lose their DNA today.

You open the third envelope. “Prepare three envelopes,” it reads. You were going to do that anyway.

The Ottawa Hospital Orders 1,800 iPads

2011-04-22T16:56:00.000+10:00

We’ve seen Apple show off medical applications for the iPad in keynotes and commercials, and now we have some news about implementation into large public health facilities.
CBC News is reporting that the Ottawa Hospital in Canada recently ordered 1,800 iPads in addition to the 500 that are already being used by health-care providers. The iPads will replace traditional paper medical charts.
Staff at the hospital are saying that the shift to iPad usage instead of paper charts is putting the Ottawa Hospital at the forefront of all hospitals in North America. Doctors will be able to examine and show X-rays, make notes and prescribe treatments all with the iPad.
Dr. Glen Geiger told CBC News that he could be at a patient’s bedside with an iPad and be able to talk about results directly, thus eliminating lots of extra time and paperwork. All patient information can be carried on iPads as well. Information such as medical histories, injury reports and allergies.
Geiger also expressed some advantages. “We’d discuss if you’d agree to the treatment plan, we’d order the treatment plan right then and there while we’re talking to you, instead of saying, ‘Let me go down the hall and order that treatment in a few minutes.’” Doctors are know for messy hand-written notes and the iPad would also solve the problem of trying to decipher their handwriting.
Ottawa Hospital is exptected to have the new iPads by July and they will offset costs by replacing outdated equipment, increasing productivity and reducing errors. Security measures are also in place to ensure that patient’s records will not be compromised. Data will not be stored locally on the iPad so that patient information will always be secure.
The 1,800 iPads will be used by physicians, resident physicians and pharmacists.
[via CBC News]

CCAM Conference

2011-04-22T09:54:00.000+10:00

link to an event i was involved in late last year

http://www.ccam.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/23/ccam-national-industry-conference-exhibition-2010/CCAM-Brochure.pdf

Five social media tips for docs worried about HIPAA

2011-04-20T11:09:00.000+10:00

**This is an interesting article that I found**

While many doctors shy away from use of the Internet because of concern over HIPAA penalties, one company is advising the physician community to not become victim to HIPAA hand-wringing and fall out of sync with their colleagues who have learned how to responsibly utilize today's most valuable online visibility tools.

Avvo, the world's largest online directory for doctors and lawyers that provides free rankings for 90 percent of the working physicians in the U.S., offers five tips for physicians who are hesitant, because of perceived HIPAA restrictions, to embrace online and social media marketing.

The company, which was founded to service the legal sector, is no stranger to the impact of regulatory issues on the healthcare industry. Avvo is now striving to help doctors, who may be missing valuable networking opportunities because of unnecessary HIPAA fears, to adopt widely accepted, HIPAA-compliant practices for tapping the Web's significant marketing and reputation building channels.

"HIPAA is a well-intentioned, but poorly implemented law that is unnecessarily scaring doctors and keeping them in an unrealistic 'technology lockdown'," explained Avvo founder and CEO Mark Britton. "Avvo sits at the vortex between law and healthcare – and we believe passionately that physicians are needlessly hand-tied by HIPAA legalities. We want every working doctor out there to know that there are many appropriate and safe channels through which they can build their profile and reputation on the Web."

Avvo, which offers free phone consultations to physicians who have questions about how to safely market their reputation on the Web, equips doctors with the following five tips for managing their career online:

1. DO: Use email, SMS and social media messaging. These are acceptable tools for making outreach to patients, the media, medical industry influencers, and other doctors. The HIPAA regulations actually encourage the use of alternative communication methods, particularly as patients express their preference for a particular mode of communication.

2. DO: Feel free to share information with other providers. Many health professionals set up unnecessary procedures that make it harder to share patient information with other providers. If you need input from another provider, you don't have to worry about HIPAA compliance. In fact, HIPAA guidelines specifically permit the sharing of information with other providers (freely and without patient consent) for the purposes of patient treatment.

3. DO: Feel free to answer general patient questions - there is no HIPAA bar to providing this information. Whether it's participating in Avvo's free online Q&A or other forums on- or off-line, answering general health-related queries in a public forum will not present a HIPAA-related problem for doctors. These tools offer a powerful means for patients to take the first steps to getting the care they need.

4. DO: Keep family members in the loop. It is unwarranted to let HIPAA be an excuse for not keeping family members engaged and involved, where relevant, to provide support that is in the best interest of the patient. There is wide latitude under HIPAA to inform a patient's family members about his or her status – and this extends to liaising with family members electronically as well.

5. DO: Exercise common sense and reasonable practices in all instances to ensure the privacy and security of your communications with patients. This general rule of thumb applies whether the communication is by email, SMS, fax or instant message.

While Britton agrees that HIPAA has created a general "culture of paranoia" among medical practitioners and has in many ways served to logjam the essential progress of technology's role within the healthcare industry, he adds that it is just "unreasonable" for doctors not to embrace the social media revolution because of over-exaggerated fears of privacy and security violations. That level of restrictive behavior, he cautions, is "wholly impractical in today's business climate" and he advises doctors to go ahead and embrace digital tools while still preserving the health and integrity of the patient-physician relationship.

E-prescription market headed to $204.6M

2011-04-18T14:15:00.001+10:00

The U.S. e-prescription market is set to reach $204.6 million, according to a new report by market research firm Global Industry Analysts (GIA).

The research report titled "E-Prescription Systems: A US & European Market Report" announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of the e-prescription systems markets, current market trends, key growth drivers, recent product launches, recent industry activity, and profiles of major/niche market participants.

It provides annual sales estimates and projections for e-prescription systems market for the years 2009 through 2017 for the following geographic markets - US and Europe. Key segments analyzed include integrated e-prescription systems, and stand-alone e-prescription systems. The report also analyzes the adoption of e-prescription systems by hospital practice and general practice. Also, a six-year (2003-2008) historic analysis is provided for additional perspective.

Major players profiled in the report include Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Inc., Cerner Corp., InstantDx/OnCallData, AlphaSante Group, eHealth Solutions, iScribe, iMedX, Navimedix, Newcrop LLC, Emdeon, NextGen Healthcare Information Systems Inc., athenahealth Inc., eClinicalWorks, ABEL Medical Software Inc., Altos Solutions, ASP.MD Inc., Bizmatics Inc., digiChart Inc., e-MDs, Eclipsys Corp., eScribe EMR Solutions Inc., Henry Schein Medical Systems, Surescripts LLC, Med3000, among others.

Technology is being widely used in improving efficiencies, and creating opportunities in a wide gamut of industries, and healthcare sector is no exception. In the past few years, advancements in web technologies have assisted vendors in developing products to offer tools to significantly improve the safety and efficiency of the healthcare sector as well as to provide substantial cost savings, the report notes.

This is further propelled by the increase in healthcare costs, which is putting enormous pressure on healthcare providers to incorporate technically advanced solutions as part of their cost-containment strategy, it adds. Electronic prescriptions is one such technology that is beginning to gain the attention of policy makers across the globe as an effective medium for curbing prescription drug costs.

The paperless, electronic mode of transmission of prescriptions as well as prescription-related information between the physician and the dispenser has given a new dimension to the way prescriptions are dispensed.

With more than 4.5 billion prescriptions being written by physicians and clinicians annually and the volume increasing at a rapid pace, plus the increasing number of adverse drug events caused due to errors in hand-written prescriptions, the electronic mode of prescribing is gaining increased foothold, according to GIA. The medium is expected to gain increased preference over the ensuing years, backed by its ability to provide improved patient care, and reduce medication errors. The market is also witnessing the growing demand for integrated e-prescription systems, facilitating the healthcare community to shift towards the implementation of a complete electronic health record system.

GIA reports that while older versions of e-prescribing technology in existence since the mid-1990s, the e-prescription systems market had earlier been significantly underutilized. This was basically due to the complexities involved in the successful implementation of the systems, as well as the physicians' reluctance in the adoption of technology. However, significant progress has been made during the past few years for a more widespread use of these systems in the healthcare sector. Physicians are gradually realizing that using e-prescription systems is beneficial for improved patient safety. This was further augmented by the large-scale technological advancements, resulting in the introduction of various improved systems, which can either be used in a stand-alone mode, or in an integrated mode for integrating e-prescriptions with the patients' electronic medical records.

Governments across the world are providing incentives for implementing e-prescriptions, and at the same time penalizing non-compliance. One such attempt is the US implementation of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009, which received federal funding worth US$19 billion for the modernization of HIT infrastructure in the US. ARRA is expected to assist federal government in saving an estimated US$22 billion in medical and drug costs over the next decade. In addition, the adoption of e-prescribing under the ARRA is expected to increase to about 70 to 75% of the total prescribers over the next five to six years. And considering the positive initiatives taken up by the industry, supported by encouraging government regulations, the e-prescription industry is poised to witness robust growth in future.

The United States and Europe constitute the two major markets for e-prescription systems globally. Of the two, Europe represents the largest market for e-prescription systems, as stated by the new market research report on E-Prescription Systems. Segment-wise, integrated e-prescription systems represent the larger segment, compared to the stand-alone e-prescription systems. The systems are also expected to witness faster growth compared to stand-alone systems. In terms of practice, Hospital practice accounts for a larger share, compared to general practice. The use of e-prescription systems in general practice is however registering increasing growth compared to hospital practice. The market for e-prescription systems in general practice is forecast to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 11.5 percent during the analysis period.

Docs using mobile apps at the point of care

2011-04-16T15:20:00.001+10:00

The introduction of a medical check list for the iPhone could be a benefit to providers as mobile technology is quickly being integrated into the care process.

Peter Waegemann, vice president of development for the mHealth Initiative, Inc. says so many health professionals have started using smartphones to help administer better care that some say they "don’t know how colleagues manage without them."

Official statistics aren't published, "but anecdotal reports confirm that many doctors are using the iPhone at the point of care,” says Waegemann. "There are several hospitals where all doctors are using the iPhone."

The iPhone currently has more than 1,000 medical apps aimed at both patients and physicians to better manage health and care. Applications like Safe OR, designed by QxMD, is a mobile checklist designed to increase survival rates during surgery. The application provides a series of checklists to be completed before beginning a surgical procedure. The checklists have involve administering anaesthesia and making surgical incisions into a patient. When a checklist isn’t complete, the app provides an alert to the user indicating which steps were skipped.

“iPhone-based decision support with checklists are a great benefit," says Waegemann. "My vision for mHealth is that a large part of the scientific body of medicine that a doctor learns and memorizes in medical school will be transferred into decision-supporting apps a doctor holds on a mobile device when seeing the patient and that can be easily and routinely updated as advances are made."

Waegemann says this process of using mobile apps to improve care is in its early stages, and has some growing to do. Once the use of this technology is more widespread, Waegemann expects the quality of care will improve.

“Current iPhone apps of this kind are the very beginning of a long process – perhaps 10 to 15 years – during which the mDevice will become the main tool a doctor uses in attending to patients,” says Waegemann. “The benefits are better quality of care, greater efficiency, and lower healthcare costs.”

There are other contenders in mhealth as well. Apple’s new iPad, as well as the Motorola Droid and the Blackberry, have the potential to provide the same application offerings as the iPhone.

"The iPhone is just one of a number of new smart phones,” says Waegemann. “The iPad will open up a new dimension for doctors as it will become the working tool at the point of care. But other phones could catch up or become even more successful in healthcare. One must see mobile applications as part of mHealth which is focusing on new communication in healthcare and healthcare restructuring (including the financial system) and is enabled by mobile systems. I am convinced that our healthcare system will have major communication changes that will affect everyone. These changes will evolve over time; they are disruptive and will change so much."

CIOs banking on achieving Stage 1 MU

2011-04-14T09:32:00.000+10:00

The vast majority of CIOs responding to the survey conducted in mid-March by the College of Health Information Management Executives (CHIME) expect their organizations will achieve meaningful use of electronic health records within Stage 1 and get funding under the HITECH portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

A total of 32.5 percent of the 200 CIOs who responded to the survey say they expect to qualify for stimulus funding by September 30, 2011, which marks the first full year of the federal program. An additional 58 percent of CIOs reported that they expect their organizations will qualify during Stage 1, but possibly not until late in federal fiscal years 2012 or 2013.

The total of 90 percent who say their organizations will qualify for stimulus funding in federal fiscal years 2011 to 2013, the first years of the stimulus-funding program, has remained fairly consistent with CHIME’s previous two surveys, conducted in August and November of 2010.

Adjusting expectations

However, a comparison of results from all three CHIME surveys suggests that CIOs are revising estimates of when they expect their organizations will qualify for stimulus funding

Results from the most recent survey illustrate a continued decline in optimism among CHIME members aiming to qualify for funding within the first six months of the federal program. Only 7.5 percent of respondents they expected to qualify for funding by April 1, 2011, compared with 15 percent of respondents to the same question in November and 28 percent of CIOs who responded to the first CHIME survey in August 2010.

“The survey shows that as CIOs begin implementing EHRs to meet the meaningful use targets required to get stimulus funding, they are finding quite a bit of ‘devil is in the details’ as they move along the process,” said Pamela McNutt, Senior Vice President and CIO of Dallas-based Methodist Health System and Chair of CHIME’s Policy Steering Committee.

A majority of respondents to the recent CHIIME survey indicated that their organizations have yet to register for the federal program, a first step in declaring readiness to participate and subsequently demonstrating the meaningful use of EHRs. Only 19.5 percent of CIOs at standalone hospitals say their organizations have already registered for the program, while 29.5 percent of CIOs at multi-hospital systems say their organizations have registered all their hospitals for the program.

Responses from community hospital CIOs suggest that their organizations will need more time to qualify for stimulus funding. Only 26 percent of CIO respondents from community hospitals say they expect to qualify for stimulus funding during the first year of the program, ending on September 30, 2011. Nearly two-thirds of CIOs from community hospitals now say they are hoping to qualify in late FY2012 or FY2013.

CIOs accelerate implementation

In comparison to the last meaningful use readiness survey by CHIME, more CIOs say they are accelerating plans to implement EHRs, with 40.5 percent reporting such plans in March vs. 35.6 percent in November 2010. David Muntz, Chair of CHIME’s Advocacy Leadership team said, “Though not a large increase, I suspect that financial pressures in the healthcare industry have piqued interest in meaningful use among the CFOs and members of the Board.” Those who believe their current IT strategy and existing applications would help them meet meaningful use slipped to 39.5 percent in March, compared with 41.9 percent in November.

“As more guidance becomes available and the industry works through the rules, what’s needed to get to MU becomes clearer,” said Sharon Canner, Senior Director of Advocacy for CHIME. “If the deployment of health IT and EMRs was easy, we would have implemented this technology long ago. CIOs are thoughtfully looking at their systems and internal goals of improving patient care, and they’re determining how best to integrate clinical systems in a meaningful way.”

Other findings include:

Nearly 90 percent of respondents still have concerns related to meeting Meaningful Use requirements.
Capturing and submitting data for quality measures has become the most frequently cited concern of CIOs responding to the survey.
Nearly 75 percent of responding CIOs say they are concerned about legislative proposals to repeal incentive funding, including the EHR Medicare and Medicaid Incentive Program.
Some 55 percent of CIO respondents say they still have lingering questions about the program, nearly six months after the October 1, 2010, start of the stimulus funding program.
Results from this survey are based on responses from 200 members, or about 14 percent of CHIME’s membership, who responded to the Internet-based survey, which was available from March 4 through 20. Of those, about 41 percent of respondents work for community hospitals; 30 percent are top IT executives at multi-hospital systems; 12 percent are in top IT roles at academic medical centers; and 17 percent work at other types of healthcare organizations, including critical access hospitals, large group practices, hospital-group practice models or others.

The most recent survey of CHIME members represents the third quarterly survey of the organization’s membership to gauge their perceptions of progress in achieving meaningful use and to measure their views on whether they expect to achieve stimulus funding through the federal program.

CHIME’s membership comprises more than 1,400 chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT executives from a variety of provider organizations, including large hospital systems, community hospitals, for-profit hospitals and small or rural facilities. CHIME members typically oversee the information services department within their organizations and are leaders in implementing EHRs and other clinical systems. Approximately 13 percent of CHIME’s membership responded to the survey.

CHIME plans to continue to survey its membership quarterly to identify trends among healthcare providers in achieving meaningful use and qualifying for stimulus funding.

Cisco survey finds global support for telehealth

2011-04-11T12:01:00.001+10:00

At a time when patient-centered healthcare seems all the rage, a survey of top healthcare leaders around the world indicates they’re most concerned with implementing technology that allows doctors to communicate with each other.

Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group received responses from 96 leaders in 16 countries for its Global Health Leaders Survey. The results were released Wednesday in Washington, D.C., as part of the World Health Congress keynote presentation and a panel discussion titled Ministerial Forum on Global Health Innovation: A Perspective on National Health Opportunities.

According to Frances Dare and Kaveh Safavi, director and vice president, respectively, of Cisco’s IBSG Global Healthcare Practice, the survey’s results indicate healthcare leaders view collaboration – rather than cost or access – as the driving force in healthcare delivery. Both said the use of telehealth to develop care teams – doctors collaborating with each other in real time on a patient’s care, no matter where they’re located – leads to reduced waste, lower cost and better clinical outcomes.

“It shifts the focus or it shifts the emphasis,” said Dare. Healthcare leaders, she said, “see the emphasis on helping health professionals first … through virtual collaboration.”

“It is very much about the exchange of data and live interactions,” she added. “To accomplish this, we need to make sure that collaborative technologies are easy to use.”

Survey respondents listed as their top concerns providing equitable access to health services, maximizing the efficiency of health resources and providing quality care consistently. When asked what options would enable “significant, nationwide health transformation,” they identified technology-enabled innovations and telehealth solutions.

Safavi said many governments have focused their efforts on developing technology – particularly on electronic health records – and are just now shifting the focus to the proper use of that technology.

“The relative priority of collaborative technologies is going up,” he said.

Those responding to the survey see high potential in telehealth, with 65 percent supporting both ICT (information and communications technologies) and the electronic sharing or accessing of diagnostic images, video or patient biometric data. Another high-potential growth area, according to 64 percent of those surveyed, is the use of ICT for clinical training and references.

In contrast, only 32 percent placed a high priority on patient care provided by “care-at-a-distance” models.
“The doctor-to-patient relationship is still a priority,” said Dare. Improving communication and collaboration among physicians, she said, “augments that relationship.”

When asked about challenges facing their country’s healthcare system, world leaders placed access, efficiency and quality over “providing health services our country can afford.” According to the survey, top challenges were maldistribution of health professionals (identified by 35 percent) and insufficient numbers of health professionals (20 percent). Only 10 percent of those surveyed listed affordability as their top concern.

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International and received responses from healthcare leaders in the United States, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Chile, England, France, Germany, India, Scotland, South Africa, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, India, Kenya and Nigeria. The survey targeted senior government leaders, both civil servants and political appointees.

Safavi said the survey should compel governments to develop public-private partnerships to advance the delivery of healthcare. While the private sector may lead the way in experimentation and innovation, he said, the public sector has the necessary means to increase the scale of delivery.

“This survey breaks new ground on a global level about what health leaders believe will help drive meaningful change in national health service,” said Mary McIntosh, PRSAI’s president. “Having a macro view of the ICT challenges and opportunities health leaders face focuses attention on a host of ways to advance health service for (nations) around the world.”

iSoft in CSC buyout, Lorenzo 'safe'

2011-04-02T15:20:00.000+11:00

AUSTRALIA'S first and only global health IT player was bought by services giant CSC overnight, in a move that will protect iSoft's intellectual resources and contract revenue.

US-based CSC will acquire all outstanding equity of iSoft Group for 17 cents a share in cash, under a court approved scheme of arrangement. The value of the offer has not been confirmed, but may be well below the expected $300 million.

The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals in several countries, should be completed in 2012.

CSC said the acquisition would "complement and strengthen" its healthcare integration and services portfolio.

ISoft, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, has been under a trading halt and voluntary suspension for more than one week now.

The British health IT media had been speculating on its buyout by its long-standing National Health Services contract partner to expand CSC's market share and safeguard the assets in iSoft's web-based platform, Lorenzo.

In its announcement overnight, CSC said it would take on iSoft's 3300 employees - from sales and R&D centres in India, Spain, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and central Europe - to expand its support capabilities for existing customers and "add a robust set of clients" in new and emerging markets.

CSC president Michael Laphen said bringing the two companies together would "further establish CSC as an innovative leader" in the health IT sector.

“Through our combined experience in healthcare delivery, complementary world-class software solutions, and capabilities in system integration, outsourcing and process management, we are forming a compelling life-cycle of services to better serve our global clients and improve patient care," Mr Laphen said.

iSoft had built a strong business, with 13,000 provider organisation customers and systems installed in more than 8000 hospitals across 40 countries, before hitting financial disaster in 2009-10.

CSC said iSoft's portfolio includes more than 1300 software developers and more than 200 clinicians, while its clinical and practice management products touched more than 200 million patients across five continents every day.

iSoft chief executive Andrea Fiumicelli said the deal was "a great development" for the company's employees, as they would be able to "continue their important work in healthcare IT while developing their careers across CSC’s global business”.

Mr Laphen said: "This will be a critical step in the expansion of our global healthcare business.

"CSC will be at the forefront of emerging healthcare technologies, giving our clients access to an expanded range of capabilities and continuing our journey of bringing the vision of a single patient record to life.”

Lower cost draws healthcare to videoconferencing market

2011-03-29T11:50:00.000+11:00

Reduced prices and improved quality are boosting the adoption of telemedicine videoconferencing systems, according to a new Frost & Sullivan report titled Visual Collaboration Applications in Healthcare.

The practice of telemedicine has been undergoing significant evolution paralleled by technological advancements in the world of videoconferencing, Frost & Sullivan researchers note. These changes open new opportunities for videoconferencing service providers as they continue to address a market that remains highly under-penetrated.

Healthcare practitioners are increasingly adopting interactive video or videoconferencing applications for providing enhanced access to healthcare as well as improving the quality of such services at lower prices across the globe, according to the report.

"The costs of telemedicine videoconferencing systems and transmission service are not a major barrier to their deployments any more," says Iwona Petruczynik, Frost & Sullivan research analyst. "In the last two years, there has been a significant reduction in prices of equipment and a substantial improvement in endpoint functionality, especially video quality."

Vendors of visual collaboration technology can make an entry in the healthcare market by offering "off-the-shelf" videoconferencing products. These are cost effective and easier to use options for healthcare professionals, as they are not purchasing dedicated carts, but standard videoconferencing systems.

"This will represent a 'foot in the door' for visual collaboration manufacturers because they are not only familiarizing healthcare professionals with videoconferencing, but also introducing their dedicated pieces of equipment," says Petruczynik. "Visual collaboration vendors need to add value to certain vertical markets to avoid commoditization in the increasingly competitive marketplace."

The most significant benefit of telemedicine is its ability to extend the geographic reach of medical care and provide access to medical specialists in remote and rural areas, according to the report. Telemedicine technology also offers training and educational benefits to medical professionals at reduced costs. However, restrictive reimbursements and legislative policies are limiting the reach of existing telemedicine programs.

"There are also other obstacles to use of telemedicine technologies like resistance from traditional healthcare facilities that are unfamiliar with new technologies," says Petruczynik. "In addition, many potential adopters of telemedicine are witnessing objections from their medical staff that fears that they will be replaced by new and more efficient practices brought by telemedicine programs.”

The report shows that, on the technology side, there are concerns related to the integration of telemedicine with electronic medical records and resolving system interoperability issues. Moreover, medical staff will have to be trained to coordinate remote care, as well as cope with legal liability, accreditation and licensing issues.

"Once these obstacles are overcome, there exists sizeable potential for growth," says Petruczynik. "Enabling a significant level of customisation in the solutions for healthcare institutions will determine the success of videoconferencing in the telemedicine environment in future."

Americans not ready to use social media to talk to their doc

2011-03-27T21:48:00.001+11:00

RALEIGH, NC – Americans may not be embracing social media as a way to communicate with their providers, but they aren't opposed to using the Internet for more administrative functions such as billing, accessing their records and setting appointments.

This is according to a national Capstrat-Public Policy Polling survey, which found that more than five of every six respondents (85 percent) said they would not use social media or instant messaging channels for medical communication if their doctors offered it.

Only 11 percent of respondents said they would take advantage of social media such as Twitter or Facebook to communicate with their doctor and 20 percent said they would use chat or instant message.

[See also: Social media sites help patients make healthcare decisions.]

Even among Millennials (18 to 29 years old), an age group that seems ripe for electronic health communication, the poll found that only 21 percent said they would take advantage of an online forum if offered.

Respondents were, however, more favorable toward conferring with their doctor via e-mail (52 percent), online appointment setting (56 percent), online access to their medical records (50 percent) and online bill payment (48 percent).

The survey found different attitudes along certain demographic lines. Hispanics said they were more comfortable interacting with their doctors online: 89 percent would take advantage of email if their doctors offered it; 89 percent would set appointments online; 78 percent would participate in online bill payment; and 89 percent would call a nurse help line.

The poll revealed that a nurse help line was the preferred form of communication across all demographic and age cohorts. Seventy-two percent of respondents said they would take advantage of a nurse help line if it was offered by their doctor. Fifty-five percent said they would be interested in online advice from nurses.

"It appears consumers are willing to move administrative experiences such as bill payment and records access online, but when it comes to conferring with their healthcare providers, people still prefer more traditional communications," says Capstrat President Karen Albritton. "The implications include a way for doctors to free up more time for their patients by moving the right interactions online, and an opportunity to forge stronger connections through personal interaction."

Asian Healthcare Riding the IT Revolution

2011-03-23T12:54:00.001+11:00

Asian Healthcare Riding the IT Revolution
Innovative technologies are improving the quality of healthcare by ensuring speed and reliability of information – critical to saving lives.
Gerard Anthony, Leader of Healthcare Solutions at Nortel Asia, believes IT spending is driven by several factors, the most immediate being the need for organizations to upgrade their healthcare services to meet international standards.
“There are two goals here – a more efficient system and better quality patient care. It’s efficiency gaining and life saving combined,” said Mr. Anthony.
It also makes good business sense. Medical tourism in Thailand now attracts over one million patients per year, with earnings for 2008 forecast at around US$1.2 billion. A conservative estimate for the Asia region – primarily Thailand, India, Malaysia and Singapore – suggests combined revenues of over US$5 billion by 2010. With all of these countries vying for the prized position as a regional ‘healthcare hub’, the incentive to implement the latest technologies has never been keener. Most leading international healthcare providers are taking steps to install the latest technologies to help them stake their claim to the lion’s share of this lucrative and expanding market.
The leading players in Thailand’s private healthcare sector, like their counterparts across the region, are rushing to implement unified communication systems, ensuring patient information is available upon request, regardless of location. Already, many local medical practitioners rely on a range of wireless communication devices such as mobile PDAs to make bedside care decisions more quickly. These devices also allow them to connect with doctors or specialists in other locations for an immediate consultation, or quickly access information from a facility’s digital files without losing valuable time with the patient.
Doctors can also now share medical imaging files with distant colleagues for an immediate second opinion or receive real‐time alerts, wherever they are, the moment a patient’s condition worsens and needs their attention.
With an intimate knowledge of the challenges of healthcare, Nortel is at the forefront of the regional drive to modernize, installing systems that allow medical practitioners to do more, faster and with fewer errors. The company provides consultation, technologies, clinical applications and professional services to build an efficient healthcare network, allowing healthcare providers to plan, deploy and manage the right business solutions.
Nortel’s networks allow hospitals to mobilize clinicians and staff, unify multimedia communications and make the most of standardized digital health records – allowing healthcare practitioners to take better care of their patients.
While much of this new technology may seem somewhat futuristic for many of us, Mr. Anthony is quick to cite existing networks that have revolutionized the practices of the organizations in which they have been installed.
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“Kyushu University Hospital in Japan upgraded its current IT system to a new medical service infrastructure to enable information to be more efficiently stored, managed, retrieved and shared amongst physicians and medical staff,” said Mr. Anthony. “Our next‐generation network provides anywhere, anytime, quick access to all a patient’s information. This is an excellent example of how our technology can improve quality healthcare services and patients’ quality of life by simplifying the complexity for medical providers to access and share information,” he added.
With such fingertip access to information, security is an understandable concern. So, what measures has Nortel implemented to ensure patient confidentiality?
”We have a solution that gives approved users access via the ‘office‐on‐a‐stick’ – a specially‐formatted USB key that automates business network access when inserted and protects information and applications by completely removing them when the USB key is removed,” said Mr. Anthony. “This solution – called Nortel Secure Portable Office ‐ combines hardware, software and services to provide simple, secure network access.”
As we view the hospital of the 21st Century, it is comforting to know state‐of‐the‐art communication capabilities will not only speed us along our path to recovery, but also that our personal health records will remain, as they should do, a matter of patient/doctor confidentiality.
If you would like to find out more about Nortel healthcare solutions, please visit www.nortel.com/healthcare

Cost effective healthcare service with IT

2009-09-27T09:10:00.000+10:00

Link for the New Video posted in EgovAsia

2009-08-10T09:57:00.000+10:00

The latest Interview posted on Egov

You will need to register and it's free.

http://egovasia.enterpriseinnovation.net/content/deploying-cost-effective-healthcare-service-it

Improving patient care in Asia’s healthcare industry… lots of areas to improve

2009-08-03T20:06:00.000+10:00

Abstract from another Site but had reference to my media articles and quotes.## from www.storagedumpasia.com

When the US Congress convenes for business, after the July 4 Independence Day celebrations, the Obama administration will come face to face with its biggest challenge – getting Congress to approve its massive health care reform package [7].

Governments in Asia have varying degrees of success when it comes to health care provision to the citizens. According to Aparnaa Somanathan of the Institute of Policy Studies, Equity in Asia-Pacific Health Systems, universal access to healthcare is the goal for many governments in Asia. How governments reach this goal is the subject of much study and debate. Somanathan lauds Hong Kong and Sri Lanka for leading the charge in the provision of universal healthcare service regardless of social status.

Market research firm, Frost and Sullivan, estimates that IT spending among healthcare organizations will reach US$10 billion by 2012. “Healthcare providers no longer consider IT solutions and services an unnecessary cost burden, but a critical value provider,” says Frost & Sullivan consultant Dr. Pawel Suwinski. “In public and private hospitals, IT budgets are expected to increase from the year 2009 to 2011.”

That said, IT spending proposals will undergo tougher reviews as CIOs and IT managers feel the same budget and operational pressures as their peers in other industries.

Dr. Suwinski notes that lack of standards has remained a stumbling block for the adoption of healthcare IT solutions in many parts of Asia including China and India. In more developed markets like Australia and Southeast Asian countries, the focus appears to be around adopting clinical information systems and electronic medical records solutions.

Recently a friend was admitted at The Medical City [8](TMC), a private hospital in the Philippines. He arrived at 11:25pm to be admitted as per instruction of his doctor, an attending physician at the hospital. He purposely timed it so late in the evening to speed admission process. And yet it took him almost 20 minutes to get processed despite the fact that there were only two other persons in the room waiting to be admitted.

According to Gerard Anthony Dass, healthcare solutions leader at Nortel Asia, patient admissions and discharges. “The process often requires hours of staff time, coordination of multiple departments and rarely seems to run smoothly. And every step of the process costs hospitals money and time and generally leaves patients wondering why everything is taking so long,” notes Daas.

Indeed, my friend is not new to TMC and yet each visit requires him to fill exactly the same form. In the 25 years I’ve known him, he hasn’t changed his name, date of birth, and other personal details since becoming a TMC customer in 2000.

The good news is that private hospitals across Asia are discovering the financial windfall that health tourism brings. The tax revenue to be gained from the industry has also caught governments with many supporting the local hospital industry efforts to upgrade infrastructure to cater to the growing influx of foreigners searching for low-cost but good quality health services.

One technology that is seeing an upsurge in interest is unified communication (UC). How else would a hospital like TMC manage 40,000 in-patient and 380,000 out-patient customers annually? UC helps lare hospitals with very mobile doctors, nurse and supporting staff move about quickly and efficiently to serve its customers.

Daas claims that UC combined with new applications such as automated patient discharge solutions will allow hospitals to discharge a patient 50% faster than previously possible.

However all is not smooth sailing. Limited IT resources and shrinking budgets are hampering adoption of new technologies.

“Public hospitals need solutions that meet their forward-looking plans, while affordably addressing current needs without sacrificing application performance in any way. They need solutions to deliver the advanced technologies, services and communications-enabled clinical applications that will allow them to do much more with limited resources, faster, and with fewer errors; facilitating clinician mobility and effective communication,” said Daas.

Whether in the public or private hospitals, improving the quality and speed of patient care is of paramount importance to healthcare professionals. Hospitals like Thailand’s Bumrungrad and Hong Kong’s Matilda Hospital are leading the charge in improve patient care through technology.

Communication-enabled applications are helping hospitals empower staff with access to up-to-date patient information. “UC-powered solutions enable hospitals to mobilize clinicians and staff, unify multimedia communications and make the most of standardized digital health records. The ability to share digital files securely – even over large distances and in new treatment regimes – is made possible thanks to wireless technologies,” Daas adds.

At one point in its operation, Kyushu University Hospital in southern Japan’s Kyushu region needed better access to x-rays, diagnosis data, ultrasound imaging, real-time patient vital signs and operating theater monitoring. The hospital recently deployed a new medical information network, based on Nortel’s clinical-grade Healthcare Solutions, enabling information to be more efficiently stored, managed, retrieved and shared to help physicians, specialists and medical staff collaborate to improve the outcomes of patients.

Another example showing the benefits of having better communications is Taiwan Mobile Healthcare Services. It provides high-bandwidth links for doctors treating patients at Taipei Medical University Hospital, Tri-Service General Hospital and Taipei City-Wan Fang Hospital. As part of the government’s M-Taiwan initiative, a wireless solution gives doctors virtual access to patient medical records, monitors the condition of long-term sufferers of chronic diseases, provides high-quality diagnostic images and video, and provides remote outpatient registration to improve healthcare services.

The King Fahad Medical City hospital, one of the largest healthcare providers in the Middle East is using UC to enhance care and manage costs across its four hospitals and 269 primary clinics. It uses a UC-enabled solution to integrate IP telephony, enhance call answering, contact center and interactive voice response (IVR) capabilities with legacy voice systems, and promptly connect patients with the right clinicians for responsive and personalized care.

If you have ever recently visited a hospital as a in-patient, how long did it take for you to get discharged by hospital administrators after your attending doctor gives you a clean bill of health? My friend waited for three hours to get his discharged paper. After several inquiries at the nurse’s station and frustration showing in his voice and face, it took him over 2.5 hours to get his bill so he could pay up and get out. It took him less than five minutes to settle his bill.

Hospitals, like any other business, are constantly on the lookout to trim the fat in their operations while satisfying the urgency of improving patient care. Hospitals like Bumrungrad, Kyushu University Hospital, King Fahad Medical City hospital and Taiwan Mobile Healthcare Services have shown that information technology has enough innovation to meet the business needs of hospital – improve patient care.