Combating the Effects of Leukemia via Webcam

Third grade student, Ahmed Hamdi was diagnosed with Leukemia over a year ago. Since his diagnosis, he's been combating his illness with... (yes, you guessed it) the help of information technology. Hamdi stays connected to the class and his classmates when he is at home and in the hospital with the help of a webcam program. Like many other students who are taken out of school for an extended period of time due to chronic medical conditions, Hamdi would prefer to be in school. Studies who that sick children can feel isolated when they return to school from treatment. According to Hamdi's physician, Dr. Aziza Shad, the tele-connection is a essential part of the recovery process, as socialization is critical.

ReWind...

On February 14, 2009 I created a post about electronic medical records (EMR), the Obama Administration and investing. The same day that I made that post, I spoke to a colleague to get his perspective on investing in Cerner, "the leading US supplier of healthcare information technology solutions". On Friday April 24th, 2009 to my surprise I learned that the stock increased from 38.64 a share in February to 47.5 a share. Originally, I asked if EMR could be as big as the Internet? In terms of being a revolutionary technological advancement, it could be compared to the internet. In term of stock, I'm thinking EMR can be compared to gasoline during the Bush Administration. Cerner stock, get some.

http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:CERN

Dept of Defense and VA Share Info Using EMR

The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented a Joint Vurtual Lifetime Electronic Medical Record. The system is being used to streamline the transfer of health records between the two government agencies.
Medical and administrative information will be transferred with the use of the system. Furthermore, the electronic medical record (EMR) will allow the organizations to track the health records of military personnel throughout their respective careers.

The White House issued a statement asserting, "Access to electronic records is essential to modern healthcare delivery and the paperless administration of benefits". The implementation of the EMR will allow healthcare providers to have access to patient's medical history The medical information transfer system will facilitate the delivery of high-quality healthcare and reduction of medical errors.

http://tinyurl.com/dckwss

IT Application Manages Elderly Care

Medicare supplement plan provider, CareMore Health has incorporated an IT application as a part of its health maintenance services. The software provides care plans for seniors with chronic and acute illnesses. The incorporation of this program is intended to move the health care industry forward in integrated health care management.

President at CareMore Health Plan ,Leeba Lessin said the company will "further improve the uniformity and quality of care we provide. Early identification, coordination, intervention and member involvement are critical in an aging population." The system may decrease episodic or as needed health care and engage patients and clinicians in the prevention of health care issues.

The integration of the TriZetto's Clinical CareAdvance application will encourage the comprehensive management of the CareMore Health members' health conditions. The program is likely to serve as a model for a component of the United States' strive toward using IT to transform health care in America.


http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/california-plan-boosts-chronic-illness-management-it

Dr. David Bluementhal Spearheads U.S. Health Information Technology

Dr. David Bluementhal, former director of the Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has been named the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology at the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Blumenthal will lead the Obama Adminstration's health information technology initiative to modernize healthcare.

The initiative will serve and a key component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
A bill to create jobs, restore economic growth, and strengthen America's middle class through measures that modernize the nation's infrastructure, enhance America's energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need, and for other purposes.

Dr. David Bluementhal also served as the founding chairman of AcademyHealth, the national organization of health services researchers, and was formerly a national correspondent for the New England Journal of Medicine. In the 1970s, he was a professional staff member on Sen. Edward Kennedy's (D-Mass.) Senate Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research.

Health information technology is a critical part of the President’s strategy to reform our healthcare system and Dr. David Bluementhal is the first round pick. Will Bluementhal lead us through an IT Revolution that will bring on American recovery and equality?

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/david-blumenthal-named-new-national-coordinator-health-it
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s1/show

The Robotic Arm

A robotic arm has been created to assist wounded soldiers in the midst of battle. The robotic arm can detect breathing, deliver health supplies and assess the fighter's health condition. The device is controlled with a joystick and is wireless (obviously). The original researchers from Carnegie Mellon are trying to include ultra sound capabilities on the device to detect internal bleeding. The idea is to not limit the bot to just health care but to expand its capabilities to search and rescue, bridge, bomb disarming, and much more.


http://i.gizmodo.com/5145874/cmus-robotic-arm-helps-medics-assist-wounded-soldiers-without-being-in-the-line-of-fire

Got a STD? Tell 'em in a E-card...

Have you ever gotten a STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection also known as a STD) and not told your partner? Many of you may be thinking "Absolutely not!", "OMG, I can't believe she would ask something like that!", and some of you may be saying "Ummm, yeah but...". The point is, we don't talk about this. Correction, we talk about sex, but we don't talk about our short comings or more specifically telling someone that we've learned that we have an STI and they may be infected.

So here's the new thing... STD e-cards. You can actually send an anonymous e-card that tells your sexual partner that you have an STD and recommend that they get checked out. This idea was developed when an epidemic of syphilis in a gay male population encouraged public health researchers to try another tactic. The idea came from the idea that the men wanted to tell their partners, but thought it was difficult to face them with the news. With the decrease in public health funding, e-cards have becoming a contemporary necessity, and according to recipients of the e-cards- it works!. These e-cards are getting the job done because all we want is awareness. So, if you answered "Ummm, yeah but...", or at least thought that you may have responded in a situation like that... this may be for you. Get it out there, get 'em tested.



http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/10/21/std.e-cards/index.html

What's with the Robot?

As hospitals have become more like businesses than sick care hostels, logistics and operation managers have worked diligently to improve overall hospital performance. Performance improvement tactics have included state -of- the-art facilities,electronic medical records, patient management software, and even a few flat screen television purchases. The new hype is all about Aethon's Automated Robotic Delivery Systems- also know as TUGs.

TUGs deliver medications, medical records, supplies, and even food in the hospital. TUGs can often be found dodging patients, employees and even laundry carts with the use of their obstacle navigation and detection system. They use the elevators and park closeby saying "waiting for an unoccupied elevator". Lets just say some people take advantage of their inability to have emotions. I would be pretty upset if everyone was hopping on the elevator that I'd been waiting for for over 5 minutes. However, with all that in mind TUGs still manage to make timely deliveries and impress the business managers. Your social work and humanities groups... not so much. I guess the humanitarian opinion is that TUGs are taking jobs...

What?! TUGs taking jobs? It is a given that they are doing a job that someone else used to manually do. The Aethon website says "the system helps hospitals streamline internal supply chain operations so that nurses and clinical staff can focus less on mundane tasks and more on providing the important human component of patient care". I believe that as the U.S. economy situation becomes worse and time goes on this cute little Robot may be taking over (a very small portion of) job activities.

For more info check out the site or peep the video.
http://www.aethon.com/how/default.php

Digital Health Care?

What is meant by digital health care? If you are like myself and just beginning your journey in the IT world (as a transition from health care alone), you may have been wondering "how are they going to treat patients digitally?". Okay, so they are definitely not delivering health care through the web. Health care companies are investing in technology to make the transfer of health information more efficient. The services will include electronic medical records (EMRs) and prescriptions. This integration is intended to decrease errors caused by paper documents, allow physicians to obtain information about their patients' medical history, and encourage patients to take more control of their health. Based on the U.S.'s need for improvement in health care and a President who actually gives a **** about it, hospitals may receive funding to jump start digital health care. Digitizing health care will have a big affect on life in general. Could it be as big as the Internet? Probably not, but it should be in the ranks with the go green campaign. According to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, the government will push digital health care forward through the use of bonuses and penalties to physicians and hospitals. From a health care administration perspective, EMRs may incentivize patients to choose hospitals that give them the freedom to easily access their medical records. Doesn't this stuff kinda remind you of the Jetson's?

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22026/

About the Mix and Mingle

Greetings,



My name is Sheena Pierce and I am a 24 year old aspiring health care administrator. I have a Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and am anticipating the completion of my Master of Public Health in May 2009. While my inspiration for working in the health care industry stems from my love for helping others, I am interested in business management and how it can facilitate the advancement of health care services. My goal is to review relevant Health IT information, discuss my experiences, provide insight and comments, and entertain you-the reader. Thank you for visiting.