I hope to see you at the #ASCO12 tweetup

ASCO is the American Society of Clinical Oncology and their annual meeting is coming up June 1-5 in Chicago. I hope to see you at the #ASCO12 tweetup on Saturday, June 2 from 3:00pm - 4:00pm (CDT). This year, the tweetup will be led by:

Dr. Robert Miller @rsm2800
• Trends in Twitter Use by Physicians at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, 2010 and 2011
• Practical Guidance: The Use of Social Media in Oncology Practice

Dr. Mike Thompson @mtmdphd
• The Role of Twitter and Social Media in Clinical Trials
• Decoding QR Codes for ASCO Posters

Dr. Brian McGowan @BrianSMcGowan
Joining via Skype
• The Meaningful Use of Social Media by Physicians
• Data Highlights from Physician Adoption of Social Media for Life-long Learning

Learn more about the #ASCO12 tweetup here.

Diagnostic Error in Medicine Conference 2012

I hope to see you at the 2012 Diagnostic Error in Medicine Conference that will be held at Johns Hopkins University this November 11-14, 2012.

More information about the conference can be found here.

The Diagnostic Error in Medicine Conference (DEM) is dedicated specifically to diagnostic error in medicine. The ultimate goal of this conference is to improve patient safety by reducing the likelihood of diagnostic error in medicine. Minimizing diagnostic error is an essential component of safe patient care, and towards this end the conference activities are organized to summarize the current state of the field, to review active research, and to consider emerging ideas on the education and research agenda that should be implemented to reduce diagnostic error.

The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine is committed to encouraging research, promoting education, and building awareness about misdiagnosis.

How much do you know about telemedicine or telehealth?

There are a growing number of organizations around the country that have received funding from the U.S. government to provide telemedicine education, training, and support to regional health care provider groups. Given that I went to medical school in Arkansas (UAMS), I wanted to share what the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences was up to these days. The UAMS Center for Distance Health (which didn't exist when I was a student back many years ago) has set up a website called LearnTelehealth.org and they are featuring courses and even a telehealth game so that you can test your knowledge regarding the telemedicine industry. I had a chance to say hello to the folks from UAMS when I was attending the 2012 American Telemedicine Association (ATA) conference in San Jose, CA earlier this year.

As the telemedicine industry continues to grow, expect to see more of these types of regional support and training groups popping up in your neighborhood. LearnTelehealth.org is the website for the South Central Telehealth Resource Center.

The South Central Telehealth Resource Center (SCTRC) serves Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. It functions primarily through a new website that will work in partnership with the Center for Distance Health’s Training Center based at UAMS. The resource center website, www.learntelehealth.org, targets health care and health education groups that have an interest in using telehealth.

Read more »

New York Digital Health Accelerator

You won't want to miss this exciting event!

New York Digital Health Accelerator

Thursday, May 10, 2012
5:15 PM - 8:00 PM (Eastern Time)

The TimesCenter
242 West 41st Street
Between 7th & 8th Avenues
New York, New York 10036
United States

Recently, the New York eHealth Collaborative along with the New York City Investment Fund and the NYS Department of Health, launched the New York Digital Health Accelerator (NYDHA) to fund 12 early- and growth-stage companies that are developing cutting-edge technology products in care coordination, patient engagement, analytics, and message alerts for healthcare providers.

The 9 month program will provide up to $300,000 of funding per company from a syndicate of leading venture capital and strategic investors, along with direct mentorship and feedback from senior-level executives at a broad network of provider organizations in New York State.

Eighteen highly influential healthcare provider organizations are participating in the program, including New York Presbyterian, NYU Medical Center, Albany Medical Center, and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation.

The deadline to apply is Friday, June 1.

www.digitalhealthaccelerator.com

Medweb & HP providing telemedicine support in Afghanistan

Here is a video recorded at the 2012 American Telemedicine Association (ATA) annual conference explaining how Medweb and HP provided telemedicine support in Afghanistan.



ATA12 coverage is sponsored by HP. HP’s extensive portfolio of products, solutions, services and relationships can help your healthcare organization achieve quality business practices and provide quality patient care.

Industry executives discussing telemedicine "Policy Priorities" here at #ATA2012

Here at the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) 2012 annual conference, everyone is talking about health policy. One of the last sessions this year was the Industry Executive Panel 9: Policy Priorities. What policy issues are most critical? What kind of change do we need? Participants included: Verizon, Intel, Aligne Health Resources, and UnitedHealth Group.

Reimbursement is a recurrent theme that revolves around telemedicine. Who should be paying for these types of services? Right now, some payors are involved, but we need to see to see large employers getting involved since telemedicine is more cost-effective and efficient.

Telemedicine is not the current standard of care because patients still want the live interaction with their physicians. However, newer digital tools are overcoming certain barriers that are allowing physicians to have meaningful interactions with patients. Plus, non face-to-face care can be safer for patients who are at risk of catching dangerous infections in the clinical setting.


Interstate medical licensure is another barrier in the United States for physicians who want to engage in telemedicine. Will we see a national telemedicine license someday? Given that every state has different requirements and regulations around medical licensure, I'm not too sure that we'll see this anytime in the near future. I don't think the state licensing boards want to move in this direction. But then again, the VA Health System has embraced the concept of a national medical license by allowing physicians to provide care to veterans as long as they have an active medical license in some state. Perhaps the short-term solution is a national database of telemedicine credentialing for patients covered through government insurance plans.

Read more »

Telemedicine industry executives discussing "Innovations in Technology" at #ATA2012

Here at the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) 2012 annual conference, we are seeing a tremendous amount of technology innovation. Today, I attended the Industry Executive Panel 6: Innovation in Technology. What’s on the horizon? Where are advancements most needed? Participants included: GlobalMed, InTouch Health, Bayer Healthcare, and Medweb.

Here, they discussed the transitions occurring in the telemedicine marketplace. We are seeing more segmentation. Companies are focusing on their core strengths. We are also seeing strategic partnerships and collaborations. Telemedicine is being incorporated into the standard clinical workflow and regulatory issues are becoming more important as telemedicine systems share health information with electronic health record systems. Hence, interoperability becomes one of the next major hurdles. Let's hope to see an interoperability showcase next year at the ATA conference.

As telemedicine grows and evolves, we will also see more regulations by groups like the FDA around the acute care setting. Plus, international regulations are challenging obstacles that every telemedicine organization must face when they enter the global market. In the developing world, we are still faced with the lack of power and clean water to effectively deliver health care.

Read more »

Steve Wozniak on "The Future of Personal Healthcare Technology" #ATA2012

Today is the last day of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) annual conference and the plenary this morning was Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder of Apple Computer & Inventor of the World's First Personal Computer. The plenary was supported by GlobalMed Telemedicine.

Woz shared his personal story of how he learned about computers as a little kid. He was an innovator from his early days and that innovation never ended. His stories were funny and the entire audience was laughing the entire time. He taught himself to build small computers and he met Steve Jobs and they both hit it off. He went to work at HP where his job was to design handheld calculators. Steve Jobs went to work at Atari (and Woz got to play with all those games).

The name "Apple" came about when he was at a doctor's office, there was a story about an orchard, and someone came up with the name "Apple Computer"

He was asked, "what advice would you give health care entrepreneurs?"

• The driving force behind innovation and success has to be personal.
• Failure is a valuable learning experience.
• Small companies offer greater opportunities for innovation. 
• It's OK to take risks and do different things when you're young. 

The Apple II was the product that allowed them to grow and as Apple grew, they maintained the small company mentality to allow them to innovate. Woz developed the inside while Jobs designed the outside of their computers. Woz calls Apple the "Secret Silent Company." They were a disruptive force as they created an ecosystem that all fell under the Apple umbrella: they owned the hardware, the operating system, the iTunes music store, the iOS app store, etc. The entire ecosystem was Apple.

Woz now has the "traveling rock star" lifestyle as he speaks at conferences around the world.

The biggest challenge in technology and the future direction of computers:

• Computers are now acting more like humans: artificial intelligence like IBM Watson, Siri on iPhone, etc.
• Computers will look, listen, and learn.
• The cloud will process everything to save battery life on mobile devices.
• Mobile devices will incorporate more "sensors" (like smell) and it will develop insights about the owner.
• Computers will get smarter and smarter.
• Will the computer replace the doctor? Will the doctor merely become a technician who is skilled at navigating a computer to manage a patient? 

The entire audience listened intently when he said that he knows how long it takes to build a human brain: 9 months.

Woz spent several years teaching kids and teachers. He loved the experience and transferred his passions to students. He reminded the audience that the driving force behind innovation must be personal.

ATA12 coverage is sponsored by HP. HP’s extensive portfolio of products, solutions, services and relationships can help your healthcare organization achieve quality business practices and provide quality patient care.

Videos from the Medweb HP telemedicine clinic demo at #ATA2012

Here are short videos showing how telemedicine technologies are being used in places like Afghanistan. Medweb and HP sponsoring the telemedicine clinic here at the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) 2012 conference.






ATA12 coverage is sponsored by HP. HP’s extensive portfolio of products, solutions, services and relationships can help your healthcare organization achieve quality business practices and provide quality patient care.

Discussing the international telemedicine market #ATA2012

Here at the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) 2012 annual conference, there are a number of discussions revolving around the international application of telemedicine. This afternoon, I attended the Industry Executive Panel 5: International Markets. What does the globalization of telemedicine mean for the industry? Participants included: AMD Global Telemedicine, Sun Pa, IBM Global Business Services, and Chorus Call.

A growing number of countries are using telemedicine to delivery care in areas that currently lack access. Hence, telemedicine is bridging a crucial gap to access, but there are regulatory challenges that telemedicine  companies must understand that are unique to each country. Also, cultural factors must be addressed when telemedicine programs are being developed. Developing nations have needs and opportunities that are being addressed through the use of low-cost strategies that leverage mobile devices and ubiquitous wireless networks. As telemedicine solutions integrate with various electronic health records (EHRs), the issue of interoperability becomes another challenge that we must be ready to address. Right now, there are no international standards that are universally being applied to health information. So, global health information exchange is a significant challenge right now. Another major challenge surrounds the issue of sustainability. Who is paying for the telemedicine services in different countries? Does the government cover these types of health care costs? Or, are individual patients paying?

Read more »