Take the MD Challenge to win some exciting prizes!

The MD Challenge is a new contest presented by MD Consult. How strong is your clinical knowledge? Complete a clinical case each week from diagnosis to treatment and you'll be registered to win an iPad 2 each week or a grand prize of a Club Med Vacation.

The contest runs for 10 weeks and there are 10 different cases. To play, visit: http://mdchallenge.com

2011 International Conference In Bionic Engineering

Now here's a conference that I'd really like to attend in 2011. It's called the 2011 International Bionic Engineering conference and it's being held in collaboration with the Journal of Bionic Engineering. I had a strong passion for biomedical engineering when I was an undergraduate student at MIT. Advances in technology have opened up many new dimensions in engineering and medicine.

The International Bionic Engineering Conference 2011 aims to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial development in a field that is rapidly growing and gaining recognition across many disciplines. Intended as a common ground for the exchange of ideas, the Organizers call upon key researchers in industry and academia from around the globe to engage each other with presentation and in conversation that inspires bionic solutions to some of the biggest engineering problems facing industry today. The meeting extends to North America from three successful international meetings organized by the Key Laboratory for Terrain-Machine Bionic Engineering at Jilin University in Changchun, China. The conference is also associated with the Journal of Bionic Engineering published by Elsevier and is the official title of the International Society of Bionic Engineering.

You can get more information about the conference here: http://www.bionicengineeringconference.com/

The Evolution of Clinical-Decision Support Systems

Modern computer-based clinical-decision support systems (CDSS) help physicians (and other healthcare professionals) make better treatment decisions. Doctors now have access to some powerful resources that can help them improve their diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. In the "old days," physicians didn't have access to computers or the Internet. Today, the world of medicine is so different because of advances in medical and computing technology. CDSS continue to evolve as new evidence-based guidelines emerge and clinical studies point to new ways to treating diseases.

The integration of a robust CDSS into an electronic health record (EHR) allows clinicians to apply evidence-based principles at the "point of care." Medicine isn't dictated by algorithms, formulas, and charts, but clinicians need an efficient way to stay updated as they make clinical decisions. At the same time, we don't want clinicians to become dependent on a CDSS, because then they won't be practicing the "art" of medicine and they'll rely too much on computers (which can make mistakes). It's exciting to see how the world of CDSS is evolving. Speaking of CDSS, I heard that Chris Dillon was named the managing director for the clinical-decision support group of Elsevier Health Sciences. Congratulations Chris!