December 2000
INTRODUCTION
December’s members' meeting was held at the Royal Mail Viacode offices
in London. Speakers at the event included Terry Dennis, Acting Chief Executive,
talking about telemedicine developments in the UK and Eddie Lovat who gave
a comprehensive overview of telemedicine activity in the Guys and St Thomas
Trust.
This was followed by a very interesting presentation from Bryan
Manning from Defence Evaluation Research Agency (DERA), who outlined the activities
of the organisation in relation to telemedicine. Kevin Still and his colleagues
of Royal Mail Viacode rounded off the session with details of their encryption
software for securing electronic transmission of information across the internet.
Some speakers presentations are available for circulation. If
anyone would like them please email monica@denwales.freeserve.co.uk
bioDeo
Ian Chell of the Medical Devices Agency
Lancashire Primary Care Trust Merseyside Ambulance Service NHS Trust States of
Jersey – Health & Social Services
Havering Hospital NHS Trust
Lanarkshire Primary Care NHS Trust
Lancashire Ambulance Service NHS Trust
In the October newsletter we mentioned a pilot project on teletherapy
in Belfast. If members would like to obtain further information about the
project contact suzanne.martin@sebt.n-i.nhs.uk
Biodata Information Technology, global leader in network and
communication security, announce the acquisition of Glück & Kanja,
a software specialist based in Germany.The company specialises in electronic
security applications for PCs, its core product secures e-mail transactions.
Glück & Kanja recently received the Microsoft award 2000 for leading
high-security solutions for encryption and digital signature on the Windows
platform www.biodata.com
A new determination to inject fresh urgency into the UK's healthcare
IT modernisation was apparent when the minister in charge of e-health, Gisela
Stuart, spoke to a major conference recently. For more details visit http://www.medexonline.com/cgi-bin/inetcgi/project/linkScript.jsp?src=fragme
Electronic Record
Development and Implementation Programme (ERDIP) is now available.
Its purpose is to provide advice, information and support to all NHS organisations
who are involved in the implementation of electronic records www.nhsia.nhs.uk/erdip
The latest SNOMED newsletter is now available. The newsletter
gives updated information on current activity and developments. These include
quality assurance of SNOMED clinical terms, semantic definitions and frequently
asked questions www.coding.nhsia.nhs.uk/clinterm/publications.asp
Major investment in GP surgeries is one of the key aspects of
the NHS and Social Care Bill announced in the Queen's Speech. It is expected
that the first private finance initiative in primary care will generate £1
billion to renovate 3000 GP surgeries by 2004. The money will be raised from
banks or pension funds, and long term returns will come from rents from GPs,pharmacists,
opticians and non-medical commercial outlets that would be clustered in newly-built
or modernised high street premises.
The NHS and Social Care Bill, subject to parliamentary approval,
includes steps to set up new care trusts, integrating health and social services
under one roof to provide seamless care for patients, particularly older people.
It will pave the way for about 35,000 older people a year to benefit from
free nursing care in nursing homes. The bill will also bring in to force a
National Performance Fund to reward NHS trusts that offer the highest standards
of care. This fund is expected to rise to £500 million a year by 2003/2004.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is inviting
views on enhancements to its appraisal process, giving stakeholders the opportunity
to comment on the suggested changes to the process. The consultation document
is available on http://www.nice.org.uk/nice-web/pdf/Newappraisalprocess.pdf.
The deadline for comments is 26 January 2001.
The new PRIMIS website is now available at www.primis.nhs.uk
Scottish Executive. Our National Health: a plan for action,
a plan for change http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/health/onh-00.asp
A new image-based surgery simulator that enables a surgeon to
go through a virtual operation on a PC before performing the real procedure
has been launched by the Centre of Advanced European Studies and Research
(CAESAR) www.caesar.de/ inn Bonn. Using a virtual scalpel, the operation is
performed on screen and structures such as muscles, and other types of tissue
can be "felt" in the simulation
Software that allows a clinician to see ECG results on a palm
PC has been developed. Loaded with special Windows CE-based software, the
micro PC is attached to a recording device with patient electrodes. Results
can be read instantly. The developers foresee the Cardio Perfect CE software
being used on home visits and other settings outside the hospital or clinic.
www.cardiocontrol.com
A new electronic stethoscope based on sensor technology cuts
out background noise and produces clear and accurate sound transmission. The
stethoscope can be networked to a series of headphones to enable clinical
colleagues to examine a patient together.
A small portable detector developed by researchers in Ireland
can detect whether a baby has cystic fibrosis in minutes, rather than the
full day currently needed for a lab test. The research team have developed
a unit that looks like a wristwatch. It uses an electric field to push chemical
pilocarpine nitrate into the skin. This dilates the pores and sweat is then
sucked up and stored in a duct in the watch. The sweat is then diluted and
pumped through a commercial sensor commonly used for blood analysis. A laptop
computer analyses the data and gives an instant diagnosis. The whole process
takes about 30 minutes http://www.biospace.com/news_story.cfm?StoryID=3607004
A new Clinical Governance Bulletin for clinicians and managers
working in NHS trusts has been published. The theme of Issue 1 is 'Patient
experience' and the theme of Issue 2 is 'Risk management'. For more details
visit the website www.clinical-governance.com/pub/cgb.htm
The Deakin University is establishing an International Electronic
Journal of Excellence in Rural Health. The Journal, which is to be an academic
peer reviewed one, will have a public health orientation and focus on research
and practice. Aims of the Journal include promoting standards of excellence
in rural health research and practice through co-operation and collaboration
with other rural health interest groups on a national and international basis.
http://e-jrh.deakin.edu.au
www.google.com
A search engine which is one of the best for searching for health related
sites
The Telemedicine Information Service is run by the British Library
and the University of Portsmouth. Included on the site are details of an electronic
directory set up for members of the UK telemedicine community www.tis.bl.uk
www.teleHealth.net
– a provider of teleHealth and e health information to organisations,
associations, professionals etc. Contains a chat room, TeleHealth news and
links to other useful sites
The Centre for Injury Control, Rollins School of Public Health,
Emory University offers Injury Prevention & Control, EOH 580/IH581 on
the internet. The course is designed to provide a public health generalist
with a background and knowledge of issues, research needs and future directions
of injury prevention and control. For more information about the course email:
pgraitc@sph.emory.edu
Just for Nurses provides nursing news, features, career and
personal information, and discussion groups to bring together the nursing
community and help nurses to support one another. http://www.justfornurses.co.uk
The Centre for Evidence-based Nursing, York University now has
an on-line quarterly journal entitled: -'UPDATE On Research for Teaching and
Practice' http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/hstd/centres/evidence/updindex.htm
The journal contents represent the results of a quarterly scan of the main
sources of pre-appraised quantitative and qualitative research from sources
such as Cochrane, Evidence Based Nursing, Evidence Based Mental Health etc.
Scottish Telemedicine Action Forum www.show.scot.nhs.uk/telemedicine
The National Laboratory for the Study of Rural Telemedicine
contains details of projects, publications and reports. There is also access
to the University of Iowa’s Telemedicine Newsletter www.telemed.medicine.uiowa.edu/
The Mayo Health System, a network of clinics and hospitals dedicated
to serving the healthcare needs of people in more than 60 communities in Iowa,
Minnesota and Winsconsin. Their commuity based physicians and their patients
are supported by the highly specialised expertise and resources of the Mayo
Clinic. This partnership is dedicated to providing quality healthcare close
to home http://mhs.mayo.edu/mhs/live/page.cfm
*denotes the first appearance of the date of conferences and
meetings
*E-Health Revolution: Changing the Way Healthcare is Managed.
25 January 2001 at the Royal College of Physicians, London Email: lucy@laingbuisson.co.uk
www.laingbuisson.co.uk
British Computer Society Nursing Specialist Group and The Foundation
of Nursing Studies Nurses and Therapists Informatics Conference, on 13 February
2001 in London.
Sharing the Experience: Informatics and Research in Healthcare
Practice www.fons.org/conf.htm For further information email. admin@fons.org
Deadline for receipt of abstracts is 16 November 2000
2001 Making Medical Informatics Work Conference will take place
in Manchester on 15 -16 February 2001. The call for papers is out now http://www.it-p.co.uk/mmiw
*Using IT to Improve Health Care Delivery. Thursday 15 February
2001 Central London. For further information email info@hnc.co.uk
www.hmc.co.uk
*Silicon Alley 2001 Conference February 27 - March 1 - New York
City. keith@siliconalleyreporter.com
*Telemedicine and Telecommunications: Options for the New Century.
13 – 14 March 2001 at the National Institute of Health William H Natcher
Conference Center in Bethseda MD. For more information visit the website www.tech-res-intl.com/nlm/telesymp/
or email: telesymp@md.capconcorp.com
HC2001 Conference and Exhibition, organised by the Health Informatics
Committee of the British Computer Society will take place in Harrogate, 19-21
March 2001. For an information pack on how to submit proposals for papers,
satellite sessions and poster presentations email: hc2001-judy@amiconf.demon.co.uk
Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair 3-5 April
2001 – Foires Internationales de Luxembourg, Luxembourg. For more information
www.telemedicine.lu
or email: info@telemedicine.lu
American Telemedicine Association 6th Annual Meeting - Ft Lauderdale,
Florida, 3 – 6 June 2001 www.atmeda.org
6th international conference on the Medical Aspects of Telemedicine
Uppsala, Sweden on 18-21 June 2001. For further information email:telemedicine2001@slu.se
www.service.slu.se/conference/telemedicine2001
Medinfo2001 – the informatics route to knowledge –
towards global health. ExCel Congress Centre, London 2-5 September 2-5 2001.
Call for papers now out on the website www.medinfo2001.org
Chorley Wood Telemedicine Project
The British Journal of Healthcare Computing and Information
Management paper "Opening doors for older people"
"There is no going back. The 'e' in healthcare is here
to stay," keynote address from the fourth eHealthcare World Conference
held at the Javits Center in New York City on Dec. 4 - 6.
Winter Pressures flyer from Tunstall
BT Healthcare Connection Bulletin
Telemedicine opportunities in Brazil
Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair, April
3-5, 2001 Luxembourg Foires Internationales de Luxembourg 2001 to be the year
of e health
The success of the newsletter depends very much on you! We want
the newsletter to be a tool for you to raise awareness to other members of
the work in which you are involved. This might be the development of new clinical
services, telecare products or new initiatives.
If you would like to contribute to the next circulation please
email monica@denwales.freeserve.co.uk
with your information
Please forward this e-mail to other colleagues who may find
it of interest.
Monica Dennis
Administration Officer
UK eHealth Association Britannia House,
11 High Street,
Cowbridge
Vale of Glamorgan
CF71 7AD
Tel and fax: 01446 775189
Mobile: 0780 844 2079
Email: monica@denwales.freeserve.co.uk
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