APRIL 2002
INTRODUCTION
Spring 2002 is a pivotal time for the Association. Our membership is continuing to expand, our first annual conference is only a month away (don’t forget to register) and the Government has announced substantial new funding for the NHS. Spring is definitely in the air!
However, your Board is continuing to look further ahead. Following the June conference we will be starting the development of a UK wide strategic policy framework for telemedicine, telecare and eHealth. Members of the Association will be invited to contribute and participate in its development. That will be supplemented by the work of the special interest groups and our links across the UK and the rest of the world.
It is important that telemedicine and eHealth are important aspects of the modernisation of the NHS and your Board will continue to ensure that remains so.
Terry Dennis
Membership Secretary
UK eHealth Association welcomes the following organisations to the Association:
United Telemedicine Ltd
Pedagog Ltd
The eHealth Working Group of European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL) will be holding a meeting during the afternoon of Thursday 13th June in Cardiff after the UKeHA Conference finishes (14.00 – 17.00). Any UKeHA members are welcome to attend, but please supply names/companies to Mike McCurry, Secretary of T2 eHealth by email. mike.mccurry@wlon.nhsdirect.nhs.uk.
EHTEL and the NHS Information Authority are convening a special Workshop of small Medium sized Enterprises (SME) following the close of the UKeHA Conference on Thursday 13th June (14.00 – 18.00). All UKeHA members who qualify as an SME and who wish to attend, please contact Ronnie Monaghan by email; ronnie.monaghan@nhsia.nhs.uk to register for this Workshop.
Tunstall has launched its first TeleHealth information newsletter -TeleHealth247. They also have three TeleHealth project reviews available - Intermediate Care (Newcastle), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (Edinburgh) and a Sleep Study (Dewsbury). Please contact Julie Ryan, Health Marketing Manager, Telephone 01977 660360
NHS Direct is linking with Care Direct, a Social Services telephone system to help carers and over sixties with a range of social issues whether it be to obtain a stair lift, meals-on-wheels, service or housing difficulties. The NHS Call Centres will front end the calls providing call handling services and social care triage systems through their call centres. NHS Direct call handlers and information advisors will handle most of the calls but occasionally it is expected that the system will pick up cases where a health intervention is also required.These cases will be triaged by the NHS Direct nurses before being handed over to the Care Direct system. This scheme is being piloted in Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Bournemouth, Plymouth and Devon and is expected to start a national roll out across the UK in October 2002. DALEjohno@cs.com
Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust (Aberdeen Royal Infirmary) have purchased the revolutionary new portable Teledermatology system incorporating ‘MediView’ software package. This along with the recent contract with the Welsh Assembly establishes Millennium Systems as a leading e-health supplier info@millennium-systems.com
TeleMedic Systems recently attended SASMEX, the Safety at Sea and Marine Electronics Exhibition and Conference in Amsterdam. The VitalLink 1200, a portable vital signs monitor for the remote medical emergency, received much interest from representatives and safety offices from within the maritime industry. The SASMEX Conference included presentations on the use of safety systems, devices and technology in the maritime environment, together with an exhibition of new and innovative maritime safety products For further information, please contact Chris Turner on 020 8874 2115
Thanks to the latest in telemedicine technology, a proud father witnessed the grand entrance of his daughter to the world from thousands of miles away in Japan where he is currently based. TeleMedic Systems VitalLink 1200 was used to create a video conference link in which the hospital staff transmitted this special moment using a digital camera linked to the VitalLink patient display unit and he received the pictures and sound via a laptop computer, Netmeeting and an Internet provider setup in Japan. Contact: Pippa Bull: + 44 20-8874-2115
The Who Cares? Trust has developed Care Zone, a new set of secure online services for children in public care. CareZone is a £12 million project which has been initially funded by the Department of Health, the Department for Education and Skills through a Capital Modernisation Fund Grant. Birmingham City Council and the London Borough of Hounslow, will be the first to pilot CareZone later this year www.thewhocarestrust.org.uk/carezone.htm
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has launched a pilot website to provide one-to-one real-time counseling to children. Aimed at children aged between 12 and 16 it offers information, advice and games as well as the counseling service http://www.There4me.com
A £3.2 million initiative to create a network of 1,000 new internet access points has been launched in Scotland. It will provide public access to the internet in populations where there is poor provision. Access will be available through local GP surgeries, local pubs, shops, hairdressers and churches. Source: eHealth insider Issue no.19, April 2002
the NHS Information Authority has announced that negotiations with GP system suppliers are underway to ensure GPs have the computer software upgrades to handle online pathology reports and results. Central procurement will ensure GPs are able to put into action the new national pathology messaging system, which is the first to use secure information that feeds directly into the patient’s electronic record held by the GP practice www.nhsia.nhs.uk
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is creating an online professional development application for the college’s 340,000 members. The RCN Learning Zone promises to bring together learning and information that can be accessed quickly and easily from a PC. The Learning Zone will include an electronic portfolio to help nurses comply with continuing professional development requirements; online access to RCN clinical guidance and access to information and knowledge for professional development.www.rcn.org.uk
Researchers at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Centre have devised a new method to differentiate and diagnose several types of colon tumours. This study was conducted using technology which has been funded, in part, by the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund Programme.Source VMW April 2002
The Health Telematics Unit at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada is sponsoring a TeleHealth Research Summer Institute from 21-23 July 2002. The theme for this year’s institute is Socio-Economic, Policy and Technical Issues in TeleHealth Research and Evaluation.The objective of the institute is to bring together leaders in teleHealth research and evaluation, and to provide opportunities for debate and discussion www.fp.ucalgary.ca/teleHealth/TRSI_2002.htm
The American Telemedicine Association has been actively working to explore the possible uses of telemedicine in responding to disaster and acts of terrorism. A white paper proposing the establishment of a national network linking telemedicine systems together across the nation as part of a national preparedness effort is available at www.americantelemed.org/news/newsres.htm
Pregnant women living on South Dakota Indian reservations where infant mortality rates are more than twice the United States' national average will receive speciality care under the first commercial test of a teleHealth system called MUSTPAC-3, the third version of the Medical Ultrasound, three-dimensional and portable with advanced communications. Source: VMW April 2002
The Hi Quality website was launched in March 2002. It is designed to raise standards in health information. Hi Quality can be used to check the quality of health information or to give guidance on how to assure quality standards when producing health information. The sites guidelines are based on the principle that all health information should be accurate, clear, and relevant www.hiquality.org.uk
A new site to support diabetes care in Scotland is due to be launched http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/diabetes. The site will include information on IM&T for diabetes, the Scottish Diabetes Framework, clinical standards in diabetes care and the management of diabetes.
Busy Signals is a FREE Electronic Newsletter of interest to International Tel/eHealth professionals http://www.cyberhealth.bc.ca/signals.htm
An Integrative Review of Patients' Perceptions Regarding TeleHealth Used in Their Health Care.http://www.stti.iupui.edu/library/ojksn/abstracts/090002.htm
A Chance to Heal: Home health agencies can improve patient care and increase profits with teleHealth wound consulting. Nick DiCianni and Laura Kobza www.healthmgttech.com/
*Denotes the first appearance of the date of conferences and meetings
2002 UK Conferences
Electronic Prescribing & Medicines Administration 8 May 2002, Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel Tel: 01932 821723 events@bjhcltd.demon.co.uk
eBNF Conference and Exhibition – Prescribing Excellence 2002. 23 May 2002, Commonwealth Institute, London. Tel: 020 7383 6806 maggie.smith@bma.org.uk
From Innovation to Implementation and Sustainability. A joint meeting between the Telemedicine & eHealth Forum of the Royal Society of Medicine and the NHS Executive. Wednesday 29 May 2002, Royal Society of Medicine, London telemed@rsm.ac.uk www.rsm.ac.uk/telemedicine
Partnerships in Healthcare:Telemedicine Forum . Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 30 May 2002.For further information visit: http://www.partnershipsinhealthcare.co.uk/telemedicine/
UKeHA Annual Conference: Delivering Care Earlier 11-13 June 2002, Cardiff City Hall, Wales, UK: monica@denwales.freeserve.co.uk
e-Health 2002. The International e-Health Associations 2nd Annual Conference, 18-20 September 2002 London. Ehealth2002@cs.com www.eHealth2002.org
Healthcare Meets Medical Informatics and Innovation: The Future is Here 20-22 October 2002. Edinburgh International Conference www.hemmii.com
Reshaping Clinical practices and Procedures with Information Flows: The Autumn Forum. 7 November 2002, The Royal College of Surgeons, London. www.bjhc.co.uk
2002 Overseas Conferences
TEPR 2002 Proving the Electronic Healthcare Advantage. 11-16 May 2002 Washington State Convention Center, Seattle WA www.medrecinst.com
*Health Online - ICT in Health - Business Forum 30 May
2002, Sydney Australia anton.planting@chic.org.au
http://www.chic.org.au
ATA 7th Annual Meeting 2-5 June 2002 LA Convention Center, Los Angeles, California. www.atmeda.org/news/newres.htm
Telemedicine in Care Delivery: Technology and Application 13-15 June 2002 Pisa, Italy http://www.ticd.iss.it
MIE 2002: The xviith International Conferenceof the European Federation for Medical informatics. 25-29 August 2002. Budapest, Hungary. www.conftours.mtesz.hu/mie2002
EuroPACS2002. 5-7 September 2002 at the Medical Faculty, University of Oulu, Finland. www.mirg.oulu.fi/europacs/general.html
7th International Conference on Telemedicine 22-25 September 2002, Regensburg, Germany http://www.ict2002.org
5th European Health Forum 25-28 September 2002 Bad Hofgastein, Salzburg, Austria http://www.ehfg.org/website02/
4th Nordic Congress in Telemedicine/Nordsk Telemed 2002 30 September – 2 October 2002. University Hospital of Tromso, Norway Torill Berg, Tel: +47 77 754160 or email: torill.berg@telemed.no
Health Online - ICT in Health - Business Forum 30 May 2002,
Sydney Australia anton.planting@chic.org.au
http://www.chic.org.au
Please forward this e-mail to other colleagues who may find it of interest.
Monica Dennis
Administrator
UK eHealth Association
Britannia House, 11 High Street, Cowbridge
Vale of Glamorgan CF71 7AD
Tel and fax: 01446 775189
Mobile: 07811 159800
Email: mdennis@ukeha.org.uk
www.ukeha.org.uk