INTRODUCTION
We are all aware of how fast our industry is moving, both in the political arena with frequent funding announcements and the advances in technology. Earlier in the year we changed our name to the UK eHealth Association to better reflect the broad scope of the industry and the diversity of players in it. To support these changes the Association is reviewing its Mission and developing a new three to five year business plan.
The first part of this process has just been completed with a workshop session facilitated by Silicon Bridge, which enabled a self-review and identified the core elements of our mission. Conscious of our status as a membership organisation, representative members were invited to work with the board. As the output from the meeting still needs refining and structuring into the business plan, we are not yet in a position to report in any more detail. We expect to be able to report fully in the September News Letter, reinforced with a discussion session at the members meeting on the 4th October.
It is with regret that I have to announce that Monica is standing down as administrator to the Association from the end of July, to concentrate on her own business activities. She has however agreed to continue to manage the website and edit the Newsletter. I’m sure you will all agree with me that Monica has done a marvellous job and will be missed both from the point of view of efficiency and her friendly approach to us all. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Monica from the board and membership.
We are looking to replace Monica, but in the short term I have agreed to cover the general administration activities. Please continue to use the published UKeHA numbers and the general email address enquiry@ukeha.org.uk. However if anything is urgent please contact me directly - 0771 878 1191
Kind Regards
David Greenaway
Chief Executive
A CD Rom of the conference proceedings is now available. It will be sent free of charge to all conference speakers and delegates. Further copies are available by sending a cheque for £25 to UK eHealth Association, Britannia House, High Street, Cowbridge, CF71 7AD. To reduce administrative costs cheques must accompany orders
UKeHA would like to welcome
Hanover Housing Association
An NHS Direct pilot scheme where nurses refer callers to a community pharmacist for additional help and advice has been approved by patients, according to a recent evaluation. A report on the NHS Direct Essex Pharmacy Pilot from Sheffield University found that many callers got rapid access to healthcare by being referred to a pharmacist when they would previously have been referred to a GP. Over 90% of people took less than ten minutes to get to their pharmacy and almost 70% of people went to a pharmacy within four hours. Source e-Health Insider June 2002-06-28
A strategic partnership between International SOS, the world's largest medical and security assistance company, and TeleMedic Systems brings them much nearer to medical advice through the leading edge technology provided by VitalLink 1200 linked to International SOS' global medical monitoring support. VitalLink is a lightweight diagnostic tool in a backpack. With it, anyone with minimal training can read off another person's, or even their own, vital signs should they become ill, and relay them to one of International SOS' doctors around the world at any time of the day or night, every day of the year. CNN have just bought two VitalLink units for news crew working in remote or front line areas. Pip Bull Tel: 020 8874 2115 http://www.telemedicsystems
An interactive CD-ROM called `Telecare Technology' is now available from Tunstall. The CD highlights the use of Telecare, which is successfully helping organisations to manage the risks associated with independent living. The contents of the CD include a brief introduction to Telecare, information on Lifeline home units and smart sensor Telecare technology and its uses, technical information on the solutions available. The CD is available for a nominal fee of £10. To obtain a copy please telephone 01977 662450.
The NHS Information Authority has signed a deal to deliver a national, web based e-mail for the NHS. The service will run across the NHSnet and the internet and will be linked to the development of a national directory service, holding contact details for more than a million workers. The combined email and directory service will be among the largest corporate email and directory services in the world. Source: HSJ July 2002.
The Commission for Health Improvement is planning to build a web-based e-learning site to support its growing number of NHS service reviewers. The site, which is scheduled to be launched next year, will allow information sharing between the commission and the widely-dispersed teams. It is also expected to provide useful links and a self-assessment tool and further services will be added to meet reviewers' needs as they arise. http://www.chi.nhs.uk
The Department of Trade and Industry's European funding support initiative, UKISHelp (UK Information Society Help), is urging UK organisations to register on a new website designed to advise them on how best to secure their share of €3.6 billion European IT funding. The money has been allocated over the next four years to promote information society technologies and stimulate the adoption of the information society in Europe. The funding will be available from November 2002. http://www.ukishelp.co.uk
The Home Office is to publish proposals to introduce identity cards, based on smart card technology, with Home Secretary David Blunkett expected to announce a six month public consultation on the proposals. www.homeoffice.gov.uk/cpd/entitlment_cards.pdf
According to a new government report electronic prescription and booked admissions systems could help reduce the administrative burden on GPs. The report, published this month says computer systems could free up time for an estimated 3.2 million more GP appointments a year and save an additional 2.7 million hours. To download a PDF version of 'Making a difference: reducing the burden on General Practitioners', visit http://fastlink.headstar.com/gp
A new document; Listening, Hearing, Responding sets out detailed plans for increasing the involvement and participation of children and young people in all aspects of their care in the health system. There is a strong focus on achieving this by making better use of modern communications technologies Milestones for the coming year include the development of CareZone, an interactive community for looked-after children and young people started by the Who Cares Trust; pupil involvement in the design of a Wired for Health website, part of the Healthy Schools policy and a new website for young renal patients. There will also be a general move to make Department of Health websites, newsletters and leaflets more “young people friendly www.doh.gov.uk/scg/actionplaninvolveyoung2002.htm
A man in Pembrokeshire, West Wales is thought to be the first in the country with an ‘intelligent’ pacemaker, able to detect and transmit heart irregularities. A chip in the pacemaker monitors heart beats and irregularities are transmitted to a portable unit similar to a mobile phone carried on a belt. The unit transmits data as a text message to a service centre which can alert doctors at Morriston Hospital in Swansea. The device is called an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is also able to kick start the heart if it stops beating. It is hoped that the ICD will give patients greater freedom because the system can transmit hundreds of miles. Source: Independent Newspaper 13 July 2002
The world's most advanced system of web-based patient record-keeping that cuts costs and will save lives has been unveiled at The Princess Margaret Hospital in Windsor, Berkshire. The Patient Record Library System – known as PiRiLiS –is a data capture record system that helps clinicians with actual diagnosis any time and anywhere in the world through the use of a computer or even a hand-held device at a patient's bedside or beside an operating table. It is the only system in the world that can share all forms of electronic images. www.commedica.com
The National Electronic Library for Health (NeLH) is to develop
and produce an educational programme for healthcare professionals around
the use of healthcare portals. The programme will be interactive and tutorial
based allowing theindividual user to choose options to navigate themselves
around the NeLH site. The initial phase will be focusing on educational delivery
and the newly launched additional areas of the NeLH site i.e.the modernisation
agenda (abstracts regarding national service frameworks), cancer plans, appraisal
for GPs, PMS, MMS,modernisation of pharmaceutical services, LPS, Immunisation
and clinical governance.
jonathan@ethos-cs.com
A doctor at Saint Louis University has implanted a revolutionary electronic eye device that enables the blind patient to have some vision. The artificial vision system is designed for patients who have lost their vision from an injury and are not candidates for retinal implants. Source: Federal Telemedicine News July 2002
Johns Hopkins University (JHU)has launched the Global Access Lecture Series. This is a new educational videoconference programme that provides physicians around the world the opportunity to receive the latest medical updates from colleagues at JHU while interacting in real time. There are over 150 topics available in more than 25 medical specialties. Each 60-minute program covers 45 minutes of lecture time plus 15 minutes of questions and answers. The Global Access Lectures program will be expanded in the future to include topics in nursing and hospital management. projects@jhmi.edu
The US National Academy of Sciences has released a report at a joint hearing held by the House Science Committee and the Senate Commerce subcommittee on Science Technology and Space. The report is entitled " Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism". Examples of the topics covered are the significance of crosscutting challenges and technologies and equipping the Federal Government to counter terrorism. The prepublication copy of the report can be found at http://books.nap.edu/html/stct/index.html
The US Air Force is using Portable Remote Diagnostic Information and Telemedicine Systems.(PORDITS) to bring a commercially produced laptop-based program to clinics in the Pacific. With an ordinary laptop and some plug-ins, PORDITS brings advanced diagnostic ability to forward locations. The system also allows studies to be digitised so they can be e-mailed to home-based specialists for further consultations. Currently there are 10 units in the force, but this unit is the first one to be used in the field. Source: Federal Telemedicine News July 2002
Scrivener, R (with contributions from Overall, L. & Lavis, P.) (2002) Mapping health on the Internet. Strategies for learning in an information age, Radcliffe Medical Press Ltd.
For a new online diagnostic tool launched to help doctors visit http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7352/1478/
*Denotes the first appearance of the date of conferences and meetings
2002 UK Conferences
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
*teleHealth 2002 Wednesday 27 November 2002, One Great George
Street, Westminster, London lisa.davies@avienda.co.uk.
http://www.avienda.co.uk
TEHRE 2002 December, London www.medrecinst.com/conference/conferences.shtml
5th Annual Filmless Hospitals Conference. 4 December 2002 Hilton, Birmingham Metropole Hotel. Tel: 01932 821723 events@bjhcltd.demon.co.uk
HC2003 24 – 26 March 2003, Harrogate, Yorkshire Tel: 01886 833843 hc2003-judy@amiconf.demon.co.uk
2002 Overseas Conferences
MIE 2002: The xviith International Conferenceof the European Federation for Medical informatics. 25-29 August 2002. Budapest, Hungary. www.conftours.mtesz.hu/mie2002
*The Irish Health Services Management Institute 10th European conference on Health Records: Managing health information in the 21st century 25 - 29 August 2002 Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. http://www.conferencepartners.ie/health_records/
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
Mobile Healthcare 16-18 October 2002 Sands expo, Las Vegas. www.medrecinst.com/conference/wireless/index/shtml
*2nd annual Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair, 9-11 April 2003, Luxembourg, info@telemedicine.lu, www.telemedicine.lu
TEPR 2003 10-16 May 2003 San Antonio Convention Center, San Antonio. www.medrecinst.com/conferences/tepr/index.shtml
*8th World Conference on Nursing Informatics. EHealth for All: Designing the Nursing Agenda for the Future. 20-25 June 2003 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil www.ni2003.com
Monica Dennis
UK eHealth Association
Britannia House
11 High Street
Cowbridge
CF71 7AD
Tel and fax: 01446 775189
Mobile: 07811 159800
Email: mdennis@ukeha.org.uk
www.ukeha.org.uk