December 2002
INTRODUCTION
As we pause on the cusp of the New Year, we are faced with more serious issues, from a global perspective, than in the last 4 decades and arguably the human race is in threat of serious risk to our very existence.
It is one of the anachronisms of telemedicine and eHealth, that it is social unrest and war, that makes us focus on the benefits of utilising virtual media as a communication conduit. Dr Jay Sanders, MD – Founding President of the American Telemedicine Association – reminded us recently that it was “homeland defence” and the “threat of bio terrorism” – which is now driving the implementation of telemedicine and eHealth networks – at least in the USA.
In the UK, we are entering into a period of unprecedented change in the healthcare sector with uncertain outcomes. Even the current procurement process – to enable us to reach our preset targets – remains unclear, at least in detail, to date.
What is certain during these uncertain times, is that the UK eHealth Association is in serious danger of being in a position to take a leading role in defining the process of IT enabled change in the NHS and more broadly in the healthcare sector across the United Kingdom. Perhaps importantly for the future, to show the way in which we can join forces with our colleagues across continental Europe to establish the foundations for a secure future for enhanced health for all in the greater European Community.
As your chairman, I have been holding discussions with Lord Philip Hunt to define what he perceives to be the optimal role for the UKeHA in the years ahead which could include becoming the forum that represents the collective interests of the SMEs in the healthcare sector. This would appear to be a leading contender at present. Other roles for the UKeHA remain topics of active discussion.
Equally important have been our early discussions with the President and executive colleagues of the RSM Telemedicine Forum, the IHM Telemedicine Group and Assist, the Telemedicine Information Service (TIS), eHealth Now and the Telemedicine Information Exchange (TIE- Europe). I am hopeful that these discussions – which are ongoing - will lead to a “coalition” of organisations involved in and representative of different aspects of telemedicine and eHealth, such that we can form a formidable and effective force and knowledge base in our field creating added value to the Department of Health, the NHS, Industry and the Royal Colleges.
Having been through the “Strategic Revue” in July and having implemented the recommendations as outlined in previous newsletters, we are holding the AGM of your Association on 9th January 2003. This important event will shape the future of the UKeHA and the new Board, charged with implementing the wishes of the members of your Association – will be voted into office. I hope that you will all attend this AGM and if not, please complete a proxy vote and send it to Stephen Ronaldson, UKeHA Company Secretary, or send to me directly.
If you have any issues that you would like to bring to my attention, please do not hesitate to contact me before the AGM on 9th January and I hope to see you there!!
Best wishes for a successful 2003 for us all
Dr Ricky J Richardson
Chairman
If you have not yet returned the recently circulated member questionnaire please do so as soon as possible to Peter Range so that the 2003 agenda can be planned to meet your needs.
Tunstall is to supply Caerphilly County Borough Council Social Services in Wales with the eSentinel homecare management and monitoring system in a bid to ease the growing pressure on the local authority to further improve efficiency and quality in homecare services. The new system provides the council’s social services with all the electronic real time information needed for homecare managers to allocate staff and resources efficiently and to deal with events more effectively. For further information contact Alison Rogan tel:01977 661234 or email: a_rogan@tunstall.co.uk
Designed for use by medically trained operators, TeleMedic
Systems is currently conducting trials of the VitalLink Paramedic unit
in the UK. In addition to the current features of the VitalLink 1200, the
Paramedicunit includes: 12 lead ECG/EKG, respiration rate and the ability
for alarms to be set in order to give warnings when vital signs readings go
above or below established limits. The Paramedic unit is compact and weighs
10lbs (including disposable medical device attachments). An early completion
of the European CE certificationprogramme is anticipated, closely followed
by a fast-track FDA submission to enable the marketing of the device in the
USA. For more information contact info@telemedicsystems.com
Tunstall has been presented with an award for excellence by Pegasus Retirement Homes, for its development and implementation of a complete resident and warden communication system including integrated door entry, fire alarm and CCTV. Tunstall was pronounced overall winner in the Suppliers category for its Communicall EL System which was installed at the Pegasus Retirement Home development at St Leonards Road, Eastbourne.
On 27 November Avienda Limited held their annual one-day conference - teleHealth 2002 in London. Over 150 delegates and 11 exhibitors come together with some of the UK's leading healthcare policy makers. Lord Hunt of King's Heath, the minister in charge of IT in the health service, delivered a keynote speech on the role of telemedicine and eHealth in the Government's new National Strategic Programme. Presentations from some of the most exciting teleHealth pilots in the UK were complemented by a Question Time style discussion with a panel that included the Chairman of the House of Commons Select Committee on Health, David Hinchliffe MP; General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, Dr Beverley Malone and UKeHA Chairman, Dr Ricky Richardson. teleHealth 2003 will take place on 24 September in London lisa.davies@avienda.co.uk.
Ways of working with information, one of the Information Authority’s programmes, has been renamed recently as part of a restructure to increase its support and focus on Delivering 21st Century IT for the NHS. The newly named National Health Informatics Development (NHID), department will manage Developing NHS IM&T Capabilities and Capacity, a work stream of the NHS IT Strategy. For further information on NHID’s work streams visit www.nhsia.nhs/nhid
The Royal College of Nursing’s Learning Zone has won the Canadian Branham Award for top service launch of the year. The internet based learning zone allows RCN members to develop an electronic portfolio, gain access to nursing specific news, projects, clinical guidelines and career development opportunities. Source: BJHC&IM December 2002
A recent Health Informatics Competency Survey carried out by the NHSIA shows that people working in the NHS are getting better at using computers. Results show that 20% more NHS staff consider themselves to be competent in basic IT than a year ago. The 2002 Competency survey is now available online at www.nhsia.nhs.uk/nhid/pages/resource_informatics/default.asp
A two-year initiative to develop a prototype for a single standardised system of sharing breast scan images is due to start in January 2003 at Oxford University's e-science centre http://e-science.ox.ac.uk The aim of the 'e-Diamond grid' http://www.gridoutreach.org.uk/docs/pilots/ediamond.htm is to enable radiologists to use internet links and new viewing software to evaluate and compare mammograms currently held separately at 92 screening centres. This could enable earlier diagnosis by displaying a series of images over time from an individual's image records on a single screen, making it easier to spot small changes.
The Welsh Assembly Government has renegotiated wider access to the Cochrane Library for public access on the NHS Wales website www.wales.nhs.uk. Further developments to be expected soon include online recruitment, electronic journals and improved all Wales directory services. The site is developed by the Health of Wales Information Service, which has a dedicated website for the Assembly Government, NHS Wales staff and local government http://howis.wales.nhs.uk
The first ten pilots of the new NHS-wide e-mail and directory system have gone live. The new system NHSMail, is scheduled to roll out nationally by spring 2003. It will provide a centrally managed service to all 1.2 million health service employees, replacing 7,000 different systems currently in use. Early adopter sites include: Queen Elizabeth Hospital Trust in Woolwich, London, and three West Midlands PCTs in Wednesbury and West Bromwich, Oldbury and Smethwick, and Rowley Regis and Tipton. Source: eHealth Insider: issue no.53
An integrated information system for child care professionals
that draws together data from health, education and social services bodies
is being developed by Surrey County Council, with a pilot expected in
January 2003 leading to a full working system by September 2003. The Children's
Integrated Records Information System (CIRIS) includes a web portal that can
combine data from multiple sources on children from birth until leaving full-time
education.
http://fastlink.headstar.com/ciris
A new resource has been announced on the National Electronic Library for Health (NeLH). The Guidelines Finder has been developed in collaboration with Sheffield Evidence for Effectiveness and Knowledge (SEEK). It holds details of 44 UK national clinical guidelines with links to downloadable versions where they are available. There are 27 categories including obstetrics, pathology, cardiovascular system and public health. www.nelh.nhs.uk
A virtual clinic in Southend, where information is prepared
and exchanged prior to a consultation using videoconferencing, has shown potential
to combat delays for both doctor and patient, cutting out whole stages in
the
referrals chain. The project is being piloted in the new cancer genetics department
of Southend Hospital. For further information visit: http://www.partnershipsinhealthcare.co.uk/discussion12.htm
The National Capital Institute of Telecommunications (NCIT) and the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIR0) in partnership with several Canadian technology companies are industrialising the Internet by capitalising on the ability to "touch" over a network. In a recent demonstration, a surgeon in Australia guided a trainee in Canada to perform a simulated cholecystectomy, an operation to remove the gall bladder. The demonstration was developed by CSIRO Australia to show how two surgeons in separate locations could plan and rehearse surgical procedures within a shared virtual environment. Source: VMW December 2002.
The eEurope Awards call for existing ICT applications in a sector of public life and public services, to be demonstrated at a high-level European conference as part of an exhibition on the successful use of ICT in public service provision. Four award competitions will take place between 2003 and 2005. The first competition is the competition for the eHealth Awards to be presented at the "eHealth 2003: ICT for Health" Conference on 22-23 May 2003, in Brussels, Belgium. The second award competition, is the competition for the eGovernment Awards which will be presented at the Ministerial conference on 3-4 July 2003, in Como, Italy For more information visit http://e-europeawards.org/
Brain images from hundreds of people with schizophrenia at ten research sites in the United States will be shared in a first-of-its-kind research project funded with $10,9 million from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a branch of the National Institutes of Health. The project will create an extensive and unique database of brain information which is expected to expand understanding of disabling brain illnesses such as schizophrenia, and speed the development of new treatments. Source: VMW December 2002
The Official Patient's Sourcebook on Diabetic Retinopathy is fully referenced with ample Internet listings and glossary, and addresses all a patient should know about diabetes retinopathy; insulin-dependent diabetes retinopathy; non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus retinopathy; non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy; and proliferative diabetic retinopathy. ISBN number 0597832374
*denotes a new entry
2002/2003 UK Conferences
Making it happen within the NHS 22 January 2003, Lord’s Conference and Banqueting Centre, London Tel: 020 7923 5348 conference@laingbuisson.co.uk
*Bringing healthcare information to the public and AGM. BCS London Medical Specialist Group, 23rd January (evening) Moorfields Eye Hospital, City Road, EC1V 2CD www.health-informatics.org/lmsg or krc@imf.co.uk
*Direct Digital Radiography Study Day. Thursday 23 January 2003 British Institute of Radilogy, 36 Portland Place, London W1B 1AT http://www.bir.org.uk/content/html/bir_education/meetings_date.htm?comm=portal&token
TeleMed ’03 10th International Conference on Telemedicine and Telecare 29-30 January 2003 Royal Society of Medicine, London telemed@rsm.ac.uk www.rsm.ac.uk/telemedicine
*Reshaping Pathology Services. Wednesday 5 February 2003. Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, NEC, Birmingham. For further information visit www.bjhc.co.uk
*The Challenge of New Technology to Radiation Protection 25 February 2003. BIR, 36 Portland Place, London W1B 1AT http://www.bir.org.uk/content/html/bir_education/meetings_date.htm?comm=portal&token
*E-Government 2003 Conference 6th March 2003 QEll Conference Centre Westminster www.egovuk.com
HC2003 24 – 26 March 2003, Harrogate, Yorkshire Tel: 01886 833843 hc2003-judy@amiconf.demon.co.uk
*Medical Image Workstations. Thursday 10 April 2003. A seminar organised by the BIR’s ICT Committee www.bir.org.uk
*Healthcare & Social Services Integration: Changing ways of working in 21st Century. 13 May 2003. Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, NEC Birmingham events@bjhcltd.demon.co.uk
*ASSIST Annual Conference, 21st May 2003 Lakeside Centre, Aston University www.assist.org.uk
UK Radiological Congress 15-17 June 2003, International Convention Centre and National Indoor Arena, Birmingham www.ukrc.org.uk
*Bringing Healthcare to the Public/People, 3rd July 2003. Telemedicine and the NHS VI, Royal Society of Medicine, London For further details contact Keith Clough krc@imf.co.uk
teleHealth 2003 24 September, London lisa.davies@avienda.co.uk.
*IHM Annual Conference and Exhibition 7th- 8th October 2003, Telford Tel: 020 7881 3291 or enquiries@ihm.org.uk www.ihm.org.uk
2002/2003 Overseas Conferences
Innovations in Telemental Health 15 January 2003 – 10.00am to noon PST www.teleHealthconference.org/teleHealthconference.htm
First PanArab Congress & Fair on I.T in Medicine in Collaboration with 1st International Congress on I.T in Medicine; 19-21 March 2003 at the Mena House Oberoi Hotel, Cairo – Egypt. http://www.arabitmed.com
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 Centre, 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
International Society of Technology Assessment in Health Care (ISTAHC) International conference, "Improving outcomes through health technology assessment" from 22 - 25 June 2003 Canada http://www.istahc2003.org/home.cfm.info@istahc2003.org
AND FINALLY…….
Please forward this e-mail to other colleagues who may find it of interest.
Monica Dennis
UK eHealth Association
Britannia House, 11 High Street, Cowbridge
Vale of Glamorgan CF71 7AD
Tel and fax: 01446 775189
Mobile: 07811 159800
Email: monica@denwales.freeserve.co.uk
www.ukeha.org.uk