Dec 22, 2009

Social Media ROI in Business

Almost everyday i run into these Seniors who (used to) laugh off the Social Media revolution, regarding it as a peripheral happenning. It was good for their child"s social life, but Business uses of Social media? They could not see ANY. I hope they see this video and learn a few things.

Twitter in Health care (medical-communication.blogspot.com)

Twenty rules of engagement in new age marketing (medical-communication.blogspot.com)

Web 2.0 in health (neeleshbhandari.blogspot.com)

Youtube for pharma marketing.- Best practices (medical-communication.blogspot.com)

Dec 19, 2009

Reducing Medical errors in Clinical practice

Cover of "To Err Is Human: Building a Saf...

Ten years ago, a national panel of health care experts released a landmark report on medical errors in the American health care system. Published by the Institute of Medicine, “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System” estimated that as many as 98,000 people died in hospitals each year as a result of preventable mistakes. Being hospitalized, it turned out, was far riskier than riding a jumbo jet.

via thedoctorschannel.com

Preventable medical mistakes and infections are responsible for about 200,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, according to an investigation by the Hearst media corporation. The report comes 10 years after the Institute of Medicine's "To Err Is Human" analysis, which found that 44,000 to 98,000 people were dying annually due to these errors and called for the medical community and government to cut that number in half by 2004.

Dec 7, 2009

The top 10 hazards of Health care Technology

Superior technology need not always mean better healthcare. Very often, technology comes with its own attendant risks.From infections to cancer to surgical fires, this list covers the top 10 healthcare technology threats for 2010.

1. Cross-Contamination from Flexible Endoscopes
This mainly results from failure to adhere to cleaning and sterilization procedures.
To prevent risk, hospitals should:

Develop and adhere to comprehensive, model-specific reprocessing protocols;
Ensure that model-specific reprocessing protocols exist for each flexible endoscope model; and
Ensure that any automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) are compatible with the disinfecting agent, the appropriate channel adapters are available, and staff adhere to maintenance schedules.

2. Alarm Hazards
Alarm issues are among the most frequently reported problems, mostly due to the sheer variety of equipment – patient monitoring, ventilators, dialysis units and many others.
To avoid potential risks:

Avoid alarm fatigue by configuring alarm limits to appropriate, physiologically meaningful values;
Look for designs that limit nuisance (false or excessive) alarms, which can desensitize staff; and
Consider implementing an alarm-enhancement system to increase alarm volume or convey alarms remotely.

3. Surgical Fires
Most surgical fires result from the presence of an oxygen-enriched atmosphere during surgeries to the head, face, back and upper chest.
New recommendations include:

With certain exceptions, the traditional practice of open delivery of 100 percent oxygen should be discontinued during head, face, back, and upper-chest surgery.
Hospitals should implement a surgical fire prevention and management program.
Each member of the surgical team should clearly understand the role played by oxidizers, ignition sources, and fuels – the classic fire triangle in the operating room.

4. CT Radiation Dose
In the United States alone, CT is thought to be responsible for about 6,000 additional cancers a year.
To avoid potential risks:

Make sure the expected benefits of a CT study outweigh the radiation risks. 
In most modern systems, the dose can be reduced by up to 80 percent. Adjust CT acquisition parameters to allow the required clinical information to be obtained with the lowest possible dose.
CT precations are especially important for pediatric patients – for whom the cancer risk is as much as triple that for a 30-year-old – and pregnant women.
Ensure that technologists performing CT exams are trained specifically for CT and that they maintain their training and certification.

5. Retained Devices and Unretrieved Fragments
These take the form of retained devices, where an entire device is unknowingly left behind, and unretrieved device fragments in which a portion of a device breaks away and remains inside the patient
To prevent risks:

Inspect devices before use. If a device appears damaged, don't use it.
Be alert for significant resistance during device removal, which could indicate that the device is trapped and at risk of breaking.
Inspect devices as soon as they are removed from the patient.

6. Needlesticks and Other Sharps Injuries

7. Problems with Computerized Equipment and Systems

8. Surgical Stapler Hazards

9. Ferromagnetic Objects in the MR Environment

10. Fiberoptic Light-Source Burns

To read the complete list, click on the link below.
ECRI identifies top 10 health technology hazards for 2010 | Healthcare IT News

Nov 26, 2009

Quantros to provide health care SaaS in India

>Dr. Sanjaya Kumar’ is a Medical informatics and healthcare technology expert bringing message of patient safety and quality to Bangalore hospitals. His mission is his passion- working to make healthcare safer worldwide, and promoting hospital safety.With a talented team of doctors and technologists, Quantros now provides SaaS in the health care field with special emphasis on decision support system and patient safety protocols, to bring down fatal medical errors. Quantros also provides software and services to healthcare organizations in the areas of quality, risk management, performance improvement, accreditation and compliance, real-time surveillance and centralized business and clinical decision support solutions. Claiming to service more than a thousand clients, Dr.Kumar is now trying to bring his technology to India, via Bangalore.

http://www.quantros.com

Dr. Sanjaya Kumar, of Quantros, Inc., along with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom shall visit Bangalore during Late November < 27th november onwards>as part of a San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative. The San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative is a volunteer-driven, not-for profit-organization that aims to engage individuals and institutions in Bangalore and San Francisco in creating sustainable 21st century cities through an exchange of environmental, economic, technological, and cultural ideas, expertise and resources.

Hoping to see some interaction between Dr.Kumar (Quantros) and Dr.Devi Shetty <Narayan Hradayalay) at Bangalore. Dr.Devi Shetty is one of India"s foremost change-pushers and has already demonstrated some brilliant out-of-the-box ideas , typical to Indian conditions and attitudes, which have clicked superbly.

Chatting about medical informatics with a colleague (medicineandtechnology.com)
Irish eHealth Startups (web2ireland.org)
Convergence of eHealth and Health 2.0? (ehealth.johnwsharp.com)

Nov 25, 2009

Reducing Fatal medical errors- US delegation to Bangalore

BERLIN - OCTOBER 12: A dentist and her assist...

“First, do no harm” – Hippocratic Oath.

Fatal medical errors in health care services are much commoner than generally believed. The number of years of potential life lost from potential medication errors is greater than the number of years of potential life lost from all accidents combined, including falls and drowning! A recent study in Archives of Internal Medicine showed that deaths due to medical errors are increasing exponentially, with increase of fatal medical errors by 360% over 2 decades. So much so, that doctors are discussing the best ways to disclose fully and in clear language, any possibilities of medical errors. Dr. Sanjaya Kumar’ is a Medical informatics and healthcare technology expert bringing message of patient safety and quality to Bangalore hospitals. His mission is his passion- working to make healthcare safer worldwide, and promoting hospital safety.

Dr. Sanjaya Kumar, founder and Chief Medical Officer of Quantros, Inc., along with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom shall visit Bangalore during Late November as part of a San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative

Kumar founded Quantros, Inc., a web-based SaaS vendor that provides software and services to healthcare organizations in the areas of patient safety, quality, risk management, performance improvement, accreditation and compliance, real-time surveillance and centralized business and clinical decision support solutions.

Quality healthcare

And Kumar is not alone in his mission. As a mentor to Kumar, a board member of Quantros and a founding director of the San Francisco-Bangalore alliance, businessman Vish Mishra has particular insight into Kumar. “I am very happy to see Dr. Kumar taking his message to hospitals in India about patient safety and promoting use of technology to address this problem,” said Mishra, Venture Director of Clearstone Venture Partners of California and India, and President of TiE Silicon Valley, the founding and largest chapter of TiE, the largest not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship.

Vish Mishra added, “Medication errors are among the leading causes of deaths in

U.S.

hospitals. By some estimates, it’s 100,000 patients. Given India’s size, this figure could be much larger there. I’m glad that the Sister City Initiative can create an historic opportunity to share these types of best practices from America to promote safer patient care.”

In advance of the trip, Kumar has pledged to donate to Indian hospitals 500 copies of his book, Fatal Care, which features detailed personal stories of medical errors and practical tips for patients how to safeguard themselves in hospitals

You can listen to the first chapter here.

Nov 18, 2009

Healthcareworld 2010- Medical tradeshow in India

188px-India_(orthographic_projection).svg

HealthcareWorld 2010, a medical exhibition organised by Express Healthcare, has been planned with one point mission="to bring its exhibitors the audiences they want". It would also provide a green zone, seminar and an award show.

HealthcareWorld 2010 is being organised by the Express Group and Express Healthcare, India's leading Healthcare Business Magazine. Federation of Hospital Administration (FHA) and The Association of Hospitals (AOH) are the supporting associations for this tradeshow. Manipal Hospital, Bangaluru, Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai, PD Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai, Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital, Mumbai, Kerala Institute Of Medical Sciences, Thiruvananthapuram and Max Healthcare are supporting HealthcareWorld 2010. Hosmac is a knowledge partner and BOC, a member of The Linde Group, is associating with HealthcareWorld 2010 as a Green Zone Partner.

Dr Vivek Desai, Managing Director, Hosmac India Private Limited, hopes that "Such a forum will help create better relationship between various stakeholders in a fragmented but rapidly growing healthcare industry. It will also sensitise people to new technologies which helps integrate functions, thereby improving efficiency."

The main events planned for this forum include-

HealthcareLive
* HealthcareLive is a strategic zone that will let you build real-life, real-time models for ICU, critical care, imaging and diagnostics.
* It will also bring the very decision makers you seek into direct contact with your product.
* With HealthcareLive you will get an opportunity to let the industry know your product USP and why it need to be on their 'Must Buy' list.

Healthcare Roundtables
* Healthcare Roundtables will feature opinion leaders and experts discussing key healthcare issues.
* These Roundtables will be held for key segments like critical care, imaging, diagnostics and IT.
* This will build interest and provide maximum mileage for these key segments.

Green Zone
This unique concept with the name Green Zone will be held in a special pavilion on the emerging environment friendly technology segment.

* Green Zone will bring together leading companies, technology providers, consultants and decision makers.
* GreenHealthcare Seminar will bring along consultations with key prospects.

Meet the Consultants
* Meeting with consultants will bring together Medical Directors, Nursing Homes, Managers, HODs, & CTOs with leading consultants.
* There will be consultant booths for one-on-one meetings and roundtables featuring guest speakers.
* This will provide the perfect opportunity to the companies who seek to reach and influence key decision makers across the industry.

Launch Site
* Launch Site is going to be for companies looking for the perfect platform to launch their latest offerings.
* Launch Site will provide a special stage and a space will also be allotted for collateral/ posters/ demonstration/ presentation.
* It will be aggressively promoted at the event and will be staged between 3 pm to 4 pm on all days.

Visitor Profile-
* Doctors/ Specialists
* Hospital Managers and HODs
* Medical Directors
* Diagnostic Centers
* Biomedical Engineers
* Health Care Services
* Investors for Health Care Industry
* Healthcare Services
* Investors for Healthcare Industry
* Medical Professionals
* Medical Research Institutes
* Diagnostic Centers
* Clinical Laboratories
* Rehabilitation Organisations
* lCare Services & Self-help groups

HealthcareWorld 2010 promises to be a "Happening" conference and i hope to see a lot of "Bright ideas" there.

Nov 11, 2009

Top Ten US Healthcare companies to work @

Top US Healthcare companies to work @

Modern Healthcare announced its second annual list of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare.

317 healthcare companies participated in this survey and were ranked on basis of employee feedback, company policies, benefits and demographics.

A complete list of over 100s of companies ranked in this survey can be found too.

A video announcement is now available at modernhealthcare.com/bestplaces.

The top 10 health care workplaces for 2009 in US are-

1) Intelligent InSites -- intelligentinsites.com

2) Doctors Hospital of Sarasota -- doctorsofsarasota.com

3) CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System -- christushealth.org

4) Holy Name Hospital -- holyname.org

5) Sage Products -- sageproducts.com

6) Memorial Healthcare System -- mhs.net

7) VHA -- vha.com the vista way..

8) Awarepoint Corp. -- awarepoint.com

9) Premier -- premierinc.com

10) Valley Medical Center -- valleymed.org

Revisiting the Achievements of the Veterans Health Administration (meganmcardle.theatlantic.com)
OHUM Vista
Web 2.0 in health (neeleshbhandari.blogspot.com)

Oct 27, 2009

Best health care companies to work at.

The Best Places to Work at in Healthcare:

Modern Healthcare announced its second annual list of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare.

317 healthcare companies participated in this survey and were ranked on basis of employee feedback, company policies, benefits and demographics.

A video announcement is now available at modernhealthcare.com/bestplaces.

The top 10 health care workplaces for 2009 in US are-

1) Intelligent InSites -- intelligentinsites.com

2) Doctors Hospital of Sarasota Sarasota-- doctorsofsarasota.com

3) CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System (7)-- christushealth.org

4) Holy Name Hospital (6) -- holyname.org

5) Sage Products -- sageproducts.com

6) Memorial Healthcare System -- mhs.net

7) VHA (76) -- vha.com

8) Awarepoint Corp. (8) -- awarepoint.com

9) Premier -- premierinc.com

10) Valley Medical Center (34) -- valleymed.org

Oct 9, 2009

Digital microscopes for laptop integration and recording capabilities.

Carson ePix MM-740 Digital Microscope is a compact 5x optical zoom microscope with a digital zoom function that can display its magnified image right on your computer screen, providing hours of fascinating educational entertainment for adults and children alike. It has a built-in internal illuminator, which ensures that the magnified images are clear and bright, and you can use the base attachment to view prepared slides or remove the base and place the microscope on any surface to reveal fine details.

The ePix MM-740 Digital Microscope is extremely easy to set up and use. Just install the included driver software, and attach the digital microscope to the USB port of your computer - you'll instantly see a live image appear on your computer screen. To capture and keep an image you are viewing, simply press the shutter button on the top of the microscope and the image will be captured and displayed in a separate window. Click on File and select Save from the drop-down menu and the image is yours to keep.

Features to use-

• Integrated digital camera captures still images and video clips

• View prepared specimen slides or place right onto ordinary objects to view

• 5x Optical zoom capability (26-130x effective magnification including digital zoom)

• Amazing educational and entertainment tool for both children and adults

• Battery-free operation - draws power directly through your computers USB Port

• Included software makes viewing images and video on your PC monitor easy

• 1.3MP image resolution -Sad!

• Compatible with Windows Systems (Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP) and requires an available USB Port.

Many other variants of this Digital Microscope are also available, with tweaked technical specifications to cover a wide range of requirements. And all this for less than 100 USD$$! Check a few deals here. http://www.dealtime.com/xPO-Carson-Optical-MM-740

Oct 8, 2009

Communication issues with Tele-consults , new study shows

With newer technologies and net-centered consultations on the rise, this study below shows us the disadvantages of Telemedicine.

An Evaluation of Patient-Physician Communication Style During Telemedicine Consultations:

Background: The quality of physician-patient communication is a critical factor influencing treatment outcomes and patient satisfaction with care. To date, there is little research to document the effect of telemedicine (TM) on physician-patient communication.

Objective: The objectives of this study are to measure and describe verbal and nonverbal communication during clinical TM consultations and to compare TM with in-person (IP) consultations in terms of the quality of physician-patient communication.

Methods: Veteran patients (n = 19) requiring pulmonary medicine consultations were enrolled into the study. The study group included 11 patients from the Iron Mountain Veterans Affairs Hospital (VAMC) remote site. Patients had individual TM consultations with a pulmonary physician at the Milwaukee VAMC hub site. A control group of 8 patients had IP consultations with a pulmonary physician at the Milwaukee VAMC. Video recordings of medical consultations were coded for patient-physician verbal and nonverbal communication patterns using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS).

Results: There were no differences in the length of TM consultations (22.2 minutes) and IP consultations (21.9 minutes). Analysis of visit dialogue indicated that the ratio of physician to patient talk was 1.45 for TM and 1.13 for IP consultations, indicating physician verbal dominance. Physicians were more likely to use orientation statements during IP consultations (P = .047). There were greater requests for repetition from patients during TM consultations (P = .034), indicating perceptual difficulties.

Conclusions: The study findings indicate differences between TM and IP consultations in terms of physician-patient communication style. Results suggest that, when comparing TM and IP consultations in terms of physician-patient communication, TM visits are more physician centered, with the physician controlling the dialogue and the patient taking a relatively passive role. Further research is needed to determine whether these differences are significant and whether they have relevance in terms of health outcomes and patient satisfaction with care.

Patients seem to be put at a certain communication disadvantage as they are immersed into a totally new environment and need the Doctor to guide them through the interview.As technology gets better, these virtual meetings might get more realistic and take away the awe associated with high technology AND Medicine working together in tandem.

Read the full article on the JMIR site. JMIR is the leading open access journal for eHealth and healthcare in the Internet age.

Obama needs Doctors support for Health reforms to be.

I have been following the Obama healthcare reform debate from a distance.The whole exercise seems too messy and too many people with too many agendas.

I have not come across many "Larger view" positions. Often, The debate turns to hair-splitting and sometimes turns rascist too.Most people online seem to misunderstand the whole point in this reform. Quite a few of the Cyber-citizens simply parrot against the old enemy,"Communism", while others do not even accept health as a fundamental human right!

Richard L. Reece is author, blogger, and health reform commentator. I read this piece on Medinnovationblog and found it neatly sums up the internal position of most of the concerned parties. And it takes a broader look at the whole issue, without debating too many nuances.Like someone said, "If it takes more than 3 sentences to explain your analysis, go rethink".

Obama, Doctors, Nurses, and Health Reform: "These days Obama and his committee, Organizing for America (OFA), are busily rallying doctors and nurses to bolster his case for a government overhaul of health care.

This week Obama and OFA assembled 150 doctors – all wearing white coats, many passed out by the White House if doctors didn’t bring their own – to stand by the President in the Rose Garden. OFA has bought ads featuring doctors and nurses on national cable TV channels. And just yesterday, OFA sent out emails to the nation’s nurses asking for displays of support and telling they could order pins proclaiming “Another nurse for reform.” The thought behind this frenzied recruiting of doctors and nurses is that the public admires and trusts doctors and nurses.

This strategy has pratfalls, beartraps, and pitfalls.

• In the first place, every doctor and nurse I know supports some form of reform, but not necessary the Obama brand featuring deeper federal intervention.

• Secondly, in the October 4 WSJ, three former AMA presidents came out against a “costly and inefficient government overall, “ instead saying a giant step towards reform would be enabling individuals to buy policies in any state, not just the state in which they live.

- Thirdly, Obama’s challenge in not persuading the public that doctors and nurses support his plan, but convincing the 270 million Americans already covered, and happy with their coverage and their doctors and nurses, to back his plan.

http://medinnovationblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/obama-doctors-nurses-and-health-reform.html

10th November- NEWSFLASH-

President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul faces an uncertain battle in the Senate after a narrow weekend victory in the House revealed the continuing divide among Democrats.
The bill passed by a 220-215 margin late Saturday after fractious debate. Thirty-nine Democrats voted against the measure. One Republican, Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao of Louisiana, unexpectedly voted in favor.

The measure spends $1.05 trillion over a decade to provide health insurance to an additional 36 million Americans and creates a new public insurance plan by 2013. It requires most Americans to carry insurance, creates a new exchange where they can shop for it and gives the lowest earners tax credits to help them pay for it.

Sep 25, 2009

Better imaging with Optofluidics

What is Optofluidics ?

Optofluidics refers to manipulation of light using fluids, or vice-verse, on the micro to nano meter scale. Optical devices which incorporate liquids as a fundamental part of the structure can be traced at least as far back as the eighteenth century when rotating pools of mercury were proposed as a simple technique to create smooth mirrors for use in reflecting telescopes. The field of optofluidics is a “mar

riage” of nano-photonics and micro-fluidics! The introduction of liquids in the optical structure enables flexible fine-tuning and even reconfiguration of circuits such that they may perform tasks optimally in a changing environment.This allows for enhanced optical detection in lab-on-a-chip systems with a potentially strong impact on bio-technology, life-sciences, and bio-medical/health-care industries.It is used in a broad spectrum of military and civilian applications for imaging, spectroscopy, communications, sensing, and displays.

The technology has now allowed the introduction of an inexpensive and high-resolution microscope that has been engineered to fit onto a single chip (See Optofluidic microscope shrinks to fit on a chip.) The performance of the device is comparable to a 20x microscope, but in terms of size, cost and ability to mass produce, the device has significant advantages.

The lack of optical elements in the arrangement implies that there are no aberrations to worry about.

This is an intrinsically space-conserving method.

The entire chip is illuminated from above; no light source needed sunlight is sufficient.

This portable and cheap device is particularly appealing for third-world applications where it could be used in the field to analyse blood samples for malaria or check water supplies for pathogens. In the future, the microscope chips could be incorporated into devices that are implanted into the human body. Pretty good.

An on-chip implementation of the optofluidic microscope.

In the set-up, a voltage of 25 V is applied across the inlet and outlet of a microfluidic channel that is 2.4 mm long, 40 µm wide and 13 µm high. The electric field draws the specimen across the aperture array in a steady stream. The array consists of 120 holes with a diameter of 0.5 µm and separation of 10.4 µm, fabricated on a 2D CMOS imaging sensor. The sensor comprises a grid lattice of 1280 x 1024 square pixels with a pixel size of 5.2 µm.

Also see - Developing optofluidic technology through the fusion of microfluidics and optics

Being a very exciting field with a plethora of potential applications, its no wonder that hundreds of high-tech companies are working to optimize the technology. Heres a list of microfluidics research groups

Sep 24, 2009

A truly semantic medical search engine - HealthBase

Image representing NetBase as depicted in Crun...

HealthBase is a new and truly semantic search engine based on NetBase's Content Intelligence platform.When i first decided to try it out, i was not very hopeful, having spent many hours in the past analysing pathetic results from so called Smart search engines. But Boy, i was very pleasently surprised at the results !!

NetBase's Content Intelligence technology reads every sentence inside documents, linguistically understands the content and powers breakthrough search experiences that deliver highly relevant answers and insights.

I checked the search engine semantics by searching for a simple disease " Asthma".

All the results shown for Treatment, Causes and complications were almost 100% accurate, though the results for Pros and Cons were very ambiguous. In fact i don't see too much justification for that section at present.

A few reviews on NetBase have not been very complimentary. but then, i have perceived a bias in them. Of course there are many other really good medical search engines, a few of them even calling themselves semantic. But most of them are just glorified and customized search engines without any really intelligent tool involved in calculating results.

Medical Search Engine for Authoritative Information-

http://www.searchmedica.com/

http://www.hakia.com/

But for my money, I would go with Healthbase anyday, until someone else can show me a better semantic medical search engine.

Sep 18, 2009

Best layout and design for pharma- communication

Best layout and design for pharma- communication: "

Over the years companies have adopted various tactics to get doctors to engage with their online product presentations, or e-details. Initiatives include obtaining permission from doctors to email them an e-detail, placing the e-detail on a pharmaceutical website, placing a banner on a website linking to an e-detail, and placing the e-detail on a doctor community website. The results have been varied..

There are a number of ways to e-present to doctors and choosing the best layout and design is not always easy. Making a simple bullet presentation with linear navigation (next/previous arrows) is one simple way to kill your content. But then, What actually works?

Pharma websites have been proved rarely to attract doctors (only 2 per cent of the 2,762 doctors questioned in a Doctors.net.uk survey stated pharmaceutical-owned websites as a source).
Banners on websites, although considered cheap, do not drive engagement and, dependent on banner location, may not allow you to know the profile of the individual clicking on your banner.
E-detail on a doctor community website, however, offers the advantage that doctors are already utilising the site on a daily basis, and campaigns can be promoted to specific specialties.

Understanding the audience

Doctors.net recently conducted a survey to investigate the best way to engage doctors with an e-detail. A total of 94 members of the community were surveyed, 32 of whom were GPs and 62 were in specialist care (across a number of different specialities). Of the 62 from specialist care, 43 were consultant/specialist registrar level. The study combined facilitated face-to-face research and non-facilitated online methodology to determine the optimal design structure for an e-detail based on doctor feedback and the speed with which doctors find information.

In the online study, 84 doctors were shown wireframe templates of potential e-detail layouts (template 1 contained three key messages; template 2 offered menu navigation and prioritised key messages; template 3 provided menu navigation, and template 4 was a linear 'click through'). Participants were asked for their preferred layout based on certain criteria such as ease of use, design, and simplicity. The content was presented as data only and did not involve webcasts (or other rich media). The doctors were invited to indicate their favourite and their second-favourite template based on how they would most like to receive information online. Responses were submitted through an online form and results were collated.

Of the 84 doctors, 62 chose template 3: menu option as their most, or second most, preferred layout, making this the clear winner. With two points awarded for a first choice and one point for a second choice, the final rating was template 3: menu navigation in first place with 90 points, followed by template 2: menu navigation and prioritised key messages with 69 points, template 1: three key messages with 47 points and finally template 4: linear 'click through' with 45 points.Doctors stated that they felt template 3 was clearly laid out and that the left hand navigation showed exactly where to go to get the required information. It was also seen to demonstrate good use of space and the top buttons were popular. In addition they felt that the headings were obvious and the fact that they could choose where to go, among other things, was appreciated.

Below is a sample of template 3 - Menu navigation

Template 3: menu navigation prove to be the most popular choice in the online study, it also proved to be the most efficient format for finding information quickly, with the tasks being performed more than twice as quickly as with templates 2 and 4. Based on their speed, they also got to the information they wanted the quickest using template 3.

Template 4: the linear 'click through' model was the least popular with doctors in both studies.

Recommendation to companies wishing to engage with their target doctors using email / epresentations in 2009 would be to use the Left menu navigation approach.

Elements of A Good Website... by Guest Blogger, Angela Kambarian (hilarytopper.com)

Hospitals as Lean machines !

Lean means creating more value for customers with less resources. Starting with Toyota in Japan, Lean methodologies are being increasingly stressed upon all industries, and health care is there too, with a few important caveats.In the current international scenario, All healthcare institutes are following some, if not most, strategies to improve quality and streamline its activities without wasting resources. The percieved value of care and cost is ingrained in a lot of minds, and its difficult to convince people that healthcare quality can be maintained without overspending and overstaffing.

Healthcare services are complex processes which involve diverse professional skills, varying patient needs with cutting edge technologies. Variation and Non-value added activities are inherent on the process. Lean can assist healthcare providers in reducing costs, improving service levels and increasing value but must do so without compromising quality of care, compliance, brand, patient safety, or conformance

Interviewed by Modern Healthcare reporter Jean DerGurahian, Delnor ommunity Hospital, Geneva, Ill., executives discuss Lean methodologies that they say have helped the facility find cost savings, improve processes and increase satisfaction. Tom Wright, president and CEO, and Jim Kearns, chief information officer, say that organizational changes like Lean will become crucial to hospitals as they face continuously shrinking reimbursements and an unclear path to healthcare reform.

The Iowa Healthcare Collaborative brings health care services closer to the people, urging them to take charge of their treatment. The Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC) is a provider-led and patient-focused nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting a culture of continuous improvement in health care.

Also check The Institute for health care improvement on IHI website

Here are also a few articles by Lean management consultancy, VIP Group.

So lets stand up and take charge.

Sep 10, 2009

Nucleus Medical art, National Geograhic, HBO win 3D animation awards

The 1st Annual International Science Animation Awards (ISAA) were presented in Guiyang, China August 8th 2009. The event honored the extraordinary imagination and creativity of those transposing scientific concepts and conclusions into renderings of reality that reflect our unseen world. Finalists from Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea, and Thailand were in competition with pieces created for CNN, HBO, National Geographic, Bristol Meyer's, and some of America's top medical animation companies for awards in only four categories; Physical Science, Natural Science, Children's Education, and Honorable Mention

This year's Sci-An Awards went to:

Natural Science - NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, USA for its comprehensive 3D animation of changing global conditions in "Global Warming".

Physical Science - NUCLEUS MEDICAL ART, USA for their detailed and nuanced 3D animation of human birth in "Birth and Complications".

Children's Education - JESTER INTERNATIONAL, Taiwan for their informative and cartoon-like depiction of healthy bacteria on a child's arm fighting-off external pathogens for early primary school in "Oh! Bacteria".

Honorable Mention was awarded to JANNIS PRODUCTIONS - USA for their complex and sophisticated rendering of bioactivity in the human brain at different stages of Alzheimer's, in HBO's special series "The Alzheimer's Project".

A televised awards show will be aired later this year and includes a live orchestra tribute to the legendary Hayao Miyazaki's animated films, with musical themes serenading brief montages from many of his animated features.

Sep 9, 2009

Technology based learning in Medical sciences

Internet based training has been adopted in a number of disciplines but for some vested interests, not much progress has been made in the Medical field. Reasons given for this hesitation range from constructive real doubts (Will it teach them all the nuances they need to know?) to manipulative self doubts (what if the students don't need me anymore?).Not too many of the Teachers realize that these tools are to assist them in grooming future doctors, and not to replace them in the system. The last time any major breakthrough was achieved in education was when oral teaching was supplemented by printing of books. I can only imagine the astonishment and resistance the teachers of that era would have expressed on realizing that students could get information in their absence, too!! "Stop printing Books!", they said, " It will poison the minds of our students. And anyways, what can some ink on paper teach a student without having heard the same thing from a Guru"s mouth?". But very soon we had the same gurus jostling to publish their own books and integrate those into their own evolving didactic styles. Use of internet in education is probably the single most beneficial addition to education after Printing press.

A study led by a team of education researchers from Mayo Clinic and recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concludes that Internet-based education generally is effective.The study was conducted by David Cook, M.D, and Denise Dupras, M.D., Ph.D., Patricia Erwin, and Victor Montori, M.D., all of Mayo Clinic; and Anthony Levinson, M.D., and Sarah Garside, M.D., Ph.D., from McMaster University.

"The research also showed that Internet-based instruction compared favorably to traditional instructional methods... confirm that, across a wide variety of learners, learning contexts, clinical topics, and learning outcomes, Internet-based instruction can be as effective as traditional methods." Dr. Cook notes that Internet-based instruction has unique advantages, including flexible scheduling, adaptability of instruction, and readily available content that is easily updated. "As health care workers balance challenging practice demands, the ever-expanding volume of medical knowledge requires us to find more effective, efficient ways to learn," says Dr. Cook. "Internet-based instruction will be an important part of the solution."

News report on Eureka alert

This is not the first report which says this, and this definitely wont be the last. Private players in India, like MEdRC Edutech have taken a bold lead in creating computer based medical e learning content and LMS, but with so much resistance in the higher places, it seems like a long war ahead for CBT pioneers in medicine.

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Technology based learning in Medicine? You wish! (meducationtechnology.blogspot.com

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