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Executive
Board
Your officers for 2005-2006 are:
President - Dr. Michael Martin
President-elect - Dr. Stanley
Robertson
Secretary/Treasurer - Dr. Dennis Ballance
Past
President - Dr. Stephen Pittenger
Feedback
Please let us know if you have any suggestions
or comments about AVI.
Annual
Meeting
The Annual Meeting of the Association was held on Sunday, July
17, 2005. The meeting will began around 2:45pm and was held
in the same meeting room as the Talbot Symposium lectures.
Thank you to those that attended and provided valuable input.
The minutes of the meeting will be made available to the members
in the coming weeks.
NEW INFORMATICS TRAINING INITIATIVE ANNOUNCED - AMIA 10X10
PROGRAM
Bethesda, MD - May 31, 2005 - The American Medical
Informatics Association (AMIA) announces the formation of the AMIA
10x10 program. The AMIA 10x10 program aims to realize the
goal of training 10,000 health care
professionals in applied
health and medical informatics by the year 2010. This training
will be conducted by AMIA in collaboration with key strategic
partners in the informatics education community on a wide range of
topics.
"AMIA believes that a health informatics
workforce is essential in the transformation of the American
health care system. A national effort to train a
workforce of physicians, nurses and health professionals must
begin immediately," commented AMIA Chairman, Charles Safran.
AMIA 10x10 will utilize curricular content from existing
informatics training programs and other AMIA educational
initiatives. The content will provide a framework in informatics,
and include details in the areas of electronic and personal health
records, health information exchange, standards and terminology,
and health care quality and error prevention. The 10x10 program
will work within three major domains in the field of informatics:
clinical or health care (including personal health management);
public health, and translational bioinformatics. The on-line
components will be supplemented by in-person sessions located
around the country. These sessions will provide additional
lectures, panel discussions, project work, and an opportunity for
students to interact in-person with leaders in
informatics.
"Because we are serious about
transforming our system of health care to be safe, efficient,
timely, patient-centered, equitable, and effective, we must invest
not only in technology, but also in the education and training of
individuals to ensure our workforce is poised to meet this
challenge," stated Don E. Detmer, AMIA President and CEO.
The program will involve participants developing solutions
to problems in real-world settings guided by established
informatics principles.
Participants will be exposed to a set
of competencies that upon completion will better equip them to
work with their local hospitals, outpatient offices and clinics,
and other health care settings to provide informatics input into
health IT projects. The ideal student for an AMIA 10x10 program
possesses an educational background in the health sciences,
including work experience, and seeks to acquire new skills related
to health informatics.
AMIA is currently accepting
proposals from training programs to become 10x10 partners. More
information on the AMIA 10x10 program is available on the AMIA Web
site at: http://www.amia.org/10x10
The American Medical
Informatics Association (AMIA) is an organization of leaders
shaping the future of health information technology in the United
States and abroad. AMIA is dedicated to the development and
application of medical informatics in support of patient care,
teaching, research, and health care administration. Complete
information about AMIA is available at:
www.amia.org.
President's
Letter
Welcome to the June 2005
edition of the AVI HTML Newsletter.
I'd first like to thank Steve Pittenger for keeping the
association going for the last two years. It has been a
tough time trying to keep the organization focused and moving
forward. But Steve has done a great job.
The last ten years have seen our association go from having
very grand ambitions in the mid nineties to our current
frustration at the seeming lack of progress. In my
presentation to the business meeting in Minneapolis I tried to
make the point that major changes like widespread acceptance for
Informatics take a long time. I pointed out that
standardization of simple nut and bolt threads took 107 years!
We have just begun.
I believe we also need to stop looking for major
breakthroughs. Homeruns will happen, but the real progress
will come from many singles. To that end, we spent time in
the business meeting--and informally afterward--brainstorming ways
to allow members to support the association and help get our
message out in easy to handle, "bite size" efforts.
Dennis Ballance, our incoming Secretary-Treasurer will be looking
at ways to make the web-site more personal and interactive.
Stanley Robertson, the new President-Elect will be helping out in
that area with content ideas. I will be looking to get more
news of members' accomplishments and member contributed content in
this newsletter. To that end, I am appealing to each of you
to take five minutes from time to time and shoot me an email about
what is happening in your part of Veterinary Informatics.
These don't need to be full-blown articles for publication.
What we want are brief paragraphs that together will give the
membership a sense of "what's going on out there."
The value to the membership of an organization like ours comes
from the members themselves. Over the coming months the
executive committee will be looking for additional ways that each
of you can put a little of your expertise in the pot and get back
your part of the resulting collected wisdom.
I am looking forward to the year ahead. We are clearly on
the verge of making some big gains in Veterinary Informatics…one
small step at a time.
Dr. Michael Martin
Opportunity
to Contribute
Also at the Minneapolis meeting I (Mike Martin) met with Tracey
Lynn from the National Surveillance Unit at USDA Veterinary
Services. They are going to be putting out a document on
data standards for surveillance some time next winter. This
fall, they will be seeking comments from a few selected experts.
We will probably be asked to provide comments as an organization.
To that end, I'd like to get a list of members who would be
willing to review the document and send their comments back to
me. I'll collate them and get final approval from the
"review committee" before sending the collected comments
on to USDA. If we want to see Veterinary Informatics done
right, we need to take every chance we get to contribute our
expertise.
If you would like to serve on this committee, please send me an
email and I'll let you know as soon as the document is available.
Past
President's Notes
Thank you to all that have helped and guided me over the last
several years. I truly believe that the best days of the
Association are yet to come. With the new leadership of Drs.
Martin, Robertson and Ballance, we have a fresh and exciting look
at some new initiatives.
With any luck, our newsletter will continue to evolve, our
website will get a much-needed facelift and I'll get some new jobs
to do! If I can be any assistance to any of you over the
next few years, you'll know where to find me. Thanks again
for the opportunity to serve YOU and the organization as a whole.
It has been a pleasure and an honor.
Dr. Stephen Pittenger
About
AVI
Joining
the AVI
You
may renew or apply for membership in the AVI by completing an
application and paying the annual dues. An application is also
included in each issue of the AVI Newsletter. Membership is
for a full year, expiring July 31 each year. You may select
from several membership categories, work groups, and newsletter
formats as described in the application. All member
categories share the privileges of the newsletter and the
communication services of the society. Full and corporate
members have voting privileges. If you share AVI's
interests, please join us.
Mission
The AVI, formerly the American Veterinary Computer Society,
was formed to expand the use of the computer as a tool in
veterinary medicine. This includes serving as an educational
resource, promoting the use of information technology and
electronic communications, and developing and promoting standards
in veterinary information management.
Benefits
Membership
benefits include the monthly AVI
newsletter, participation in work
groups , the AVI-L listserv
discussion list, and an annual membership directory.
Levels
Membership
incorporates a range of levels to encourage participation from all
segments of the profession, veterinarians and non-veterinarians,
as well as its supporting organizations. This includes veterinary
practitioners and their staff, faculty and staff of veterinary
colleges, diagnostic laboratories, medical records personnel,
medical librarians, students, software and hardware developers,
and corporations supplying veterinary products and services.
Over one third of the members are individuals working in the field
of clinical veterinary medicine, one third are in academia, and
the remainder are in industry, government, and other veterinary
medicine. Membership is international, including Australia,
Brazil, Canada, Israel, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia, as well as
the United States.
Meeting
The
annual membership meeting is held in conjunction with the AVMA
Annual Convention and includes the one-day Richard
B. Talbot Symposium on Veterinary Informatics and two days of
general information on computer usage. The members of the
Association are encouraged to write articles and/or make
presentations regarding their experiences, as these are valuable
to establish veterinary informatics as a legitimate discipline and
to encourage individuals in the veterinary community to become
more involved in the information age.
Membership
Application (HTML)
Membership
Application (RTF)
In
the News
Sticky
Insecurity
July
26, 2005
The
signs were everywhere. Craig Castro, the chief information officer
of Community Medical Centers in Fresno, Calif., could see the
security threats to his information systems because they were
pasted on about 2,600 computer workstations across the acute-care
hospital system. On the edges of screens were sticky notes
containing passwords and log in instructions. "People would
never give out their PIN number to their ATM card," Castro
observes. "It's different in the healthcare setting."
The sticky notes were, Castro acknowledges, merely a survival tool
for the staff. Multiple passwords and complex log in routines had
been longstanding problems at the three-hospital health system,
which staffs about 850 beds. Its "best of breed"
approach to information systems has spawned some 180 applications,
many requiring unique log-in procedures. To facilitate their use,
Community deployed generic passwords to gain network access, the
first step to entering individual applications. But some managers
still needed up to 10 passwords, says George Vasquez, director of
technology services. Complete Healthleaders Magazine article
available at:
http://www.healthleaders.com/magazine/feature1.php
?contentid=69913&categoryid=155
UMC
Touts New Technology - Digital system saves money, provides
doctors greater flexibility
July
26, 2005
Digital
images recently replaced traditional X-ray and cardiology films at
University Medical Center. The best part of the change: Doctors
can view the images and radiology reports from their home offices,
the hospital or anywhere else that has Internet access. Monday
afternoon the Clark County-owned hospital unveiled its $13.9
million Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS) to county
officials and local media. UMC paid about $8.5 million for a
cardiology system and a radiology system, while the remaining cost
was paid through various grants and incentives from the equipment
manufacturer, Royal Philips Electronics. Complete Las Vegas Sun
article available at:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun
/2005/jul/26/519106449.html?UMC
Tennessee
Oncology Upgrades with EMR System
July
26, 2005
Tennessee
Oncology is buying an electronic medical record system that will
allow it to connect its 37 oncologists throughout its 30 offices.
Complete Nashville Business Journal article available at:
http://www.bizjournals.com…
Possible
Patient Injuries Linked to Company's MRI Machines
July
27, 2005
he
Food and Drug Administration warned a unit of Hitachi Ltd. about
failures to report patient injuries possibly linked to the
company's magnetic-resonance-imaging, or MRI, machines. The FDA
said the company also failed to report repairs made to devices in
response to complaints and in at least one case may not have made
proper fixes. Complete Wall Street Journal article available at:
http://online.wsj.com…
Ambulances
to Get Wireless Hub
July
21, 2005
American
Medical Response Inc. will equip its 4,000 ambulances with
wireless network technology from In Motion Technology, British
Columbia. The Greenwood, Colo.-based medical transportation
services provider will use the vendor's onBoard Mobile Gateway
1000 technology to enable Internet access from its ambulances in
the field. Complete Mobile Health Data article available at:
http://www.mobileheal
thdata.com/
article.cfm?articleid=1527
Winning
Over Clinicians Key to Success Says Economist
July
25, 2005
Winning
over busy, skeptical clinicians to the benefits of NHS IT
modernization has been highlighted as a key challenge by the
influential journal, the Economist. A two page analysis of
Connecting for Health’s programme concludes that the agency
is making a better fist of the ‘dauntingly vast’
National Programme for IT than pessimists expected, but adds that
until clinicians are won over it will be too early to declare
victory. The article explores the setting up the national
programme, the procurement of systems for the five English regions
and the robust style of its leader, CfH chief executive, Richard
Granger whom it describes as “a pit-bull of a man, even his
fans term him ‘Mr Angry.’ Complete e-Health Insider
Primary Care article available at:
http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/
news/item.cfm?ID=1338
(IN
UK) Nurses Support IT Reform - But Lack Information
July
26, 2005
Nurses
remain supportive of NHS IT developments and rising numbers feel
better informed about them – but the majority still say they
have inadequate information or no information at all. This latest
snapshot of nurses’ views comes from an online survey by
Nursix conducted earlier this year among 1776 Royal College of
Nursing (RCN) members. The survey was a follow-up to a 2004
investigation into nurses’ awareness of and engagement with
NHS IT developments. In the intervening year the RCN developed
targeted information and learning resources designed to increase
members’ awareness, knowledge and skills. Complete E-health
Insider Primary Care news article available at:
http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/item.cfm?ID=1342
Report
Highlights High Costs of Ignoring Health Tech
July
22, 2005
The
U.S. health care industry has neglected widely used systems
engineering tools and technologies, and that neglect has
contributed to the nearly 100,000 preventable deaths a year,
according to a new report from the National Academy of Engineering
and the Institute of Medicine. The health care industry’s
collective inattention to systems engineering has a mind-boggling
cost of a half-trillion dollars a year due to inefficiency, the
report states. Complete Government HealthIT article available at:
http://www.govhealthit.com/article89668-07-22-05-Web
Health
IT Comes of Age
July
26, 2005
Commentary
in iHealth Beat discusses current work being conducted in Health
IT and how the work has been maturing over the last year. Complete
column available at:
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/index.cfm?Action=
dspItem&itemid=112887
State
Takes Medical Data High-tech
July
26, 2005
The
The National Institute of Medicine says the U.S. health care
system is at least a decade behind other high-risk industries in
using information technology to improve efficiency and reduce
errors. Florida wants to fix that - and be a model for the nation
- by linking doctors, hospitals, insurers and others in the
system. The idea is to create a medical Internet that offers
instant access to information about a patient's history so doctors
are less likely to prescribe a lethal combination of drugs.
Complete Tampa Tribune article available at:
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBJE0DMLBE.html
MGH
Seeks to Bridge Healthcare's Racial Gap
July
26, 2005
Massachusetts
General Hospital executives will announced the creation of a
center designed to address one of the most stubbornly chronic
conditions in healthcare: the deep division that exists in medical
status between racial and ethnic groups. The hospital and Partners
HealthCare System are pledging a total of $3 million to found the
Disparities Solutions Center, where researchers will hunt for
answers to end disparities in patients' medical treatment and
improve their health. Complete Boston Globe article available at:
http://www.boston.com…
Majority
of Consumers Believe Electronic Medical Records Can Improve
Medical Care, Accenture Survey Finds
July
20, 2005
A
majority of U.S. consumers believe that electronic medical records
can provide valuable benefits, especially during medical
emergencies, and can improve overall medical care, according to
the results of a survey released today by Accenture. Complete
Accenture press release available at:
http://www.accenture.com/xd/xd.asp?it=enweb
&xd=_dyn%5Cdynamicpressrelease_857.xml
IT
Helps Nurses Serve as 'Integrators'
July
22, 2005
Information
technology can play a huge role in helping nurses carry out their
important role as “integrators” of the work of all
hospital departments, a leading nursing informatics expert says.
“Information systems are the key to addressing integration
needs,” says Margaret McClure, R.N., professor at New York
University. She made her remarks July 21 in a keynote speech at
the Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics at the University of
Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore. Complete Health Data
Management article available at:
http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/html/
PortalStory.cfm?type=trend&DID=12891
Clinical
Data Standards in Health Care: Five Case Studies
July
20, 2005
Unlike
other industries, such as international banking, which developed
and implemented standards for electronic data exchange, the
American health care system still has much work to do to achieve a
common data framework. Interoperability—the enabling of
communications across software and hardware of multiple
vendors—requires the creation, acceptance, and
implementation of clinical data standards to assure that data in
one part of the system is available and useable across a variety
of clinical settings. Report available through California
HealthCare Foundation Web site at:
http://www.chcf.org/topics/view.cfm?itemID=112795
RFID:
Not Ready for Prime Time, Says Study
July
22, 2005
RFID
deployment budgets are small, but more than two-thirds of
respondents to an AMR Research survey said they plan to evaluate,
pilot, or implement RFID this year. Complete Information Week
article available at: http://www.informationweek.com…
Kaiser
Switching Centers to Digital Health Records
July
22, 2005
Kaiser
Permanente of Georgia is in the midst of converting thousands of
patient and health-care professionals to an electronic medical
records system. Complete Atlanta Business Chronicle article
available at:
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/
2005/07/25/newscolumn6.html?from_rss=1
Time
Tussles
July
25, 2005
St.
Joseph Mercy of Oakland plans to up the ante in emergency-room
wait-times, the latest battlefront in hospital marketing. The
Pontiac hospital owned by Trinity Health plans to roll out a
20-minute emergency-room guarantee Aug. 1 in a series of
billboards and radio ads. Complete Crains Detroit article
available at:
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?articleId=27493
Lost a
BlackBerry? Data Could Open a Security Breach
July
25, 2005
The
ability to carry vast amounts of data in small but easily
misplaced items such as computer memory sticks and mobile e-mail
devices has transformed the way Americans work, but it has also
increased the risk that a forgotten BlackBerry or lost cell phone
could amount to a major security breach. Washington Post article
available at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/24/AR2005072401135.html
LifeMasters
Launches Medicare Health Support Program in Oklahoma
July
21, 2005
LifeMasters
Supported SelfCare, a national leader providing disease management
programs and services, announced today that it has launched one of
the nation's first Medicare Health Support Programs to serve
approximately 20,000 fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries with
diabetes and/or congestive heart failure throughout the state of
Oklahoma. Complete press release available at:
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/iwpr?id=91333&cat=Me
CPOE
Study Draws Strong Reaction from Medical, IT Community
July
21, 2005
More
than four months after it originally was published, a March 9
Journal of the American Medical Association study that analyzed a
hospital's computerized order entry system is continuing to get
strong reaction from the medical and health IT communities. The
study, which linked the Eclipsys TDS electric ordering system with
22 types of medical errors, has elicited concerns that the
findings, or rather the characterization of the findings, could
slow CPOE adoption. Complete iHealthBeat article available at:
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/index.cfm?Action=dspItem&itemid=112823
New
Mercy Electronic System Transforms Patient Record Access
July
18, 2005
Patients
at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa will get quicker, safer care as
a result of a new electronic records system implemented this
month, hospital officials said today. Gone are the age-old charts
on clipboards outside the patient's room that contained a myriad
of records coming from all different directions. Gone are the
doctors' scribblings for prescription orders. Gone is the long
wait for medical records to arrive. All of that is done
electronically now through Project Genesis, which connects
multiple computer systems throughout Mercy so that all of a
patient's records and medical history are a keystroke away.
Complete Globe Gazette article available at:
http://www.globegazette.com…
Computers
May Improve Patient Safety - new technology on the way to Upstate
hospitals
July
16, 2005
Over
the next few months, Greenville Hospital System University Medical
Center is rolling out some new technologies aimed at increasing
efficiency, cutting costs and improving patient safety -- vital in
an age when more people die from medical errors nationwide than in
highway accidents. Complete Greenville News article available at:
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20050716/NEWS05/507160313
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Continuing
Education
Complete Listing
for 2005
August 2005
North America
Aug.
5-7, 2005 - The CVMA Summer Seminar - Monterey - Location:
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa 400 Cannery Row Monterey, CA
93940-1489 - Contact: Shirley Ingleston, Event Manager - Address:
1400 River Park Drive, Suite 100 Sacramento, CA 95816 - Tel:
800.655.2862 Ext. 11 - Fax: 916.646.9156 - Web site: www.cvma.net
- E-mail: singleston@cvma.net - Comments: Rejuvenate your mind,
body, and soul in gorgeous Monterey. Plan a weekend by the sea to
add zest to you work and to your life. You'll earn 12 CE units and
have plenty of time to enjoy the ocean, Cannery Row or the
Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Aug. 6-8, 2005 - Northeast
Veterinary Conference - Location: Rhode Island Convention Center,
Providence, Rhode Island, USA - Contact: Susan Brogan - Address:
Northeast Veterinary Conference, Tufts University School of
Veterinary Medicine, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA 01536 -
Tel: 508-887-4723 - Fax: 508-887-4539 - Web site:
www.tufts.edu/vet/nevc - E-mail: susan.brogan@tufts.edu -
Comments: 18 Hours of C.E. - The Northeast Veterinary Conference
(NEVC) is a multi-session, veterinary conference designed by and
for the veterinary community. It is a collaborative effort between
co-hosts Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and the
Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association with the veterinary
medical community of New England. The program includes hands on
wet laboratories, sessions developed especially for technicians,
panel discussions and interactive workshops. The schedule also
includes time for social activities and networking, and the
location provides a perfect setting for enjoying New England. The
mission of the NEVC is to provide the most current information
available to its attendees. This is a non-profit endeavor, and all
net proceeds are used to provide scholarship support for
veterinary students attending Tufts University School of
Veterinary Medicine.
September 2005
North
America
Sep. 7-11, 2005 - 11th International Veterinary
Emergency & Critical Care Symposium - Location: Hyatt Regency
Atlanta 265 Peachtree Street, NE Atlanta, GA 30303 - Contact:
Kelli Collier or Donna Sullivan - Address: 6335 Camp Bullis #14
San Antonio, TX 78257 - Tel: 210-698-5575 - Fax: 210-698-7138 -
Web site: www.veccs.org - E-mail: info@veccs.org -
Sep.
14-18, 2005 - International Nutritional Sciences Symposium -
Location: Washington, DC, USA - Contact: Dr. Jennifer Collins -
Address: Susan Olton, Management Services Officer, Department of
Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of
California, Davis One Shields Avenue Davis, CA 95616 - Tel: (202)
974-6287 - Fax: (202) 833-3419 - Web site:
www.nutritionalsymposium.com - E-mail: info@nutritionsymposium.com
- Comments: You are cordially invited to participate in a
state-of-the-art scientific forum delivering Innovations in
Companion Animal Nutrition with Special Sessions in: Beyond the
Canine Genome Advocacy and Veterinary Medicine – organized
by the University of California, Davis and the Director fo the
American Veterinary Medical Association in Washington, DC A
welcome reception at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in downtown
Washington, DC on the evening of September 14th will kick off an
international gathering of veterinary and nutritional experts. The
main program will feature plenary lectures delivered by
internationally recognized speakers and accompanied by a full
agenda of original scientific oral, and poster presentations.
Sponsored by Cornell University, University of California, Davis,
and The WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition Information on the event
and abstract submission can be found at:
www.nutritionsymposium.com or contact info@nutritionsymposium.com
Sep. 21-24, 2005 - IVAS 31st International Congress -
Location: Park City, Utah, USA - Contact: IVAS - Address: IVAS PO
Box 271395 Fort Collins, CO 80527 USA - Tel: 970-266-0666 - Fax:
970-266-0777 - Web site: www.ivas.org/congress.cfm - E-mail:
ivasoffice@aol.com -
Sep. 24-26, 2005 - The Thirty-Eighth
Annual Conference of the American Association of Bovine
Practitioners - Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. - Contact:
AABP - Address: American Association of Bovine Practitioners, Box
1755, Rome, Georgia 30162-1755 , USA. - Tel: 706 232-2220 - Fax:
706 232-2232 - Web site: www.aabp.org - E-mail: AABPHQ@aabp.org -
October 2005
North America
Oct. 5-9, 2005 -
Wild West Veterinary Conference - Location: Reno Hilton, Reno, NV,
USA - Contact: MaryAnne Bobrow - Address: 6060 Sunrise Vista
Drive, Suite 1110 Citrus Heights, CA 95610-7098 - Tel:
916-723-9920 - Fax: 916-723-8781 - Web site: www.wildwestvc.com -
E-mail: Wildwestvets@aol.com - Comments: Small Animal, Exotics,
Equine, Human Animal Bond, Food Animal, Practice Management,
Paraprofessional Education and Veterinary Technician tracks, as
well as dry and wet labs available for the 2005 conference.
Oct.
13-16, 2005 - 90th Annual Wisconsin VMA Convention - Location:
Marriott, Madison, Wisconsin, USA - Contact: Rob Poehnelt -
Address: WVMA 301 N. Broom St. Madison, WI 53703 - Tel:
608-257-3665 - Fax: 608-257-8989 - Web site: www.wvma.org -
E-mail: wvma@wvma.org -
Oct. 14-16, 2005 - 19th Annual
Veterinary Dental Forum - Location: Royal Pacific Resort, Orlando,
FL, USA. - Contact: Mandy Lister - Address: 618 Church Street,
Suite 220, Nashville, TN 37219. - Tel: 615-254-3687 - Fax:
615-254-7047 - Web site: www.walkermgt.com/avdf.htm - E-mail:
avdf@walkermgt.com -
Oct. 27-30, 2005 - 15th Annual ACVS
Veterinary Symposium - Location: Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego,
San Diego, California, USA. - Contact: ACVS Staff - Address: 4401
East West Hwy, Suite 205 Bethesda, Maryland 20814 USA - Tel:
301-913-9550 - Fax: 301-913-2034 - Web site:
www.acvs.org/futuresymp.html - E-mail: ACVS@aol.com -
Employment
Offerings
Applications are invited for a Research Assistant
Professor position in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and
Pathobiology, Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary
Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
This is a non-tenure track, calendar year, restricted position.
The Veterinary Terminology Services Laboratory provides support
services for veterinary organizations deploying standardized
medical terminologies (SNOMED, LOINC, etc.) in their information
systems. These services include internet-based support systems,
direct consultation (on site and remote), and education (on site
and remote).
This position requires a D.V.M. or equivalent
degree, and a M.S. or Ph.D. in medical informatics. A full
description of the responsibilities and further requirements is
available at http://www.jobs.vt.edu
. Use the search engine to pull up Posting Number 042645.
Only
online applications can be accepted, at the site mentioned above.
Candidates should fill out the brief online application, and then
upload a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and the names and full
contact information of 3 references. Additional information may be
obtained from Dr. Jeff Wilcke, VMRCVM, VA TECH, Duckpond Drive,
Phase 2, Blacksburg, VA 24061, by telephone at 540-231-4819 or
Email: jwilcke@vt.edu. Review of applications will begin July 15,
2005 and continue until filled.
Virginia Tech has a strong
commitment to the principle of diversity and, in that spirit,
seeks a broad spectrum of candidates including women, minorities,
and people with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities
desiring accommodations in the application process or needing this
material in an alternate format should notify Dr. Jeff Wilcke by
phone at 540-231-4819 or by email at jwilcke@vt.edu.
Virginia
Tech is a recipient of the National Science Foundation ADVANCE
Institutional Transformation Award to increase the participation
of women in academic science and engineering careers.
News,
continued
Storage
Device Walks, Talks
July
13, 2005
Dx-PRN,
a Cleveland-based start-up company, has released a portable
storage device designed to enable patients to store medical
histories and provide access to information in an emergency. In
addition, the device enables clinicians to have medical
information read aloud during treatment. Complete Mobile Health
Data article available at:
http://www.mobilehealthdata.com/article.cfm?articleId=1515
Physicians
Making "E" a Way of Life
July
19, 2005
Can’t
read your doctor’s handwriting? If technology adoption
trends continue to evolve at the same pace, some day soon you may
not have to. Healthcare marketing firm Manhattan Research
announced today the release of its latest physician research
module The Shift to “E”. The recent analysis exploring
physicians’ transition from the analog to the digital
revealed a dramatic increase in the number of physicians utilizing
online resources for administrative, educational, and promotional
activities. Two activities of specific interest include
prescribing electronically and the ongoing integration of
electronic detailing for pharmaceutical marketing information. The
analysis of trends in electronic prescribing (eRx) through
personal digital assistants (PDAs) showed that use of an eRx
system through a PDA has grown 300% since 2004. Complete Manhattan
Research press release available at:
http://www.manhattanresearch.com…
New
Hospital Opens in South DeKalb
July
18, 2005
DeKalb
Medical Center at Hillandale, the state's first master-planned
digital hospital, opens to the public today, more than three
decades after voters approved a $1.95 million bond referendum for
a hospital in south DeKalb County. Complete Atlanta
Journal-Constitution article available at: http://www.ajc.com…
CIOs
Outsourcing IT operations
July
18, 2005
Healthleaders
discusses CIOs outsourcing IT operations in an article available
at: http://www.healthleaders.com/news/feature1.php?contentid=70183
Nonprofit
Lumentra Gives Docs Proper Medicine to Boost Efficiency
July
18, 2005
The
San Francisco Business Times highlights Lumentra, a San
Francisco-based nonprofit working to improve clinical quality in
Medicare and other health-care programs. Complete article
available at: http://www.bizjournals.com…
Laser
Beam, Bar Codes Help Nurses - new system makes giving medicine
easier
July
15, 2005
Poughkeepsie
Journal discusses the use of information technology to ensure
medication doses by highlighting new bar-coding technology in use
at Vassar Brothers Medical Center. Complete article available at:
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com…
From
Web-savvy Patient to a 'Cyberchondriac'
July
19, 2005
The
Wall Street Journal examines the lengths to which patients are now
going in self-diagnosis and self-prescribing based on information
that they learn through the Internet. A physician provides some
insights - complete article available at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,S
B112171034195688494,00.html
More
Americans Go Online for Healthcare Information
July
15, 2005
An
increasing number of Americans use the Internet to search for
health or medical information, according to a recent Harris
Interactive poll, and a large majority believe the information is
at least somewhat reliable. The poll shows a decrease over the
last three years in the percentage of online U.S. adults who have
ever searched the Internet for health-related information -- now
at 72%, compared with 80% in 2002. But the actual number of
so-called cyberchondriacs has grown as the percentage of U.S.
adults who go online has increased, according to Harris. Complete
Wall Street Journal article only available with paid subscription
at: http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112136366818985897,00.html
Why a
National Health Care ID Isn't Worth the Fight
July
12, 2005
Dr.
Carol Diamond, managing director of the Markle Foundation's
Healthcare program discusses national health ID numbers in a
Government Health IT article available at:
http://govhealthit.com/article89540-07-12-05-Web
Survey:
Docs Use Portals for Decision-Support Tasks
July
13, 2005
Seventy-four
percent of doctors at hospitals ranked "most-wired" use
physician portals to access research and reference material,
compared with just 7% of physicians at the "least-wired"
hospitals and 37% of all respondents, according to a survey by
Hospitals and Health Networks. The percentage of respondents in
each group said at least 61% of their doctors use physician
portals for certain decision-support tasks. Complete iHealth Beat
article available at:
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/index.cfm?action=
dspItem&itemID=112674&changedID=112656
Payer
Offers Personal Records App
July
12, 2005
Empire
Blue Cross Blue Shield is offering online personal health records
to its members. The New York-based Blues plan is using personal
health records software from WebMD Corp., Elmwood Park, N.Y.
Members can access the software from a secure Web site to enter
and maintain such records as medical histories, health risks and
allergies. Further, Empire will automatically input data from
processed claims into a member’s record. Claims data
includes outpatient laboratory test results, physician visits,
hospital stays, reported diagnoses and prescriptions. Complete
Health Data Management article available at:
http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/html
/news/NewsStory.cfm?DID=12864
Aetna
Gives NJ Docs PDAs, e-Rx App
July
11, 2005
Aenta
Inc. plans to give 1,000 New Jersey primary care physicians PDAs
embedded with electronic prescribing software from Dallas-based
Zix Corp. (an AMIA Corporate Member). The Hartford, Conn.-based
payer organization will offer the technology along with wireless
connectivity to enable physicians to send prescriptions directly
to a pharmacy. Complete Mobile Health Data article available at:
http://www.mobilehealthdata.com/article.cfm?
articleid=1512
The
Search for Meaning: Does Information Technology Make a Difference?
July
8, 2005
Since
the first release of Most Wired data in 1999, the editors of
Hospitals & Health Networks have been asked both by hospital
executives and senior officials of information technology
companies if additional analysis of Most Wired as a benchmark
group would show an association between implementation and use of
IT and results. During the last five years, the magazine editors
have worked with a wide variety of analysts to search for links
between use of IT and critical goals for that technology, such as
better financial performance, higher credit ratings and
differences in quality measures. Complete Hospital & Health
Networks article available at: http://www.hhnmag.com…
Regional
Health Information Networks Demonstrate Progress at the 2005 Get
Connected Knowledge Forum
July
8, 2005
More
than 400 healthcare stakeholders representing large health plans,
acute care hospitals, physician groups, healthcare information
technology suppliers and consumer advocacy organizations gathered
at the 2005 Get Connected Knowledge Forum in Irving, Texas last
week to learn more about building regional health information
organizations (RHIOs), according to Scott Decker, CEO of
Healthvision, a leading health information technology company and
sponsor of the event. Complete Healthvision press release
available at:
http://www.healthvision.com/newsevents/pr/07_08_05_GCKF.htm
'Most
Wired' Hospitals Embrace Technology for Quality, Safety
July
12, 2005
Hospitals
reported a wide gap in their embrace of technology for critical
tasks and safeguards such as drug orders and medication alerts,
according to a survey to be released today. Hospitals & Health
Networks, the journal of the American Hospital Association,
annually names the 100 "most wired" hospitals and health
systems in the U.S. as part of a broader study of technology
adoption. In its seventh year, the study measures the use of
information technology among physicians, nurses and pharmacists in
categories such as basic patient information and computerized
entry systems. Complete Wall Street Journal article only available
with subscription at: http://online.wsj.com..
Technology
Makes Home Dialysis Possible
July
12, 2005
Complete
AP/Yahoo! News article available at:
http://news.yahoo.com…
'Pay
for Performance' Boosts Quality at Medical Groups
July
6, 2005
The
Integrated Healthcare Association said late Tuesday that 225
California medical groups participating in its Pay for Performance
program are making steady progress in meeting 14 clinical quality
standards and integrating information technology into their
practices. Complete San Francisco Business Times article available
at:
http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco
/stories/2005/07/04/daily12.html
Baptist
Puts $50M in Paperless System
July
8, 2005
Baptist
Memorial Health Care Corp. will spend up to $50 million in the
next four years to convert six hospitals to a near-paperless
environment. Complete Memphis Business Journal article available
at:
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/
2005/07/11/story1.html?GP=OTC-MJ1752087487
Germany
Moves Forward with e-Passports
July
8, 2005
Germany
is moving forward on introducing biometric ID systems. The German
Parliament today approved an electronic passport plan to begin
Nov. 1, with Lufthansa Airlines and Siemens AG of Munich
initiating a test in which passengers’ thumbprints will be
used to verify identity before boarding a plane. Complete
Government Computer News article available at:
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/36340-1.html
Most
Medicare Outpatient Visits to Physicians with Limited Clinical IT
July
7, 2005
A
majority of Medicare fee-for-service outpatient visits in 2001
were to physicians without significant information technology (IT)
support for patient care, according to a study released today by
the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). Through a
linkage of Medicare claims data to HSC's nationally representative
physician survey, HSC researchers found that more than half of
Medicare outpatient visits (57%) were to physicians in practices
that used IT for no more than one of the following five clinical
functions: obtaining treatment guidelines, exchanging clinical
data with other physicians, accessing patient notes, generating
preventive treatment reminders for the physician's use, and
writing prescriptions. Complete Center for Studying Health System
Change press release available at:
http://www.hschange.org/CONTENT/760/
NAHIT
Receives Widespread Endorsement for 'Interoperability' Definition
July
8, 2005
More
than 35 major health care organizations have endorsed the National
Alliance for Health Information Technology's recently finalized
definition of "interoperability." NAHIT originally
proposed its definition in March and since then revised the
definition based on feedback it received. Complete iHealthBeat
article available at:
http://www.ihealthbeat.org/index.cfm?Action=
dspItem&itemid=112574
St.
Jude Gets FDA OK for Remote Monitoring Software
July
7, 2005
St.
Jude Medical Inc. on Thursday said it won US regulatory approval
for its software designed to remotely monitor heart patients who
have an implantable defibrillator. Complete Reuters article
available at: http://today.reuters.com…
Hospital
Steps Up Technology with Use of Bar Code Systems
July
7, 2005
Vassar
Brothers Medical Center became the first hospital in the
Poughkeepsie area to use bar codes to keep track of prescription
drugs. Complete article available at:
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2005/07
/07/barcode0.htm
GE,
IHC to Develop System to Prevent Medication Errors
July
6, 2005
GE
Healthcare and Intermountain Health Care, one of the pioneers in
using information technology to improve health care, said
Wednesday that they will jointly develop a computer system
designed to prevent medication errors. Complete Journal Sentinel
article available at:
http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/jul05/339184.asp
Philips
to Buy Stentor
July
6, 2005
Amsterdam-based
Royal Philips Electronics will acquire Stentor, Inc. a vendor of
picture archiving and communication systems for $280 million.
Complete Health Data Management article available at:
http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/html/
PortalStory.cfm?type=vend&DID=12846
State
Fines BlueCross Computer Glitch Causes Overcharges to 45,000
members
July
6, 2005
California
regulators fined Blue Cross of California $150,000 for
overcharging nearly 45,000 debit and credit card customers a total
of $12 million in premiums in early April. The state Department of
Managed Health Care, which announced the fine Tuesday, said Blue
Cross had installed a new computer system and failed to set up
proper controls when charging premium payments from members' debit
and credit cards. Complete San Francisco Chronicle article
available at:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/07/06/BUG0TD
JBMS1.DTL&type=health
Medical
Charts Without Paper
July
7, 2005
In
the not too distant future, a physician affiliated with Citrus
Memorial Hospital will be able to sit at her desk at home and dial
into the hospital's computer system over a secure Internet
connection and check in on her patient. Complete St. Petersburg
Times article available at:
http://sptimes.com/2005/07/07/Citrus/
Medical_charts_withou.shtml
Tennessee
Backs BlueCross Records Project
July
6, 2005
Nearly
4 million Tennessee residents will get electronic medical records
during the next 18 months through one of the nation’s most
ambitious electronic medial records initiatives. The project, led
by Shared Health, a subsidiary of BlueCross BlueShield of
Tennessee, received a boost last week when the Tennessee state
government’s Medicaid program formally agreed to
participate. About 700,000 TennCare members enrolled in Tennessee
BlueCross are now getting the e-records, and another 300,000 or
more will get them later this year. Complete Government Health IT
article available at:
http://www.govhealthit.com/article
89471-07-06-05-Web
Oxford
Hospital, Others in its System to Eliminate Paper Records
July
5, 2005
Baptist
Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi, along with five other
hospitals in the Memphis, Tenn.-based system, are embarking on a
major project to eliminate paper records. Complete The Sun Herald
article available at:
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/12057367.htm
Video
Robots Redefine 'TV Doctor'
July
6, 2005
Studying
his patient through an image beamed back to his office by Dr.
Robot's video camera, Kavoussi was concerned because Daniel had
run a fever overnight and developed a cough. "You're not
looking as good as yesterday," said Kavoussi, zooming in the
camera for a closer look after having focused on Daniel's chart
moments before. Complete Washington Post article available at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com…
Abbott
Hospital Goes Digital
July
1, 2005
Abbott
Northwestern Hospital has entered the digital age. After more than
two years of intense planning and a multimillion-dollar investment
in new software, the Minneapolis hospital's new medical-records
system goes live today. Abbott Northwestern, the second-largest
hospital in the Twin Cities, is the first large hospital run by
Allina Hospitals & Clinics to go digital. Complete
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal article available at:
http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/
stories/2005/07/04/story2.html
High-tech
Charting - State (LA) Promotes Electronic Medical Records Systems
July
3, 2005
Although
Louisiana has gained a reputation for less-than-progressive
approaches to business, the bayou state has become a leading-edge
proponent of the use of electronic medical records. Louisiana was
the second state to join the eHealth Initiative Foundation's State
Health Information Technology Policy Summit Initiative. The
program brings state policy officials together with health-care,
consumer and business leaders to help improve health care through
IT. Health-care leaders will meet in Baton Rouge on July 21 to
begin developing a plan to implement the electronic medical
records systems. Complete Advocate article available at:
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/
070305/bus_biz001.shtml
The
Push Toward Medical Smarts: Standardized High-tech Portable
Records
July
4, 2005
As
the federal government's push for digitized medical records gains
momentum -- a move advocates say will cut costs and save lives --
information technology companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere
are itching to get a piece of the action. Complete San Jose
Mercury News article available at:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/
12051620.htm
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