Monday
June 26, 2006

Information technology & electronic communications
in all aspects of the profession

Welcome to the AVINews Monthly. We'd love your feedback on our ongoing efforts to improve the newsletter and its format, so email us your comments: martinmkm@mminformatics.com


In This Issue:
Executive Board
President's Comments
Integrated Surveillance

Proposed AMIA Work Group
In the News
Jobs
Membership Renewal Form


Executive Board

Your officers for 2005-2006 are:

President - Dr. Michael K. 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.


President's Comments

Nominations closed at midnight June 5. The only office open was President-Elect--which has by recent tradition also acted as Newsletter Editor. We had no nominations as of that time. We will, therefore, be accepting nominations from the floor at the annual meeting in Hawaii.

The annual business meeting will be held in the session room immediately following the Talbot Symposium on Sunday July 15. The AVMA has modified the session schedule this year to give everyone more beach time. Sessions start at seven instead of eight, and the lunch break has been shortened. We will try to keep the formal business as brief as we can in order to take up as little of this bonus beach time as possible. We can then continue the traditional informal discussion at a sunny location to be determined.

I would ask everyone to do some thinking about what direction you would like to see AVI take in the future. We have traditionally said that we wanted to maintain a strong practitioner focus. This fit with our mission of extending the uses of computers in veterinary medicine and providing educational material about these uses. We have said that, but our actions seem to be saying something else. The submissions for this newsletter have all related to regulatory, radiology, laboratory, or other non-general-practice related topics. We are a member-driven organization, and our focus is always going to be where ever our members take us.

Dr. Michael K. Martin


Kentucky’s First Fully Integrated Animal Health Surveillance System Under Way

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 19, 2006) Traditionally Kentucky’s agricultural industry has had a limited arsenal of tools at its disposal to track and respond to animal diseases. That will soon change with the recent announcement by the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture’s Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center (LDDC) that a software system has been selected to power Kentucky’s first integrated and real-time animal health information system.

A partnership was formed during the past year between the LDDC, the Breathitt Veterinary Center in Hopkinsville and the state veterinarian’s office to improve Kentucky’s ability to manage the laboratories and more effectively monitor animal diseases. After extensive research, the group selected CAI, Inc., of Harrisburg, Penn., to build an integrated animal health information system in accordance to Kentucky’s unique design requirements. In addition, the Lexington software engineering firm, Hensley, Elam and Associates, Inc., is in the process of developing software that dovetails with the new network and will aid in real-time statistical analysis of disease data.

“This is a huge leap forward for agriculture in Kentucky,” said Craig Carter, LDDC epidemiologist and LDDC LIMS (laboratory information management system) steering committee chair. [And AVI Member] “The complete integration and ongoing analysis of animal health information is the only effective means of preparing for and dealing with endemic and emerging diseases.”

According to Carter, CAI, Inc. has already developed a software system for Pennsylvania’s state veterinarian office. This same system will be customized for Kentucky’s unique needs and implemented in the Lexington and Hopkinsville labs by July 2007, fully integrating the two labs and the state veterinarian’s office for the first time. This integration will greatly improve the overall efficiency of diagnostic information management at both laboratories, lead to quicker turnaround time for laboratory testing and provide better overall disease surveillance for Kentucky’s animal agriculture.

“The new system is part of an overall effort to connect the labs to our office. Dr. Carter has been a huge help in this process and we anticipate that this system will be a tremendous success,” said Robert Stout, Kentucky State Veterinarian.

“We’re excited about getting the new system up and running,” said Carey Laster, avian pathologist with the Breathitt Veterinary Center and that lab’s LIMS steering committee chair. “This is going to be an opportunity for all the lab systems to be on the same page and share information with the state vet’s office so we have a better handle on what’s happening in the state.”

Carter explained that the new system will offer many benefits to Kentucky, including a near real-time analysis of health events involving animals. This analysis will be conducted on information gathered at the farm level and in the laboratories. The network will then generate automated alerts to key stakeholders, such as the state veterinarian, when clusters of events exceed a statistical threshold. These alerts will allow for the earliest field response to emerging diseases, such as West Nile, Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome and Avian Flu, as well as providing early detection of possible agri-terrorist attacks.

Another important aspect of the system will be the use of sophisticated disease mapping applications that will aid the State Veterinarian’s Office in its emergency response to animal diseases.

“Situational awareness to where all animals at risk are located will be invaluable in providing an effective response to disease outbreaks,” Carter explained.

In addition, he said, the new system will generate maps, charts and disease trend data on the Web to help veterinarians and farmers around the state stay current regarding animal disease prevalence.

“This new software represents the efforts of the University of Kentucky to support a bold and innovative step in disease surveillance. We value the commitment and trust shown by each of the partners and we commend the LDDC for initiating this productive enterprise,” said Nancy Cox, Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Director and UK College of Agriculture Associate Dean for Research. “We are especially proud to have the talents of Craig Carter in Kentucky.”

The LIMS package is part of a comprehensive statewide effort that includes the enhancement of facilities for the LDDC and Hopkinsville labs. This effort includes a request for funding for a second phase of enhancements geared to help the LDDC gain full accreditation. (The LDDC currently operates under a provisional accreditation due, in part, to the outdated condition of its facilities). While funding for phase two enhancements was not awarded in 2006, the lab will continue to pursue efforts to secure funding for the necessary enhancements.


Proposed AMIA Veterinary Informatics Working Group

Dear AVI:

I’m writing to solicit interest in the formation of a new Veterinary Informatics working group under the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA). Presently, AMIA supports approximately 20 Working Groups covering a variety of special interest areas as well as specialized clinical domains such as nursing and dentistry.

Veterinary Informatics is making progress, however there is growing interest toward improving collaboration by bridging current activities as well as catalyzing new research and implementation efforts with direct participation under AMIA. We have been in touch with AMIA and there is strong support by the AMIA President and Working Group committee. This is not intended to replace, but to augment current organizational efforts, such as the Association for Veterinary Informatics.

One of the first objectives for formation of this group is a petition of at least 25 active AMIA members. If you are an active AMIA member and are in support of a Working group, I encourage you to “sign” our petition (please see details below).

If you are not an existing member or need to renew your membership, AMIA now (June 2006) offers a 6-month option through 31 December 2006. Normal membership is by calendar year. Deadline for signing the petition is Friday, 14 July 2006.

If you also have interest in serving on a WG committee or wish to participate in drafting initial documents, please let me know as well. You are also welcome to distribute this email or the links below to anyone you believe may be interested.

To obtain more information or contribute to this effort, please go to:
http://vetinformatics.org

A direct link to the petition is here:
http://vetinformatics.org/?page_id=18

Thanks you very much for your help!
~ Stuart

----
Stuart Turner, DVM, MS
Health Informatics Graduate Program and
Biomedical Informatics Research & Consulting Service
University of California Davis Health System
http://calip.ucdavis.edu | http://ebed.ucdavis.edu

UCDHS-ASB
2450 48th St, Suite 2685
Sacramento, CA 95817
916.734.3857 (voice)
916.873.4325 (mobile)
916.734.3975 (fax)
stuart.turner.ucdavis (Skype)
http://bircs.ucdavis.edu


In the News

CAB Abstracts Database

We have developed a demonstration veterinary site and we are currently in the process of obtaining feedback on it from potential user groups. During the second half of May I visited, with my colleague Patricia Neenan from our N. American office, state veterinary medical associations in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, specialist practices in Tucson (where we met oncology specialist Sarah Charney) and San Diego, the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas and Veterinary Centres of America in Los Angeles, and the veterinary librarians group at the Medical Libraries Conference in Phoenix.

The visits were to gather comments and advice on our demonstration internet site. We wanted to assess the demand for it, and find out which components are most/least interesting. We also hoped to get some idea of pricing. We designed a short questionnaire and hope to get a good response from a range of veterinarians (specialists, generalists, experienced and newly qualified) and veterinary information specialists so that the results can be analysed in July and we can put a business plan together in August. If we do decide that there is sufficient need for the site then we aim to create it in the autumn and have it ready for release in 2007.

I have attached an electronic copy of a sheet that gives basic information on the project and gives you the URLs for the site and for the brief questionnaire, and a user name and password to use. The contents of the attachment are pasted below as I know some people don't like opening attachments.

Could I please ask you to examine the Veterinary Resources site and to answer the short questionnaire. Your comments as an information specialist will be valued and appreciated.

http://www.cababstractsplus.org/veterinarysciencedemo/

Username: cloak Password: widget

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=94792120892

Also, could I ask you to please forward the message with the links to the demo site and to the questionnaire to as many of your colleagues who may be interested and to ask them also to please take a look and complete the questionnaire by the end of June. The more responses we get the better.

Thank you very much for all your help with this.

Best wishes

Robert Taylor
Content Manager, Animal Sciences
CABI Head Office
Nosworthy Way
Wallingford
Oxfordshire
OX10 8DE
United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0) 1491 829450

Fax: +44 (0) 1491 833508
Email: r.taylor@cabi.org
Visit us at www.cabi.org

CABI improves people's lives worldwide by providing
information and applying scientific expertise to solve
problems in agriculture and the environment

Animal Diseases as Warnings

Wider Tracking of Wildlife Illnesses Aimed at Detecting Bio-Attacks
By D'Vera Cohn
Washington Post
May 24, 2006

A growing number of scientists and government agencies are engaged in projects to track outbreaks of animal disease that could give a warning of a bioterrorism attack, modeled on the proverbial canary that coal miners carried to alert them to poisons in the air.

They include officials at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro, who announced this week that they received an Air Force grant to design a national bioterrorism surveillance network that would link data from two dozen North American wildlife hospitals. The center's president, Ed Clark, said it would be "the bird dog out in front trying to get a whiff of what's going on."

A simple example, he said, would be that ducks dying at a reservoir could signal an attempt to poison the water supply.

Other efforts include a new surveillance program to collect daily information from commercial pet hospitals, the recent establishment of a federal "wildlife disease data warehouse" to swap information and the work of the Canary Database at Yale University, which has assembled thousands of scientific articles on links between wildlife and human health.

The projects have two purposes: to create a comprehensive network that will chart wildlife disease outbreaks and to identify threats to people or wildlife populations from them.

http://tinyurl.com/mhw78

Technology Speeds Paying of Health Bills

New York Times
Hospitals, doctors and pharmacies are now sending most of their bills to insurance companies electronically, helping speed payment on claims that are not delayed by an insurer's request for more information, or denied outright, an industry trade group said yesterday.

America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group for the managed care industry, said that a survey of its members found that 75 percent of current claims were now electronic, compared with 44 percent four years ago. The increase reflects the growing role of electronic claims-processing companies that help doctors and hospitals get paid.

http://tinyurl.com/p8wvm

New Technology to Aid Movement of Horses Globally

An Internet-based business designed to allow animal health authorities to track and regulate animal movement nationally has developed technology now recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for international shipments of horses. Electronic laboratory forms carrying equine infectious anemia (EIA), or Coggins, test results are now being accepted by federal health officials on horses moving to other countries. In a letter dated May 15 from the USDA Veterinary Services deputy administrator, GlobalVetLink, L.C., was informed that its electronic equine infectious anemia (eEIA) system in paper format for exports can be used for international shipments. Previously the eEIA lab forms were only recognized by USDA for movement within a state or between states.
GlobalVetLink, L.C.
May 26, 2006

http://www.animalagriculture.org/news/2006/GVL%20Press%20Release%2005%2026%2006.pdf

Scientists Develop Rapid Diagnostic Test for Foot-and-Mouth and Six Other Livestock Diseases

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists, in partnership with the federal Homeland Security and Agriculture departments and the University of California, Davis, have developed a rapid diagnostic test that simultaneously tests for foot-and-mouth disease and six other look-alike diseases in livestock. The new candidate test, which is still undergoing the process of validation, reduces the period for diagnosing all seven diseases from days to hours, and could significantly reduce costs.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
May 26, 2006

http://www.llnl.gov/pao/news/news_releases/2006/NR-06-05-09.html


Jobs and Training

Information Quality Degree Program

UALR-MSIQ Official: The Master of Science Degree information Quality (MSIQ) program at UALR is now official. We are on target for the first class in September 2006. We are also very pleased that Liz Pierce has joined the UALR as a key player to implement the MSIQ program.

http://mitiq.mit.edu/UALRMSIQ/MSIQ_Overview.pdf

Information Technology Advisor

Mongolia
This job is to provide support and advice to V.E.T. Net personnel in all aspects of information technology and communications. It will include supporting and training of users, administrating the server (knowledge of Windows server 2003, Adds, DHCP, RRAS is desirable, but books are provided), network installation and helping create future plans for using computers to reach out to Mongolians. Daily work would include supporting and advising on the following:-

Backups
-Administrating Backups
-Ensuring that the ITC disaster recovery policy is working

Maintenance
-Insure all ITC equipment is maintained Clients
-Support of Clients
-Developing and running IT training programs for V.E.T. staff

Server
-Administrating Windows Server 2003

* Insuring the day to day running of the server
* Creating and administrating user accounts
* Email account maintenance
* Backups

Network
-Support of Network hardware Training
-Setting up a computer training program for Vetnet users.
-Overseeing the training of Vetnet's computer technician.
-Help develop a computer training program from the rural countryside schools, government officials and vets.

Documentation
-Insuring that all documentation is complete and in order.
-Insuring that ITC policies are followed

Website
-Putting a team together to create a Vetnet Website Presentations
-Helping develop PowerPoint and video presentations. Telephone system
-Administrating a PBX telephone system.

If you are interested, contact Dr Gerald D. Mitchum at gmitchum@earthlink.net

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)

SAIC is the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States, providing information technology, systems integration, and eSolutions to commercial and government customers. From science to solutions, SAIC engineers and scientists work to solve complex technical problems in national and homeland security, energy, the environment, space, telecommunications, healthcare and public health, and logistics. With annual revenues of $7.2 billion, SAIC and its subsidiaries have more than 42,000 employees at offices in more than 150 cities worldwide. Due to growth, SAIC has immediate openings at our Atlanta area location for information technology professionals, preferably with public health experience. The following positions are available:

  • HL7 Messaging Analyst

  • HL7 Health Information Developer

  • Healthcare Systems Integration Developer

  • Healthcare Systems Integration Engineer

  • Healthcare Systems Integration Lead

  • Healthcare Systems Consultant

  • Healthcare Messaging Analyst

  • Healthcare Vocabulary Analyst

  • Public Health Principle Consultant

  • Public Health Project Director

  • Expert Certified Tumor Registrar

  • Experienced Certified Tumor Registrar/ Auditor

  • Project Manager

  • Sr. Integration Tester

  • Sr. Data Architect

  • Java Programmer

To apply for these opportunities please go to http://www.saic.com/career/. SAIC is an Affirmative Action Employer who values cultural diversity.

For further information, please contact Tonya Barber, Sr. Technical Recruiter, via email at tonya.k.barber@saic.com.


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.

Application
Membership Application (HTML)
Membership Application (RTF)


Date:  _________________

Association for Veterinary Informatics Application and Renewal Form

O  New      O  Renewal of AVI membership # ______
Please circle change in address or other information.

Name:  _________          ___  ____________________          Dr.   
                 First                        M.I.  Last                                   
       Mr./Ms.

Organization:
___________________________

Address:  ________________________________________________

Phone:  (_____) _____________

________________________________________________________

Fax:      (_____) _____________

______________________   ____     __________            ________
City                                               State             Zip/PC                     Country

E-mail:_______________________

Membership Level

     Level

Description

Dues

Rights

O  Full

Individuals interested in the field of veterinary informatics

$35.00

Receipt of newsletter; participation in Work Groups; full voting rights; eligible for membership on standing committees.

O  Associate

Individuals who support the mission and goals of the Society

$20.00

Receipt of newsletter; participation in Work Groups; no voting rights; not eligible for membership on standing committees.  Limited to two years. 

O  Corporate

Corporations that support the goals of the Association

$100.00

Receipt of newsletter; participation in Work Groups; full voting rights (one per corporation); not eligible for membership on standing committees.

O  Student

Students enrolled in any academic program interested in the field of veterinary informatics

$10.00

Receipt of newsletter; participation in Work Groups; no voting rights; not eligible for membership on standing committees.

Newsletter format desired:  O  Hardcopy  O  Electronic (E-mail address required):_________________  O Both

Membership includes participation in one Work Group.  Please select one group from the list below.

O  Practice Management Systems

O  Data and Messaging Standards

O  Communications and Networking

O  Computer-Aided Instruction/Computer Assisted Learning

O  Computerized Patient Records

Primary work or occupation:  (Please note new categories.)

O  Small animal practice

O  Academic- Clinical, Education, R & D

O  Industry, Government

O  Mixed practice

O  Academic, Other, Diagnostic

O  Ophthalmology

O  Large animal practice

O  Other ____________________________

O  Student

Current interest or involvement in veterinary computing:

O  Basic computer usage in practice
O  Advanced computer usage in practice
O  Internet Usage                       
O  Tertiary Center Medical Records

O  Cutting edge computer technology
O  Education; undergraduate, continuing, or staff
O  Other ______________________________

What topics would you like to see in the newsletter or at the AVMA meeting?  Other comments?

Dues are payable by August 1.  Membership is from August 1 to July 31the following year.  Dues must be received by September 1 of each year in order to be listed in the directory.

Make check payable to:   Association for Veterinary Informatics

Mail dues and form to:      
Dr. Dennis Ballance, Secretary/Treasurer, AVI                       
VMTH Computer Services
1 Shields Ave
Davis, CA 95616  
E-mail:  dwballance@ucdavis.edu


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Copyright 2005, Association for Veterinary Informatics