December 2010
In October 2010 the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, in Madison, USA, announced the introduction of a new method for identifying patients. The SAFE system uses near-infrared radiation to scan and record the pattern of venous blood flow in the palm – a pattern that is unique to each person.
When registering on the system, patients place their hand on a SAFE scanner for less than a minute during which the pattern of blood flow in the palm is recorded. The scan is stored as digital numerical information, and not as an actual image. At subsequent visits patients provide their date of birth and have their palm scanned. Their identification is then confirmed in seconds, and the correct electronic medical record can be accessed.
by Excerpta Medica
Hospital-acquired infections – with pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci, and Clostridium difficile – are well established as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in many countries.
A recently published review paper (available free as a download with this article, see the details below) noted that hospital-acquired infection is one of the most common adverse events associated with healthcare in the USA, with approximately 2 million cases occurring every year. It has been estimated that these infections add US$ 17-20 billion to the annual costs of healthcare in the country. The WHO, meanwhile, has reported an overall prevalence rate of 8.7% in industrialized and developed nations.1
by Excerpta Medica
GetInsideHealth.com presents coverage of selected sessions from the 10th scientific congress of the European Resuscitation Council.
The European Resuscitation Council (ERC) held its 10th scientific congress in Porto, Portugal, from 2-4 December, and GetInsideHealth.com was there. Here we present coverage of five sessions from the conference, covering topics ranging from including CPR in school curricula to emergency service planning for major sporting events such as the Olympic Games.
by Excerpta Medica
GetInsideHealth.com brings you a brief round-up of newly published research, and other healthcare news:
Assessing the use of radiotherapy for prostate cancer
Is radiotherapy for prostate cancer under- or over-used, compared with the level suggested by published evidence? Some answers have been provided by an analysis of the medical records of almost 130,000 patients with prostate cancer in Ontario, Canada and in the USA. Specialists used a criterion-based benchmark approach to estimate the need for radiotherapy (both external beam radiation and brachytherapy) and compared it with actual rates for Ontario and the USA. They found that the estimated and actual rates were similar for the USA. In Ontario, however, there was a suggestion that radiotherapy was underutilized: the observed initial rate of radiotherapy was 28%, significantly lower than the predicted rate of 37.2%. (Kerba M, et al. Clinical Oncol. 2010;22:801-9).
by Excerpta Medica
Part 3 of our coverage of the Global Telehealth 2010 conference includes discussions of a wrist-based telemonitoring device, a teledermatology study, and an evaluation of remote assessment of critically ill children.
Wrist device aids telemonitoring in the elderly
Gerbovics [Austria] reported on the development and testing of a wrist-wearable prototype telemonitoring device, named the Health Data Hub. The device is intended for elderly people, and monitors the heart rate using pulse oximetry. Measurements are transmitted to a monitoring station, along with data on the context of the measurements (such as altimeter data indciating whether or not the patients is walking up stairs) in order to improve interpretation. An automatic alarm message is initiated if data indicate a worsening health status – this message can be sent to a dedicated monitoring center or to relatives. It is intended that the device will eventually also include temperature sensors, gyro sensors and acceleration sensors, and will use a touch display to request contextual information (such as whether the person is taking a walk, or making an unscheduled visit to their doctor). Tests are ongoing on the latest version of the device. Security and privacy still need to be addressed in order to guarantee the safe exchange of medical data.
by Excerpta Medica
Part 2 of our coverage of the Global Telehealth 2010 conference includes presentations on barriers to implementing telemedicine, experiences with eLearning, and improving information exchange in healthcare.
What are the obstacles to implementing new information systems?
Advances in information technology have opened up the possibility of better healthcare at the primary, secondary, and tertiary level. However, obstacles may impede the implementation of potentially successful strategies in eHealth, unless they are identified and actively managed during early phases of implementation. Ryan [Australia] reported on the findings of an anonymous voluntary survey of 100 patients and 100 staff at a metropolitan tertiary center about the implementation of eHealth applications.
by Excerpta Medica
Part 1 of our coverage of the Global Telehealth 2010 conference includes discussions of email-based telemedicine, how to promote independence among the elderly, and remote monitoring of patients with chronic diseases.
Opening address: telehealth “a global force in healthcare”
The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu [S. Africa], in his capacity as ambassador for eHealth for the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth, opened this year’s conference remotely through a video message. He said the theme of the conference – “Telehealth for every nation, community and home” – highlighted the hope that telehealth would become “a global and a local force in healthcare, a worldwide unifying and enabling technology” with information and communications technologies being foremost in surmounting the challenges associated with differing levels of healthcare access around the world.
by Excerpta Medica
Extensive coverage of telemedicine news presented at the 15th international conference of the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth.
The latest developments in telemedicine were discussed at the Global Telehealth 2010 conference held from 10-12 November in Fremantle, near Perth in Western Australia. This was the 15th international conference of the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth, and also the first national conference of the Australasian Telehealth Society, which formed in 2008.
by Excerpta Medica
With the right support and advice all mothers can breastfeed successfully. In this short video, midwife Sharon Trotter offers an update for health professionals on current thinking about breastfeeding, answering the following questions:
• How does breastfeeding benefit mothers and babies?
• For how long should a mother breastfeed?
• What are the barriers to breastfeeding, and how can they be overcome?
• What are the six steps to breastfeeding success?
by Excerpta Medica
In this 5-minute video interview conducted at the 2010 meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, Dr. Supratik Moulik discusses his work in creating stereoscopic 3D images that permit radiologists to show referring physicians anatomy in the way that they encounter it in the clinical setting. Although radiologists are adept are reading 3D images with 2D displays, stereoscopic 3D will help radiologists communicate with the treating clinician.
Dr. Moulik explains that current picture archiving and communications systems (PACS) already provide 3D images but in a limited form without stereoscopic viewing that provides visual depth. In addition to stereoscopic views, Dr. Moulik has been pursuing strategies to actually isolate organs within the image in order to move them independent of surrounding anatomy.
by Excerpta Medica