The innovative use of modern technology to promote health and prevent illness is the subject of a national conference being held in Inverness next month.
P4 Digital Healthcare Convention
Anyone interested in attending or finding out more can visit the event website at http://www.digitalhealthcareevent.com/
Doctors, researchers, technical experts and business people will share their expertise at the P4 Digital Healthcare Convention, organised by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), on Friday, October 1, at the city’s Eden Court Theatre.
HIE believes the Highlands and Islands has a unique potential to create a new cluster of healthcare businesses specialising in developing and using technology to deliver both prevention and treatment over large distances.
As a largely mountainous region with a widely-scattered mainland population and almost 100 inhabited islands, it is also a location which stands to benefit most from healthcare innovation.
Dr Steven Dodsworth, Head of Life Sciences with HIE, explained: “P4 is a term used by health professionals to describe an approach which combines prevention, prediction, personalisation and participation.
“We’re particularly interested in the role technology can play in helping people take charge of their own healthcare in a rural region like the Highlands and Islands.
“Health professionals, technologists and business people all see telehealthcare, as it’s called, as a growth area for the coming years and we believe the Highlands and Islands is ideally placed to reap both the health benefits and economic growth.
“Life sciences is a growing sector across the world which is already worth over £130m and supports around 1,800 jobs in the Highlands and Islands alone.
“We see telehealthcare as an important niche in that sector which can develop significantly over the coming years.”
October’s convention is a follow-up to a highly successful Telehealthcare summit which the development organisation held in the summer.
That event helped define a vision for developing a new telehealthcare industry in Scotland, with HIE playing a central role in helping forge collaborative links between the worlds of healthcare, science and business.
It also highlighted new equipment to monitor road accident casualties, life saving diagnostic devices for mountain rescue teams, and software to enable more care at home for people with long-term conditions.
The upcoming convention is aimed at healthcare professionals, industry and patient groups and has been planned to be highly participative.
In addition to hearing expert speakers, those attending will be able to raise questions and share their own knowledge in small workshops throughout the day.
Speakers: “Why here, why now?”
- Ruaraidh MacNeil (HIE): The Inverness Campus Development
- Professor Alasdair Munro (Centre for Health Science): A Centre for P4 Healthcare?
- Professor Dave Godden (University of Aberdeen): The Dot Rural Project
- Andrew Fowlie (chair of the Moray Community Health and Social Care Partnership): Why change is needed
- Dr Doug McKendrick & Professor Grant Cumming (NHS Grampian): P4 digital healthcare in practice
- Andrew Milner (H-I Network): Open Innovation
Workshops: “When worlds collide”
- Healthcare meets the creative industries: hosted by Glasgow School of Art. A vision of Scottish telehealthcare in 2020 suggests a major role for the creative industries in healthcare.
- Web science meets P4: hosted by Professor Grant Cumming (NHS Grampian & UHI). The World Wide Web has become a central feature in our lives and will become of increasing importance in P4 healthcare.
- P4 and PR: hosted by Webber Shandwick. Effective communication will be necessary to realise the benefits of P4 teleheathcare. This workshop will explore the issues involved in such communication.
Anyone interested in attending or finding out more can visit the event website at http://www.digitalhealthcareevent.com/
Filed under Connected Health, Mobile Health, Telehealth, mHealth by on Sep 3rd, 2010. Comment. 
The shortlist is now available for each category for the prestigious NHS Scotland eHealth Awards
Best NHS Scotland IT service delivery team
TrakCare Programme – NHS Lothian
SCI Diabetes Collaboration (SCI-DC) – NHS Tayside, University of Dundee & Scottish Diabetes Group
SERPR – Strathclyde Electronic Renal Patient Record – NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
NHS Service Desk Implementation – NHS Lothian
Best NHS Scotland eHealth initiative supporting quality improvement of patient service or outcomes
eHealth systems to support clinical outcomes measurement and service improvement – NHS Ayrshire and Arran
Electronic Clinical Communications – NHS Tayside
Development of an online point of care knowledge support package – NHS NES
Best NHS Scotland use of Innovative IT for Patient Care
SERPR – Strathclyde Electronic Renal Patient Record – NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
Telecardiology – NHS Highland, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde & Scottish Centre for Telehealth (SCT)
Theatre Reporting Application – NHS Borders
Telehealth for Long Term conditions in Argyll and Bute
Replacing the Ward Whiteboard – NHS Forth Valley
Implementing the Tidal Model within an eHealth clinical recording system – NHS Ayrshire and Arran
Multi Disciplinary Information System (MiDIS) – NHS Tayside
See the winners announced at the awards ceremony part of Health Informatics Scotland 2010
More details about Health Informatics Scotland 2010
Has your company or NHS project any involvement with the shortlisted candidates? If so you might want to make sure your customers are there to support them!
Filed under Hospital Healthcare, Telehealth, eHealth by on Aug 19th, 2010. Comment.
Only two weeks to go before the end of the earlybird discount rates for Health Informatics Scotland 2010.
Conference Dates - 22nd and 23rd September 2010
Rates start as low as £30.00 for two days!
Our conference this year will be the biggest and brightest yet! We are staging this event at the prestigious Glasgow Science Centre where you not only have great views over the Clyde and City but complementary entrance to the fun science exhibits. The futuristic building mirrors BCS Health Scotland’s innovative and forward looking approach.
Three themes this year are Quality, Innovation, and Efficiency. We have International speakers from Australia, Canada, Sweden, America, Ireland, Malaysia making this conference the place to be in September this year.
And introducing the NHS Scotland eHealth Awards!
This exciting new development will be the ‘NHS Scotland eHealth Awards!’. These awards are given to winning NHS teams for three categories sponsored by BCS and Scottish Government; applications are closed so come along to see the winners!
Individual credit card bookings can be made online at
http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conEvent.5294
Block bookings can be made by phone and paid by cheque direct to BCS, sorry order/invoices not possible, contact Rachel Browning Specialist Groups Events Team Leader BCS The Chartered Institute for IT First Floor, Block D, North Star House, North Star Avenue, Swindon, SN2 1FA Tel : +44 (0) 1793 417 416
Visit the pre-conference connection map to see who is coming
Full conference details at
http://www.knowledge.scot.nhs.uk/his/events/bcs-health-scotland-conference-2010.aspx
Filed under Clinical Informatics, Scottish Government, Technology by on Aug 16th, 2010. Comment.
Healthcare goes wireless
The segment featured professional care providers and patients at Meridian Health Hospital, in New Jersey, who are using the MedApps System to monitor chronic conditions in a simple and effective way.
Meridian Health R.N., Marian Estabrook said, “Where a nurse going in the home can maybe see 6 or 7 patients in a day, I can see 20 in an hour.”
This brief clip offers powerful affirmation that the ’early winds of change’ for healthcare reform are undeniably shifting in the direction of remote health monitoring.
Filed under Technology, Telehealth, Wireless ICT by on Aug 11th, 2010. Comment.
Keep track of your blood pressure records.
Watch them on a pretty chart. Share them with your doctor. Let your Facebook and Twitter friends know how you’re doing. Oh, and it’s free.
Click the link to to find out more about how to Keep track of your blood pressure records
Filed under Long Term Conditions, Medical Records by on Aug 10th, 2010. Comment.
Device from MIT’s Spectroscopy Lab could help diabetic patients monitor their blood glucose levels without finger pricks.
Anne Trafton, MIT News Office
MIT researchers have devised a way to measure blood glucose levels by shining near-infrared light on the skin. Photo: Patrick Gillooly
People with type 1 diabetes must keep a careful eye on their blood glucose levels: Too much sugar can damage organs, while too little deprives the body of necessary fuel. Most patients must prick their fingers several times a day to draw blood for testing.
To minimize that pain and inconvenience, researchers at MIT’s Spectroscopy Laboratory are working on a noninvasive way to measure blood glucose levels using light.
First envisioned by Michael Feld, the late MIT professor of physics and former director of the Spectroscopy Laboratory, the technique uses Raman spectroscopy, a method that identifies chemical compounds based on the frequency of vibrations of the bonds holding the molecule together. The technique can reveal glucose levels by simply scanning a patient’s arm or finger with near-infrared light, eliminating the need to draw blood.
Spectroscopy Lab graduate students Ishan Barman and Chae-Ryon Kong are developing a small Raman spectroscopy machine, about the size of a laptop computer, that could be used in a doctor’s office or a patient’s home. Such a device could one day help some of the nearly 1 million people in the United States, and millions more around the world, who suffer from type 1 diabetes.
Researchers in the Spectroscopy Lab have been developing this technology for about 15 years. One of the major obstacles they have faced is that near-infrared light penetrates only about half a millimeter below the skin, so it measures the amount of glucose in the fluid that bathes skin cells (known as interstitial fluid), not the amount in the blood. To overcome this, the team came up with an algorithm that relates the two concentrations, allowing them to predict blood glucose levels from the glucose concentration in interstitial fluid.
Click the link to read more about noninvasive way to measure blood glucose levels
Filed under Long Term Conditions, Patient Safety, Technology by on Aug 10th, 2010. Comment.
COMPANY TO FOCUS ON TELEHEALTH AND INDEPENDENT LIVING IN EFFORT TO TACKLE INCREASING GLOBAL BURDEN OF CHRONIC DISEASE AND AGE-RELATED CONDITIONS
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and FAIRFIELD, Conn., Aug. 2, 2010 – GE (NYSE: GE) and Intel Corporation have announced the entry into a definitive agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture to create a new healthcare company focused on telehealth and independent living. The new company will be formed by combining assets of GE Healthcare’s Home Health division and Intel’s Digital Health Group, and will be owned equally by GE and Intel. Pending regulatory and other customary closing conditions, the joint venture is expected to become operational by the end of the year. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The venture builds on the GE-Intel healthcare alliance announced in April 2009 around independent living and chronic disease management. GE and Intel share a common vision to use technology to bring more effective healthcare into millions of homes and to improve the lives of seniors and people with chronic conditions. With the dramatic increase of people living with chronic conditions, and a global aging population, there is a need to find new models of healthcare delivery and extend care to the home and other residential settings.
Once formed, the new company will develop and market products, services and technologies that promote healthy, independent living at home and in assisted living communities around the world. It will focus on three major segments: chronic disease management, independent living and assistive technologies. GE Healthcare and Intel will contribute assets in remote patient monitoring, independent living concepts and assistive technologies, such as the Intel® Health Guide, Intel® Reader and GE Healthcare’s QuietCare®.
“New models of care delivery are required to address some of the largest issues facing society today, including our aging population, increasing healthcare costs and a large number of people living with chronic conditions,” said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. “We must rethink models of care that go beyond hospital and clinic visits, to home and community-based care models that allow for prevention, early detection, behavior change and social support. The creation of this new company is aimed at accelerating just that.”
GE Chairman of the Board and CEO Jeff Immelt said “Controlling healthcare costs while bringing quality care to an increasingly aging population is one of the largest global challenges we face today. We think this joint venture will offer great potential to address these challenges by improving the quality of life for millions while lowering healthcare costs through new technology. This new company is the next step forward in a healthcare partnership that combines the complementary expertise and capabilities of GE and Intel to accelerate the development of innovative home health technology.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the new company will combine an experienced team, home health assets, technology development, products, sales and marketing. With the combined talent, capabilities and capital sharing, the new company will also provide the focus required to speed innovation and delivery of products to market.
The new company will have headquarters in the greater Sacramento, Calif. area. Louis Burns, currently vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Health Group, will be CEO of the new company, and Omar Ishrak, senior vice president of GE and president and CEO, GE Healthcare Systems, will be chairman of the board.
Filed under Long Term Conditions, Technology, Telehealth by on Aug 2nd, 2010. Comment.
Mini-stroke victims ‘miss out on vital care’
By Nick Triggle Health reporter, BBC News
Mini-strokes often lead to a full-blown attack
Mini-strokes often lead to a full-blown attack
Many patients at high risk of stroke are not getting the specialist treatment they need, an audit found.
People who suffer a mini-stroke are meant to undergo neck surgery to help prevent a full-blown attack.
The Royal College of Physicians and Vascular Society found just a third of 3,000 patients had the op by the two-week deadline, and many did not get it.
About 500 lives a year could be saved, they said. The government said progress had been made on stroke services.
Mini-strokes – or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) as they are known – will often lead to a full-blown attack.
This audit shows that there is still a long way to go to make sure people get urgent preventative treatment that could prevent a catastrophic stroke”
Nikki Hill Stroke Association
However, one in five full strokes can be prevented through an operation known as a carotid endarterectomy to unblock the arteries.
This has to be done within 14 days of symptoms showing to be really effective.
But the review of more than 3,000 cases showed only 1,005 were done within that timeframe. The average wait was 28 days.
Lack of GP referral, hospital staff and equipment were all highlighted as key problems.
The audit concluded that stroke services would be best concentrated in fewer, larger centres to ensure adequate staffing and resources were available.
However, not all the delays were down to the NHS – nearly a fifth of patients waited too long before seeking help.
Read the full article about mini stroke and TIA
Filed under Emergency care, Hospital Healthcare, Long Term Conditions by on Jul 23rd, 2010. Comment.
Dr Joseph Vettukattil pioneered its development at Southampton General Hospital
A leading cardiologist from Southampton is the first to develop a technique to “slice” 3D images of the heart into sections using computer software.
The method is known as multiplane review (MPR) 3D echocardiography.
It allows the user to identify heart defects more accurately than on traditional 2D or standard 3D scans.
Dr Joseph Vettukattil pioneered its development at Southampton General Hospital to identify heart abnormalities present from birth.
He said: “It helps us to cut the virtual heart (the image that the MPR 3D echocardiography produces) and slice it in any place we want, and expose the defects which helps us to understand what is wrong, and what we can do to fix it.”
Read the full article HERE
Filed under Scottish Healthcare, Technology by on Jul 21st, 2010. Comment.
