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Archive for month: August, 2020
Book review: Crohn?s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis
From Epidemiology and Immunobiology to a Rational Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approach
Ed by Baumgart Daniel C.
Springer, May 2012, 754 pp,
Quo vadis smartphones and apps in emergency medicine?
Smartphones and their apps are playing increasingly an important role in emergency situations. Apps exist today for clinicians and laypersons, and include specialised apps that can save more lives by crowdsourcing citizen responders and by reporting emergency incidents and their exact addresses using Open GeoSMS.
by Dr Maged N. Kamel Boulos
Smartphones and specialised apps [1] − namely, software applications running on them − are revolutionising healthcare, leading to both increased mobility at the point of need and participation by engaging all relevant stakeholders, including patients, non-clinical carers, the general public, clinicians and associated organisations [2]. Mobile web access via smartphones and tablets is gradually overtaking conventional desktop Internet use [3], positioning these ubiquitous and increasingly affordable, small form factor (SFF) devices to play a key role in twenty-first-century clinical medicine.
The possibilities are numerous [1] ranging from remote access by clinicians to electronic patient records and medical images from picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) to using specialised medical sensors or other devices which communicate wirelessly with a smartphone (via Bluetooth) or directly plug into it for patient telemonitoring purposes. These include smartphone based fall detection and electrocardiogram (ECG) to detect emergencies, for instance falls or abnormal heart rhythms, and then automatically relay findings as necessary to a remote service where appropriate action can be taken, as in the CAALYX and eCAALYX systems [4].
A recent study [5] compared the use of the PICU Calculator (drugs calculator) on the iPhone with that of the British National Formulary for Children (BNFC) for accuracy, speed and confidence of prescribing in a simulated paediatric emergency. It found that smartphone users were significantly more accurate and faster, whilst prescribers were more confident in their calculations than users of the manual BNFC option, irrespective of the prescriber
Tablet technology equals mobility and speed
In the interviews published in International Hospital, we focus on a particular field of expertise to find out about current developments. We spoke to Dr Reuven Shreiber, senior neuroradiologist at the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, Israel. He talks about his experience of increased mobility for radiologists using tablet technology.
Q. What can you tell us about the study you conducted at Rambam Hospital?
Well, our study focused on ‘The Utility of Tablet Computer Technology for the On-Call Interpretation of Brain CT’. We wanted to evaluate an image interpretation application optimised for tablet computer technology and also determine the diagnostic accuracy of interpreting brain CT examinations using tablet technology.
Q. What kind of software did you use?
We used the Carestream Vue Motion image access system which is a web based, mobile computing application. More importantly, with this DICOM image viewer one can establish secure connectivity with any hospital PACS and it supports all imaging modalities. Moreover, this software provides certain functions such as width and length, zoom in/out, distance measurements and Cine functionality.
Q. What is the importance of this technology for radiology?
The main advantage is the mobility for the reader, but also the size and weight of the iPad. By using 3G (or 4G with the new iPad), I am free to move wherever I want to. In one case, I was with my family on the beach when my resident needed some help. I used VPN to connect to our PACS and helped the radiology resident without any delay. Even though this freedom was available with laptops, it is even better now as you don
The future is here: welcome the paperless hospital
IT transforms University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf
Imagine a hospital without any paper. This is just one of many consequences of streamlining processes in a 1,400-bed hospital that treats 50,000 inpatients, 250,000 outpatients and 50,000 emergency patients every year, the objective being to be able to deal with more serious issues.
In 2004, faced with annual losses of 37 million euro, decision makers at the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) realised that a turnaround was essential to save the hospital and serious action had to be taken. This involved improving internal structures and processes, along with implementing appropriate IT support systems, both in a complete new building infrastructure.
‘Managers opted to restructure the organisation, re-engineer processes, and modernise buildings’, explained Dr Peter Gocke, the outgoing chief information officer (CIO). Clearly the focus was on processes, with a direct impact on the IT strategy. In turn, Health IT transformed the quality of care.
Finding a solution
Social media and disaster medicine
Digital social media networks permeate the lives of many people in developed and developing nations. In other words, when a disaster occurs anywhere on the planet, with dire consequences for the local population, the news can instantly be relayed to an international audience. The marriage of social media and disaster medicine and management was inevitable. However, the power of these networks, with both negative and positive consequences, is just now beginning to be realised and harnessed by the medical community in responding to disasters.
by Dr Paul S. Dhillon and Dr Fergal H. Cummins
What is social media?
Social media is a nebulous term which was first used in 2004 according to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary. In 2010 Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein attempted to define social media1 [1] as a ‘group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content’. An essential factor in their definition was that the users of the technology are not passive in receiving information, but now had the ability to directly influence the generation of information and act as local hubs within their own communities to propagate messages and ideas.
There is a gamut of different forms of social media available to the public and business. The more commonly known and used are Facebook and Twitter, but this is not the complete remit of social media which also include different forms such as blogs, micro-blogging, wikis, photo streams, video, social bookmarking, RSS feeds, podcasting, professional networks, and social email. This list is by no means exhaustive as there are some types of social media that defy definition at this time.
One issue that cannot be argued is that social media have fundamentally changed the way people interact with each other. Borders are much more liquid: as long as an Internet or mobile connection is available, international media are accessible. One
REKA Health has developed new technology for ECG recording by the patient and transmission through the Internet
REKA Health is a tele-health solutions provider that develops and markets an interactive health technology platform incorporating medical devices, application software, mobile apps, Cloud-based web applications and Personal Health Record (PHR). Founded in 2011, REKA Health is a spin-off from REKA and an ISO 13485-certified company with an established worldwide business network for the distribution of its solutions.
Strongly focussed on R&D, the company set out to find new areas of scientific innovation in technology and deliver IT-based solutions for improving healthcare.
Supporting chronic disease patients
The basic point of departure is a healthcare support model whereby chronic disease patients receive continuous care regardless of their whereabouts. REKA Health provides a platform for healthcare providers to interact with their chronic disease patients.
Patients are therefore able to provide their physician with more health information outside of the hospital. In turn, the physician can provide the diagnosed results to the patient via text message or email. This two-way communication allows patient and physician to interact via the REKA Health platform. The cycle of continuous, optimised care will lead to a better quality of life, timely treatment and peace of mind for chronic disease patients.
In practice, these patients are continuously monitored and provided with recommendations and advice to adjust their lifestyle, which, in turn, produce better care outcomes. This allows healthcare providers to expand their healthcare service spectrum to out-of-hospital and home care.
Mobile ECG & rhythm monitor
The increase of cell phone use to over 4 billion users worldwide, improved international mobile communications standards, dramatic advances in sensor technology and pervasive connectivity has enabled a new generation of superior mobile health products for use in the clinical arena. Exemplary of such advances is the REKA Health ECG event recorder device (E100).
E100 cardiac monitor
The E100 is a medical grade ECG Recorder and Heart Rhythm Monitor designed to address homecare and self-care needs. With the focus on user friendliness, the E100 is designed to capture a single-lead ECG and offers highly repeatable signal acquisition through simple and clearly indicated thumb placement.
‘A simple to use rhythm monitor with thumb electrodes enables patients of all ages and backgrounds to remotely transmit ECG data with clinical feasibility and rapidity that is heretofore unseen’ says Samir Damani, MD, PharmD about the E100
