Conmergence

St. Joseph Medical Center (Houston) and MedConcierge to Demonstrate Telemedicine Solutions at FTTH Council Conference

Top Houston Hospital Selects MedConcierge to Offer Telemedicine to Corporations and Master Planned Communities

September 8, 2009 (Sarasota, FL & Houston, TX) - St. Joseph Medical Center, the largest, Level 3 trauma hospital in downtown Houston, has selected MedConcierge to provide its advanced telemedicine solution to leading communities and corporations. Both parties will demonstrate the user experience and benefits of telemedicine during the upcoming 2009 FTTH Conference & Expo taking place at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, September 27th through October 1st.

"We are very excited to demonstrate the MedConcierge at St. Joseph Medical Center service to local community developers and corporate executives at the upcoming Fiber to the Home Conference," states St. Joseph chief executive officer Phillip D. Robinson, "Telemedicine will clearly be at the center of healthcare delivery moving forward and leveraging the technological advantages of the MedConcierge service over fiber-optic communications will help us extend patient services, generate additional revenue and save costs."

"St. Joseph is a leader in the Houston area, and we are thrilled to play a role in helping them deliver health and wellness services to residents of FTTH communities in and around the Houston metropolitan area," says MedConcierge director Rob Scheschareg. "Telemedicine offers competitive and financial benefits in a cost-effective fashion that is critical in today's market environment. We look forward to meeting service providers and developers at the FTTH Conference & Expo who want to take advantage of the billions being spent by consumers and the government in the next 30 months on home-based telemedicine."

Substantial news coverage, increasing consumer interest and adoption, and the allocation of billions of dollars in Federal stimulus funds specifically for broadband and healthcare information technology have placed telemedicine at the forefront of applications that benefit from fiber to the home networks.

"Fiber to the home provides benefits to consumers and employers that truly improve the quality of life. From our own industry research to that of our members and market followers, it is becoming increasingly evident that consumers want the benefits of improved healthcare services and access to doctors that services like MedConcierge and healthcare providers like St. Joseph can provide," states Joe Savage, president of the FTTH Council. "Telemedicine is a prime example of the type of applications that will be on display at our upcoming conference demonstrating the power of fiber".

To showcase the user experience, benefits and implementation of telemedicine services, MedConcierge and St. Joseph Medical Center will be hosting a number of activities at the upcoming 2009 FTTH Conference & Expo.  These include:

Corporate VIP Demonstration & Reception, Tuesday, September 29th.  For more information call the Corporate Health Connection at St. Joseph Medical Center at (713) 756-8600. 

MedConcierge Booth in the Fiber Zone, located on the show floor during exhibit hours. 

Phillip D. Robinson, CEO, St. Joseph Medical Center will be discussing telemedicine over FTTH networks as part of the Closing Keynote presentation Wednesday, September 30th at 2:00 pm.

For information about these events, visit the conference website at http://www.ftthconference.com.

About St. Joseph Medical Center

St. Joseph Medical Center, downtown Houston's only general acute care hospital, partners with Houston physicians to provide comprehensive health care to all.  As Houston's first hospital, St. Joseph Medical Center provides services for outpatients as well as inpatients, with a full continuum of care in surgery, cancer care, emergency care, Women's services, cardiovascular services, wound care, rehab, sports medicine, Corporate Health Connection and more. For more information on St. Joseph Medical Center, please visit http://www.sjmctx.com or call 713.757.1000.

About MedConcierge, LLC

MedConcierge is the leading provider of telemedicine solutions for community developers and operators, broadband service providers, healthcare providers, and municipalities, that deliver personal, concierge healthcare services to consumers at home, at work and while traveling. Utilizing our award-winning, patent-pending technology, MedConcierge provides unparalleled private and secure access to certified doctors, specialists and content. MedConcierge offerings range from real-time, live videoconference consultations, on demand, 24/7 with leading doctors, specialists, psychiatrists and wellness experts, to educational content, health status monitoring and dynamic electronic medical records - all accessible from the comfort, privacy and convenience of homes and facilities. For more information, visit http://www.medconcierge.com.

Nashville Medical Trade Center and the Proposed Nashville Entrepreneur Center

Milt Capps reported on the Nashville Medical Trade Center and the proposed Nashville Entrepreneur Center here. Given today's technology I'd like to suggest that instead of building a PLACE it would be more strategic to offer a slate of SERVICES; specifically, those which would concentrate on the nexus of bioinformatics, cloud computing and distributed computing. With the recent gains in virtualization, the global build out of broadband, and the Obama Administration emphasis on healthcare, eHealth, medical devices and sensors, both the figurative and literal medical home, it seems there's an awful lot of emphasis on the part of executives to re-create an 1980 business model instead of looking ahead at the healthcare horizon. Nashville already has plenty of data centers to throw at this problem; a voucher system to pay for a computing services testbed while companies are bootstrapped is a more prudent first step -- not to mention, tremendously less expensive to capitalize. Graduate studies at local higher education institutions, Internet2 and extant supercomputing capabilites at Oak Ridge should all be tapped first before other steps are taken.</ed.note>

Don't Skate To The Puck, Skate To Where Jeff Pulver Is - RE: HD Voice

<ed.note>I've learned about a decade ago if you want to know where the world is going to be 5 years from now in terms of technology that affects the average citizen you watch Andy Abramson, Ken Rutkowski and Jeff Pulver. Jeff watches and creates all things telephony and he recently sent this missive out re: HD Voice. My advice: if you have traditionally poopooed eHealth, telehealth, and ROWE in healthcare -- your game is about to change; your boat is about to be refloated; your canary is about to molt; your scotch is about to hop -- well, you get what I mean, or literally -- you HEAR what I am SAYING.</ed.note>

Putting the Cable Industry on notice. HD Voice is happening.

I had an interesting time at the CableLabs Summer Conference at Keystone Resort, Colorado. When I first arrived I had a chance to catch up with the teams from both AudioCodes and IP Gallery and a few of the familiar faces I have gotten to know over the years involved in the communications industry.

Looking around the reception on Monday afternoon, it was clear to me that the telecom recession was over, with the room packed with vendors and about 1,000 people from around the world who made the trek to Colorado for the CableLabs Summer Conference.

This was a closed conference with the majority of the sessions only open to the members of Cablelabs.

If there was one session at the CableLabs Summer Conference that a Cable company’s Chief Strategy Officer should have been at, it was the HD Voice session which I greatly appreciate being invited to be a part of. I say this because after listening to Orange’s Vivek Badrinath, Executive Vice President, Networks, Carriers, and Platforms, it is clear to me that consumer HD Communications is a reality, it IS happening and it is going to happen faster than anyone may have otherwise expected.

Vivek was welcomed warmly and embraced by the CableLabs delegates. During his talk I was thinking of the Twilight Zone Episode “To Serve Man” where (according to Wikipedia) a race of aliens known as the Kanamits lands on Earth and promises to be nothing but helpful to the cause of humanity. Initially wary of the intentions of such a highly advanced race, even the most skeptical humans are convinced when their code-breakers begin to translate one of the Kanamit's books, with the seemingly innocuous title, "To Serve Man."

Sharing their advanced technology, the aliens quickly solve all of Earth's greatest woes, eradicating hunger, disease, and the need for warfare. Soon, humans are volunteering for trips to the Kanamits' home planet, which is supposedly a paradise.

All is not well, however, when a code-breaker discovers the Kanamits' true intentions: Their book, "To Serve Man", is a cookbook, and all their gifts were simply to make humanity complacent.” (if you haven’t seen this episode - you can watch it here).

Given the fact that France Telecom / Orange already has over 500,000 customers who have subscribed for their HD Voice offerings and that their numbers are going to continue to grow as Orange rolls out their HD Communication offers across Europe, I couldn't help but make the connection between Vivek and the leader of the Kanamit's.

If I were involved with a cable company, I would have categorized his talk as an early wake-up call and understand the worldwide Cable industry was put on notice to be on the lookout for other incumbent operators who have both a broadband offering and wireless offering to follow in the footsteps of France Telecom / Orange and use HD Communications as a platform to retain and grow their customer base.

Now is NOT the time for the Cable industry to continue to take a “wait and see” approach with HD Communications but rather now is the time to commit to residential trials for HD Voice consumer if the cable industry wants to protect what has become their multi-billion dollar monthly cash cow known as “digital voice services.”

Over the next few years, the growth of consumers who subscribe for HD Communications offered by both wireless and broadband service providers will help lift the communications industry.

“Fear, Greed and Disruption” remain my three favorite words and I am enjoying this moment in time in the history of communications. I remain a big fan of France Telecom for continuing to lead and innovate with HD Communications.

Friends who would like to learn more about HD Communications are invited to attend the next HD Communications Summit taking place on September 15th in New York City.

http://pulverblog.pulver.com/archives/009008.html

The HD Communications Summit Agenda (Update #1)

On September 15th 2009 at New World Stages in New York City, I am producing HDComms, the HD Communications Summit. HDComms will bring together the emerging worldwide HD Communications ecosystem and we will explore the state of "HD Communications" and where things are headed. If you have a vested interested in the future of communications, please consider joining us in New York City next month.

HD Communications Summit Agenda
(as of August 18, 2009)

- Welcome - Daniel Berninger, Executive Director, HDConnect
- Jeff Pulver - CEO, pulver.com - "Accelerating the Conversion to HD"

Step 1 - The HD Technology Roadmap

- Nimrod Borovsky, VP Marketing, Enterprise Business Group, AudioCodes
- Martyn Humphries, VP/GM, VoIP Line of Business, Broadcom
- Jan Linden, VP Engineering, Global IP Solutions

Case Study: Lessons Learned from SD to HDTV
Robert Graves, Chairman, ATSC Forum

HD Innovations Panel: Moderator - Slava Borlin, VP Products, SpiritDSP
- Mike Eastman, VP Sales, WYDEVoice
- Alan Percy, Director Business Development, AudioCodes
- A. Ryan Heidari, Director Technical and Product Marketing, Qualcomm

Step 2 - Triggering End User Demand

Jeff Rodman, co-founder, CTO Voice Division, Polycom
Rick Krupka, VP Business Communication Services, Uniden

HD in Action Panel: Moderator - Daniel Petrie, CEO, SIPEz
- Joyce Kim, VP Marketing, Global IP Solutions
- Chalan Aras, VP of Product Marketing, Polycom
- Dave Frankel, CEO, ZipDX

Step 3 - Toward a Fully Functioning HD Ecosystem

- Josh Bottum, Director Business Development, Cisco
- Mike Rude, VP Business Development, DSPGroup

The HD Value Chain Panel Moderator - Michael Stanford, WireEvolution
- Michael Jablon, VP Digital Phone Strategy, Time Warner
- Tony Stankus, Product Manager Emerging Technologies,Gigaset Communications USA
- Mike Storella, Director Business Development, snom

HD Carrier Interconnection Panel:
Moderator - Daniel Berninger, Executive Director, HDConnect
- Eli Katz, founder and CEO, XConnect
- John Butz, Director New Product Development, Neutral Tandem
- Alan Bugos, VP Advanced Technology and Engineering, iBasis (invited)

Step 4 - The Path to HD Mass Market Adoption

- Rod Keller, CEO, Gigaset Communications USA
- Alla Reznick, Dir Product Management, Global Advanced Services, Verizon

Mobile VoIP Panel: 
Moderator - Brough Turner, Chief Strategy Officer, Dialogic
- Tobias Kemper, VP Social Media and Communication, Nimbuzz
- Diego Besprosvan, CTO, MailVision
- Mahesh Makhijani, Director Technical Marketing, Qualcomm

Perspectives on HD Tipping Points Panel
Moderator - Doug Mohney, Editor in Chief, HDConnectNow
- Anatoli Levine, Director Product Management, RADVISION and President, IMTC
- Richard Buchanan, Chief Marketing Officer, Ooma
- Jake MacLeod, VP and CTO, Bechtel Communications(invited)

Networking Reception

Interested in the future of communications? Register TODAY for next month's HD Communication Summit.

The Seventh National Medical Banking Institute National Call for White Papers

Share Your Expertise, Best Practices & Model Programs!

The 7th National Medical Banking Institute is an exciting cross-industry educational forum for the banking and healthcare communities. At the Institute, we explore how banks are improving healthcare by reducing costs and increasing access and the quality of healthcare.

The International Journal of Medical Banking is intended to educate commerce, government and academia about medical banking principles and technologies. The editorial staff is seeking white papers in the following areas:

• Information privacy, confidentiality and security that focuses on cross-industry issues in banking and healthcare
• Treasury and cash management programs targeting healthcare
• Card-based platforms and technologies that link healthcare and banking platforms
• Independent Health Record Banks
• Consumer-driven healthcare technology tools that integrate with banking platforms
• Point of service technologies that enable payment “at the counter”
• Open source healthcare programs linking banking and healthcare systems
• Community coalition building, community programs & awareness

Content

The white papers should be double-spaced pages and include an abstract, list of milestones and/or deliverables if applicable and the significance of the work. Submission must be in electronic format (MS Word) and submitted to info@mbproject.org. White papers that describe a commercial product or service will not be accepted. The editorial staff is seeking white papers that address relevant industry issues.

 

Dissemination Venues

White papers will be evaluated for inclusion in the 2009 Institute Agenda.

Presentations

Based on your white paper, the Institute Committee may ask you to submit a Speaker Proposal for a presentation at the 2009 Institute. Presentations will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Well-defined and realistic session objectives
• Content that is current, relevant and practical
• Completeness, accuracy and appearance of the presentation

Please submit your white paper to: info@mbproject.org

Submittal Deadline:  October 15, 2008

Notification

You will be notified of the disposition of your white paper. For questions please contact our offices at

(615) 794-2009 or email info@mbproject.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

Banking on Better Healthcare [A National Town Meeting organized by MBProject] Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Engaging banks to revolutionize healthcare is now becoming a national strategy to reduce healthcare costs, and to increase quality and access to healthcare. We pioneered this movement, strategically bringing healthcare and financial interests to the table, because we firmly believe that "medical banking" can fundamentally improve healthcare. But what does this look like? Who benefits? And how?

We implemented a National Town Meeting entitled "Banking on Better Healthcare" to address these questions. The series will break down regulatory issues, medical banking innovations and consumer-driven programs supported by banks that are transforming the landscape of healthcare. As we continue to bring our message out to the marketplace, we strongly believe that we can achieve our mission to "convert digital savings into charitable resources".

Our first National Town Meeting will be broadcast LIVE from the annual SSI User Group Meeting in Point Clear, Alabama. Online seating is limited to the first 100 registrants, so please register early.

DATE/TIME: Tuesday, May 20, 2008

11:30am Pacific / 12:30pm Mountain / 1:30pm Central / 2:30pm Eastern (approx. length: 2 hours)

AGENDA:

Introduction:

Producer & Moderator of National Town Meeting: John Casillas, Founder, Medical Banking Project, Franklin, TN

Co-Moderator: Mary Rita Hyland, AVP of Legislative Affairs, The SSI Group, Inc., Mobile, AL

Part 1: Ramping onto a Digital Platform - Public Trust, Privacy and the Legislature

A 15 minute discussion led by John Casillas discussing the critical nature of privacy in health data systems, current thinking on privacy and legislative efforts in DC, and the new MBProject Gold Seal Standard, a privacy and security accreditation program for medical banking constituencies.

Speakers:

Attorney Debbie Larios,VP and Assistant General Counsel, Vanguard Health Systems, Nashville, TN

Thomas Gilligan, Senior DC Lobbyist, Washington DC

Part 2: The Hybrid Revenue Platform - Revolutionizing Healthcare Payment Processing

A 30-40 minute moderated panel outlining new medical banking innovations in healthcare that are changing the paradigm in transaction processing. We will examine both specialized payment processing and automation technologies that link banking and healthcare systems to reduce end-to-end costs and strategies for real time claims processing.

Speakers / Expert Panel:

Maureen Turo, VP, Healthcare Market Specialist, Bank of New York Mellon Treasury Services Division, Pittsburgh, PA

Doug Bilbrey, EVP, The SSI Group, Inc, Mobile, AL

Nav Ranajee, VP, Healthcare Product Group, Fifth Third Bank, Cincinnatti, OH

Bill Marvin, President, InstaMed, Philadelphia, PA

June St. John, SVP, Healthcare Product Manager, Wachovia Treasury Services, Charlotte, NC

Vince Marzula, VP, Health Solutions - eCommerce Product Manager, PNC Bank, Pittsburg, PA

Part 3: Converting "Cyberchondriacs" Into HIT Wizards - The Evolving Medical Consumer

A 20 minute moderated panel re-enacting a successful session MBProject organized at its annual Institute. MSNBC calls our generation “cyberchondriacs”, noting that in 2006 some 160 million people used the Internet to search for health information. Aiding in this research, a new generation of consumer tools are emerging that can forecast healthcare expenses, locate desired treatment information, compare doctors, hospitals, outcomes and pricing and much more. We will review this trend, where its going and why the bank channel could be one of the top brokers for consumer health IT services.

Speakers:

David Harris, National Revenue Cycle Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, New York, NY

Lindsy Strait, CTO, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Global Healthcare and Life Sciences Practice, Sun Microsystems, Monrovia, CA

Paul Chicos, CEO, eDuction, Blue Bell, PA

Others TBA

IBM Opens New 3D Virtual Healthcare Island on Second Life

Interactive environment displays IBM’s vision for consumer-driven healthcare

ORLANDO, FL - 24 Feb 2008: IBM (NYSE: IBM) debuted at HIMSS®08 its newest island in Second Life: IBM Virtual Healthcare Island.  The island is a unique, three-dimensional representation of the challenges facing today’s healthcare industry and the role information technology will play in transforming global healthcare-delivery to meet patient needs. 

The island supports the strategic healthcare vision that IBM released in October 2006, entitled, Healthcare 2015: Win-Win or Lose-Lose, A Portrait and a Path to Successful Transformation.  The paper paints a picture of a Healthcare Industry in crisis – of health systems in the United States and many other countries that will become unsustainable by the year 2015.  To avoid “lose-lose” scenarios in which global healthcare systems “hit the wall” and require immediate and forced restructuring, IBM calls for what it defines as a “win-win” option: new levels of accountability, tough decisions, hard work and focus on the consumer.

The IBM Virtual Healthcare Island is designed with a futuristic atmosphere and provides visitors with an interactive demonstration of IBM’s open-standards-based Health Information Exchange (HIE) architecture.  Working with project leads in the U.S., the island was designed and built by an all-IBM-India team.

Starting from the patient’s home, they create their own Personal Health Records (PHRs) in a secure and private environment and watch as it is incorporated into an array of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems that can be used at various medical facilities.  As they move from one island station to the next, they experience how the development of a totally integrated and interoperable longitudinal Electronic Health Record (EHR) is used within a highly secured network that allows access only by patient-authorized providers and family members.

Patient avatars arrive and are welcomed at the Central Park and then visit a Central Information Hub, where IBM’s view of the healthcare industry and the power of information technology to transform it are presented.  An amphitheater on the Hub’s second floor provides an area that can support virtual meetings, complete with a large video screen and accompanying slide presentation on IBM’s HIE architecture and the positive impact that this technology can have in the transformation of the Healthcare Industry.

Visitors can then walk, fly or use transporters to visit the various island stations:

• The Patient’s Home:  In the secure environment of a private home, patient avatars can initiate a PHR and populate it with their personal health characteristics and clinical history, accessed and downloaded from physician EMR data.  They can also establish privacy and security preferences as well as health directives.  The ground floor demonstrates secure messaging with providers and activates the initial PHR.  Using a transporter to move upstairs, patients use home health devices to take weight, blood pressure and blood sugar readings in the privacy of a bedroom, further incorporating this information into the PHR, which is shown on presentation screens. 
• The Laboratory: This stop offers laboratory and radiology suites to help avatars extend their understanding of the benefits of  HIE.  Here, patients can check in at a Patient Kiosk and have blood work and radiology tests performed. The use of EHRs – revealing only appropriate portions of the PHRs -- shows how consumers can also benefit through cost and time savings.
• The Clinic: Patient avatars transport or walk from the Lab to the Clinic, where a welcome from their primary-care physician awaits.  A combination of scripting and information screens supports simulation of a patient exam, after which an electronic prescription is generated, and the continued development of the EHR is explained on nearby screens. 
• The Pharmacy: Here, avatars can check in at a Patient Kiosk that simulates the verifying of drug information.  They then receive their prescriptions and update their PHRs/EHRs with new medication data.  The HIE architecture demonstrates how use of PHR/EHR technology can prevent consumers from purchasing medications that are contra-indicated given the medicines they presently require, as well as alerting them about potential drug-to-drug interactions.  The PHR/EHR is again updated.
• The Hospital: In this futuristic, three story structure, avatars arrive for a scheduled visit with a specialist.  Physicians’ offices, patient rooms and exam rooms are all simulated here. 
• The Emergency Room: Avatars can chose to experience a virtual emergency by “touching” a specially scripted control.  This engages a medical episode and a ride on a fast gurney directly into the private and secure emergency treatment area, where a special screen is programmed to reveal the full incorporation of the PHR to ensure proper treatment.

“We are pleased to offer our IBM Virtual Health Island as a tool for our healthcare customers and our worldwide sales force.  The island allows each healthcare stakeholder to envision how the total system can be affected by intercession at each juncture of the healthcare delivery process,” said Dan Pelino, General Manager, IBM Global Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry.  “We believe that the use of our new virtual world provides an important, next-generation Internet-based resource to show how standards; business planning; the use of a secured, extensible and expandable architecture; HIE interoperability; and data use for healthcare analytics, quality, wellness and disease management are all helping to transform our industry. “

IBM’s Healthcare & Life Sciences (HCLS) Industry will continue to develop the new island in months to come.  The island can perform as a virtually “always on” demonstration tool for IBM’s sales personnel.  A video version of the island is also under production.

IBM believes in the significant promise of virtual-worlds technologies far beyond today's usage: the next evolutionary phase of the Internet. IBM is helping clients and partners to conduct business inside virtual worlds and to connect the virtual world with the real world through a richer, more immersive Web environment. 

Second Life is a 3D online world created by Linden Lab, a company founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale, to create a revolutionary new form of shared 3D experience.  Last October, IBM and Linden Lab announced their intent to jointly develop new technologies and methodologies based on open standards that will help advance the future of 3D virtual worlds.

Rex Brooks on Collaborative Expedition Workshop #62

<ed.note>Rex is ACTIVE in many healthcare IT related initiatives, one of which is the OASIS International Health Continuum Technical Committee. He posted the following summary in a recent listserv comment:</ed.note>

Hi Folks,

I've been attending and presenting at these collaboration workshops for five years now. The first presentation I gave was at #36. It seems unreal that this was #62.

Here's the url for the workshop yesterday. All of the presentations are downloadable.

Ian Ïoster's presentation on Service Oriented Science is really important for connecting the dots of how all this health-related activity can be pulled together and work together, enabling the kind of multiplier effect we are all hoping will lift Healthcare IT from the depths of paper-anchored catacombs.

Christopher Mackie's presentation on Cyberinfrastructure supports Ian's presentation on Service Oriented Science is particularly cogent in the context of not letting go of the tiger's tail. It's a very pragmatic approach to how to ensure that cyberinfrastructure, especially in academia remains strong after initial funding dwindles. It includes references to actual software development projects.

The Trans-Enterprise Service Grid presentation was given by David Ellis from Sandia Labs, with whom I work on a regular basis in the OASIS Emergency Management TC, and it highlights both the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) as a message payload, and the Emergency Data Exchange Language Distribution Element (EDXL-DE) for message routing. Since messaging is what makes web services work, whether using SOAP or REST, the concept of the Service Grid is what makes the Service Oriented (Architecture) Science and Health Grid mentioned in the other presentations work.

Michelle Warner's presentation on the Health Grid from the perspective of the National Governors Association is another dose of pragmatism. It is a wise inclusion, since the level of state cooperation basically dictates the actual viability of all national health initiatives.

Saul Rosenberg, whose presentation highlighted the concept of the Health Grid, is HQd across the SF Bay from me, and I think I will be working with him in an associated-follow-up project to support his registry-based PTSD/Head/Brain injury early diagnosis service. I met him through Marc Wine in the GSA Office of Intergovernmental Solutions.

This wiki page is a rich set of resources, especially down in the Resources Section toward the bottom of the page.

Cheers,

Rex Brooks
<rexb at starbourne.com> 
President, CEO
Starbourne Communications Design
GeoAddress: 1361-A Addison Berkeley, CA 94702
Tel: 510-898-0670

This Day in Connected Health

<ed.note>FasterCures SmartBrief pointed me here while Wireless Healthcare Weekly News pointed me here. This is, of course, serendipitous and synergistic given this, you know, if anyone in power pays attention.</ed.note>

Wireless Healthcare News on EDventures’ Adventures In Healthcare

<ed.note>The Apple iPhone, RIM's Curve, Nokia's N Series, Samsung's offerings, etc. not to mention Axiotron's ModBook and Motion Computing et al's tablets are poised to take advantage of electronic personal healthcare records. And medical banking is building out the real time payment possibilities. Ask your provider if they can provide point of service pricing if you offer to pay from your healthcare savings account. If s/he says "No" ask her/him why. There is a LinkedIn.com group which focuses on open healthcare - http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/3102/63B2164D6495 and another on wireless - https://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/2312/1D90E714F553/</ed.note>

28th June 2007 wirelesshealthcare.co.uk

Is the ehealth sector about to get the Dot Com treatment? Certainly EDventures, Esther Dyson’s investment vehicle, has been putting a lot of effort, and a substantial amount of money, into online healthcare companies recently. EDventures has been active in the high technology sector for twenty years and is currently involved with Voxiva and 23andme. Until February this year it was also part owner of Medstory, which is now part of Microsoft’s Health Solutions Group. A closer look at some of these companies may provide an insight into the direction the ehealth market is moving.

SOA|UDEF Workshop, June 15 from 9.00am - 1.00pm EST

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is critical in a multi-enterprise healthcare ecosystem. Open Group has a major workgroup going on in SOA and Symantic Interoperability to address this issue. Most of our vendor/partners such as SAP, IBM, HP, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco etc have not only become members of the Open Group but are pursuing SOA roadmaps. We are also asking all our vendors/partners to look into the UDEF Vendor Challenge for integrating the Stevens Academic Prototype on Diabetes - Remote Health/Blood Monitoring, Personalized Medicine and Electronic Medical Records with the National Health Information Network. For more details of the UDEF Vendor Challenge Click Here

The JJAPF Education Track is organizing a 1/2 day SOA workshop on Universal Data Element Framework on June 15 from 9.00am - 1.00pm EST. Webconferencing/location details are enclosed. Ron Shuldt, Chair Open Group/UDEF Project will be providing the instruction and several of our vendors/partners from the Open Group will also be attending this session.

UDEF is very similiar to the J&J meta-data stds (both have the origins in the same ISO stds). United Nations is using this and Homeland Security/Dept of Defence are looking at it. This is language/industry agnostic and can provide a consistent naming/numbering/indexing mechanism from Proforma artifacts to records/document management and can scale to the molecular level for chemicals/blood (eg could be aliased for the JNJ numbering scheme being used by ABCD in PRD)

The SOA/UDEF Training material will be presented live to allow for the students to interact with the UDEF trees that are viewable at http://www.opengroup.org/udefinfo/defs.htm . This can be currently downloaded as an Excel Spreadsheet at https://www.opengroup.org/projects/udef/protected/doc.tpl?gdid=13437

The first 90 minutes of the training will cover the key principles for selecting the correct property and the correct object. Specific examples on HR & Procurement will also be covered. The interactive session (about 90 minutes) that follows will provides the students with exercises that test some of the principles that they heard in the first 90 minutes. The UDEF mapping done during the Stevens Diabetes Prototype will be also demonstrated as an opportunity for future integration with the National Health Information Network.

We look forward to participation from our global community and especially the TOGAF/ITIL Trained/Certified members and the SOA Interest Workgroup. Please forward to others in your organization as well as your Open Group vendor/partners as appropriate.

Thank you,
JJAPF Education Track