Informatics-Review > Vol. 6 No. 14 - July 15 2003 -- Current Reviews in Clinical Informatics 








Delaware
To Protect Patients and Safeguard Against Bioterrorism Through
Partnering Agreement with the Patient Safety Institute

Delaware is
embarking on becoming the first state in the nation to provide
statewide electronic access to clinical information at the point of
care. A key to the system is that patient consent is required and access
is strictly limited to the provider delivering the care. The operational
component will be supplied by the non profit Patient Safety Institute’s
(PSI) robust clinical information sharing network.



The 15th International Olympiad in
Informatics

The IOI is one of five international science olympiads. The primary
goal of the IOI is to stimulate interest in informatics (computing
science) and information technology. Another important goal is to bring
together exceptionally talented pupils from various countries and to
have them share scientific and cultural experiences.  Think you're
good? Check
out the 2002 test questions...



Evaluation of support groups for women with
breast cancer: importance of the navigator role

The literature on evaluations of community-based cancer support groups
indicates that they offer a number of benefits, and that it is more
reasonable to expect an impact of such interventions on psychosocial
functioning and/or health-related quality of life than on survival. The
literature on both face-to-face and online social support groups
suggests that they offer many advantages, although evaluation of the
latter delivery mechanism presents some ethical issues that need to be
addressed. Many popular online support groups are peer-moderated, rather
than professionally-moderated. In an evaluation of online support
groups, different models of the role of the "navigator" need to be taken
into account.



Preparing doctors for bedside computing

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are increasingly used as medical
tools, especially by doctors in their training years. The Stanford PDA
Project aims to integrate PDAs into medical education, preparing future
doctors to use them in practice. Our project began with a focus on
preclinical training, with the goals of content creation, infrastructure
development and integration, technical support, and assessment of PDAs
and other mobile computing technology. We believe that as the wireless
capabilities of PDAs are exploited, and as more young health-care
practitioners enter the workforce equipped with PDAs, expertise in using
them, and the desire to increase their capabilities as bedside tools,
the time is ripe for their further integration into both medical
education and health-care information systems.



Doctors Who Are Using E-mail With Their
Patients: a Qualitative Exploration

Comments from physicians who currently use e-mail with patients daily
could be grouped into 1 of 4 broad domains: (1) e-mail access and
content, (2) effects of e-mail on the doctor-patient relationship, (3)
managing clinical issues by e-mail, and (4) integrating e-mail into
office processes. The most consistent theme was that e-mail
communication enhances chronic-disease management. Many physicians also
reported improved continuity of care and increased flexibility in
responding to nonurgent issues. Integration of e-mail into daily
workflow, such as utilization of office personnel, appears to be a
significant area of concern for many of the physicians. For other
issues, such as content, efficiency of e-mail, and confidentiality,
there were diverging experiences and opinions. Physicians appear to be
selective in choosing which patients they will communicate with via
e-mail, but the criteria for selection is unclear.



Federal Health Information Policy: A Case
Of Arrested Development

Federal support is vital for the computerized patient record to evolve
from a digital version of today’s paper chart into a navigational system
for the care team. (Read a
perspective on this article by Molly Joel Coye and William S. Bernstein)



Internet-based Patient Self-care: The Next
Generation of Health Care Delivery

New e-technology formats introduced to the growing consumer movement
will drive the next generation of self-care by allowing patients to
manage their own health conveniently and proficiently.



Use of the World Wide Web to Implement
Clinical Practice Guidelines: A Feasibility Study

The acceptance of use of clinical practice guidelines via the Web is
high. The main limits to further use of such Web-based guidelines seem
to be the lack of a computer connection in the physician's office or
examining room and the fear that use of such guidelines might interfere
with the physician-patient relationship. Though most participants
appreciate the considerable potential of the Web for disseminating
guidelines, only a small handful regularly use guidelines available on
the Web. There are still numerous obstacles to the regular use of
guidelines in clinical practice, some related to the physicians, others
to the guidelines themselves.



Electronic Technology: A Spark to
Revitalize Primary Care? 

The computer revolution has enormous potential to improve primary care
in the areas of medical records, communication between physicians and
patients, information sharing among health care providers, and rapid
access to reliable medical information for both physicians and patients.
A number of barriers must be overcome before computerization is widely
embraced in primary care: e-health often takes too much time and is too
expensive; the quality of Web-based medical information is inadequate;
software programs may not interact with one another; patient privacy
must be protected; public and private insurers rarely pay for electronic
communication with patients; and the computer could interfere with the
patient-physician relationship.



Johns Hopkins seeks patient waiver of
privacy

Proposal would allow researchers to see files to recruit for clinical
trials; Plan needs government approval; Opponents call request too
broad, and say it would create confusion. 



New Tools, New Roles: The Fusion of
Technology and Work Force

Two of the greatest challenges facing health care organizations are
attracting enough skilled workers and keeping up with the relentless
pace of technological change. Traditionally, the human resources
department has handled work force issues while the chief information
officer and information services department oversaw technology
implementation. However, health care organizations can enhance quality,
patient satisfaction and employee satisfaction by developing integrated
strategies for work force and technology development and aligning them
with the overall mission and strategic plan.



 

Other issues from
Volume 6 -- 2001


  
    

      
      
1
-- Jan 1 

      		
      
      
5
-- Mar 1 

      		
      
      
9
--- May 1 

      		
      
      
13
-- Jul 1 

      		
      
      
17 -- Sep                   1 

      		
      
      
21 -- Nov                   1 

      		
    

    

      
      
2
-- Jan 15 

      		
      
      
6
-- Mar 15 

      		
      
      
10
-- May 15 

      		
      
      
14 -- Jul                   15 

      		
      
      
18 -- Sep                   15 

      		
      
      
22 -- Nov                   15 

      		
    

    

      
      
3
-- Feb 1 

      		
      
      
7
-- Apr 1 

      		
      
      
11
-- Jun 1 

      		
      
      
15 -- Aug                   1 

      		
      
      
19 -- Oct                   1 

      		
      
      
23 -- Dec                   1

      		
    

    

      
      
4
-- Feb 15 

      		
      
      
8
-- Apr 15 

      		
      
      
12
-- Jun                   15 

      		
      
      
16 -- Aug                   15 

      		
      
      
20 -- Oct                   15 

      		
      
      
24 -- Dec                   15

      		
    

  










©  2003 The  Informatics     Review



  
    

      
      
 Informatics-Review  >  Vol. 6  No. 14  - July 15 2003 --  Current    Reviews in Clinical
Informatics 

      		
    

  



7/14/03 dfs