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Thursday, October 07, 2004
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"What's missing right now is the equivalent of HTML for the telephone... "
This is quote provided by Jeff Jarvis while attending the Web 2.0 session on VoIP. The speaker was Mike McCue of Tellme. Vonage and AT&T were also represented. This panel is hosted by Om Malik, and thanks to Jason Calacanis for the mp3 of this session. (As an aside, Jason just posted a story about a presentation is a later session made by Richard Rashid, Senior VP of Research at Microsoft where he mentioned Wallop(?) and medical databases.)
There is no technology that has gained broad acceptance faster than VoIP, with hospitals including this in their plans for wireless networks.
Andy Abramson posts this story about Microsoft's involvement, and says, "Ever since the release of Windows XP, SIP has been embedded inside the core of operating system. Almost two years ago Webley's Alex Kurganov gave me a patch that hacked Windows Messenger and enable Webley to make and receive phone calls Windows Messenger, so for me, the knowledge that someday soon the giant from Redmond would be playing in the VoIP space was never an if. It was always about when." He also points to an article in USA Today article on Skype.
...Skype relies on the same peer-to-peer (P2P) technology that gave rise to the controversial file-sharing sites Napster and Kazaa. In fact, Skype was created by the founders of Kazaa. Since its launch in August 2003, Skype says its software has been downloaded more than 23 million times; the company claims 12 million users from every country in the world. The user base is growing faster than Hotmail. Versions of the program work on Windows 2000 or XP, Mac OS X and even on certain Wi-Fi-ready Pocket PCs. A Linux version is being tested.
I did a test of Skype using the Dell Axim x3i handheld utilizing a WiFi connection a while back, and I was impressed, except for the microphone quality.
UPDATE: Microsoft's Wallop sign-in page. It's a moblog service probably akin to Flickr.com.
2:58:19 PM 
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BureaucratBerry for the Fed
According to this press release, SRA International, a major supplier of IT to the Gov't, has announced an alliance with Research in Motion (RIM) to provide implementation services for the BlackBerry(R) wireless platform "for clients across the federal government."
For example, SRA and RIM have implemented over 4,000 BlackBerry Wireless
Handhelds(TM) at the National Institutes of Health, the world's leading
medical research center. SRA services included integration planning and system
implementation for BlackBerry and the company currently provides administrator
and end-user training. The implementation of BlackBerry has enabled medical
personnel and researchers to quickly receive and respond to time-sensitive
messages and alerts.
I'd rather have a Treo. Again, if you want a good summary of the BlackBerry phenomenon, see the Oct. Business 2.0 now available online.
10:40:27 AM
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 NYTimes' Pogue Dismisses the AT&T Ogo
First the advantages:
- $100 for the device
- $18/month wireless service
- email, IM (chat with up to 20 partners at once) and SMS
- capacious keyboard
- live help agent
Now the disadvantages:
- No touch screen
- no email attachments
- can't import contact lists
- no automatic text correction
- screen brightness is inadequate in direct sunlight
- unit turns off every 30 seconds
- software has confusing navigation
- No scroll wheel
- No games, no ringtones
- No phone
- Square edges make it uncomfortable to keep in your pocket
- restricted by the coverage of AT&T's cell service
It seems that this is meant for the average high schooler whose budget might be able to accommodate this device. Finally David says, "...even the attractive pricing may not be enough to overcome the crudeness of this text communicator's design."
9:08:29 AM
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Health Industry Searches for Next Informaticians
This article in eWeek underscores the need for medical informatics programs to increase the number of graduates to meet the growing demand.
The push for EMRs (electronic medical records) and the establishment of ONCHIT (the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology) are widely expected to increase this demand. "We desperately need more programs producing more skilled individuals to meet future demand," said Joseph Hales, director of information systems/medical informatics and a professor of medical informatics at the University of Utah.
"National initiatives like POE [physician order entry] require skilled, trained, experienced, applied people on the ground implementing these systems, and skilled, trained, knowledgeable, theoretical people building innovative systems that work. We don't have enough of either to address the growth of EMRs at the pace suggested by Dr. [David] Brailer [the national health IT coordinator] or by other initiatives."
7:49:59 AM
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Redesigned Saint John's facility in Santa Monica offers new technology
The design for the $394 million Saint John's project began eight years ago. The impetus for the new hospital came from the significant damage the hospital suffered during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
Some of the new technology includes designing hospital rooms that are larger and have built-in sofas and other conveniences for patient and family comfort. The four-story North Pavilion will include 42-inch flat screen plasma televisions in patient rooms, wireless Internet access for patients and a wireless data network that allows physicians and staff to use various devices such as personal data assistants, portable laptops and micro-cellular telephones that would replace the antiquated nurse call system.
This article also describes family waiting rooms which will have wireless Internet access (no specifics given), and on some floors facilities for families to make meals. Amenities like these for patients and their families will eventually be expected, the same way a business traveler expects WiFi at his hotel.
7:37:55 AM
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Information Technology is improving the way Canadians get medical care at Ottawa Hospital
This story from The Ottawa Citizen lends credibility to the perception that when clinicians are using IT conspicuously, this marks an improvement in healthcare delivery.
There is mention of the burgeoning telehealth projects:
This [telehealth] is possible in part because of the steady advance of broadband access, even into remote parts of the country. Now, people who live in communities without a doctor can be diagnosed without making a long trip to the nearest city. Instead, they can be diagnosed by videoconference. Hildebrand says more than 10,000 Ontarians have used North Network, a tele-medicine project that links patients in remote parts of Ontario with medical specialists in cities.
And regarding the use of cellphones:
"Ten years ago you couldn't have cellphones in a hospital," says Gino Picciano, the Ottawa Hospital's chief information officer and chief operating officer. "Now you see clinicians using wireless phones. They're on the right frequency, they don't interfere with the equipment and they're a great way to communicate." (But don't get too excited -- you still can't use your own cellphone in the hospital.)
It seems the Canadians have their own form of HIPAA about to be enacted on Nov. 4 called the Health Information Protection Act. One official estimates that budgets of up to $6 to $8 billion will be needed to "automate this country."
7:15:11 AM
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© Copyright
2004
Bill Koslosky, MD.
Last update:
11/10/2004; 7:33:24 AM.
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