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News: Newsletter 23

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February 4, 2004

In this newsletter:

  • Details of Med-e-Tel conference programs announced
  • Practical insights and valuable ehealth and telemedicine experiences from around the world
  • Tracking eHealth evolution in Europe
  • Du dossier patient électronique au portail santé: quelles sont les conditions de succès? (From electronic patient record to health portal: what are the conditions for success?)
  • Telemedicine included in the agenda of the World Summit on the Information Society
  • WHO creates global health and technology nretwork
  • New home for ISfT website
  • DERMA: an automatic system for the quantitative analysis of dermatological lesions
  • Aerotel transtelephonic monitoring systems
  • News from the Med-e-Tel media partners
  • Newsbriefs
  • Conferences


Information about the Med-e-Tel educational sessions has been announced. A program of plenary sessions will feature contributions on European ehealth evolution and market potential/opportunities, telemedicine applications in blood pressure and hypertension management, and picture archiving and communications systems. A varied and international program of parallel sessions will feature a wide range of practical presentations based on recent experiences and projects (refer to the next article in this newsletter). Also several additional meetings and conferences are scheduled in conjunction with Med-e-Tel and will cover ehealth standardization, electronic patient records, medical mobile technology, wearable health systems, telemedicine in developing countries and a session specifically on telemedicine needs and developments in Africa. Details are available at www.medetel.lu.
The Med-e-Tel exhibition will offer opportunities to see and evaluate various ehealth and telemedicine products and services and to network and establish valuable contacts with manufacturers, suppliers, association representatives and project coordinators.
Whether you are in business, whether you are working in a hospital, whether you provide homecare services, whether you are an insurer, whether you are a policy maker, whether you provide technical advice or consultation for the use and implementation of telemedicine and ehealth related installations, you will find new products, new ideas and new contacts by attending Med-e-Tel. Getting away from your day-to-day activities for just one day, or two, or three, and opening your mind to new possibilities and opportunities, or listening to experiences from others, often can make a big difference in the future development of your business or activities!
So register yourself and your colleagues for Med-e-Tel today! For a minimal registration fee you will have access to the exhibition for 3 days, to the Med-e-Tel educational sessions and to the event's social gatherings.
Special hotel rates have been negotiated for your stay in Luxembourg during Med-e-Tel. Check out the hotel information on the Med-e-Tel website and submit your reservation form! Several hotels have already reported that they are fully booked. Several others are nearing full capacity. So make sure to book your hotel room fast!


The Med-e-Tel conference parallel sessions will offer a broad view on current applications, technology, products and projects in the field of ehealth. These sessions, scheduled during the three days of the event, bring together research scientists, manufacturers and suppliers of ehealth equipment and services from 25 countries around the world. Presentations will discuss practical applications based on concrete experiences and lessons learned, ehealth strategies and their economic efficiency, advantages and disadvantages of distance education, home monitoring and homecare applications, electronic health cards and electronic medical records, and ehealth applications in various medical disciplines. Two of those are telecardiology and various aspects of telemental health. The cardiology sessions will focus a.o. on mobile and wireless applications, viability studies, cost reductions, and patient compliance. The telemental health sessions will feature experts from the fields of psychiatry and psychology and will discuss the possibilities and limitations of telemental health. What services are ideally suited to remote care? How to bring mental health services to the patient? What kind of assistive technologies, i.e. hardware and software solutions, are most suitable for people with physical and cognitive disabilities. How to apply them from a distance and what is the practical outcome?
Details of the parallel sessions can now be found at www.medetel.lu.


Healthcare markets worldwide are experiencing radical change as the industry begins to take on board the full implications of how ehealth can help improve both quality and productivity of service delivery. Health Information Network Europe (HINE) offers unique one stop access to key strategic information for European ehealth markets.
HINE will facilitate a wide-ranging plenary session at the Med-e-Tel Trade Fair in Luxembourg on 21 April 2004. This session brings together important strategic market information from different stakeholder sources to provide a comprehensive view of current status in European ehealth markets. The concluding item on the agenda is an industry panel discussion during which a selection of critical ehealth issues will be presented for debate and comment. Don’t miss this opportunity for an informed update and discussion covering:
- Market Potential (Current European trends and market opportunities in eHealth)
- Realising Benefits (Potential for IT products and services to enable clinical change)
- Call to Action (Role for government and public authorities in promoting change)
- Way Forward (How industry can contribute to successful eHealth evolution)
For more about Health Information Network Europe (HINE), and details of the Med-e-Tel event, visit www.hineurope.com and www.medetel.lu.
Forthcoming Med-e-Tel newsletters will feature a series of preview articles from HINE on "Justifying higher levels of Healthcare IT investment", "Responding to demographic and consumer pressures", "Predicting major market changes in healthcare IT".


Les hôpitaux du Grand-Duché du Luxembourg comme beaucoup d'hôpitaux aujourd'hui en Europe veulent informatiser en profondeur leurs dossiers patients. Ce projet soulève de nombreuses questions: quelles sont les conditions de succès, par quoi faut-il commencer, faut-il sous-traiter, comment sélectionner le software, quelle démarche entreprendre au sein de l'hôpital? L'objectif d'un séminaire intitulé "Du dossier patient éléctronique au portail santé: quelles sont les conditions de succès?", qui sera organisé le 22 avril 2004 par le CRP-Santé pendant le salon Med-e-Tel, sera d'apporter une réponse concrète et pragmatique sur base d'expériences vécues à toutes ces questions avec l'ensemble des acteurs du système: les responsables hospitaliers, les représentants des pouvoirs public mais aussi les industriels actifs dans le secteur. Les orateurs répondront à des questions précises sur les expériences en cours. Conçu de manière interactive ce séminaire permettra à l'ensemble des participants d'exprimer ses interrogations et de participer à la réflexion. Ce séminaire se clôturera par la présentation du nouveau portail santé luxembourgeois.
The hospitals of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, like many European hospitals today, are in the process of informatizing their patient record systems. Such a project raises numerous questions: what are the conditions for success, where to begin, subcontract or not, how to select the appropriate software, what steps should be taken within the hospital departments? The goal of a special seminar entitled "From electronic patient record to health portal: what are the conditions for success?" that will be organized by the Luxembourg CRP-Santé during the Med-e-Tel event on 22 April 2004 will be to provide concrete and pragmatic answers to these questions, based on past experiences from all actors involved: hospital administrators, government representatives and also industry representatives who are active in this field. Speakers will answers specific questions based on current experiences and projects. This interactive seminar will allow all participants to express their questions, concerns, thoughts and ideas. The seminar will be concluded with the presentation of a new Luxembourg health portal. This regional seminar will be held exclusively in French.


The World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva, December 2003 and Tunis, November 2005) is organised by the International Telecommunication Union with the support of the United Nations organizations. In preparation of the Summit, the application of ICT technology in healthcare was already considered as one of the most important. And this assessment clearly came forward during the Summit itself as well. Dr. Timothy Evans, Assistant Director General, WHO stated: "The World Health Organization sees the rapid progress in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as offering unprecedented opportunities to transform the exchange and delivery of health information, education and services around the world. These opportunities must be seized and built upon, to translate their great potential into real benefits." He also added that "for ICT truly to benefit health, we need policies and pricing models that facilitate the expansion of ICT to the health sector. We need to create partnerships in developing infrastructure and policies which will support health information network - linking national health ministries, collaborating institutions, research laboratories, practitioners and others around the world."
Today the WHO has recognized the benefit of telemedicine applications and WHO is working with governments to help create frameworks for integrating ICT into the health care environment. There are already plenty of different ehealth/telemedicine projects implemented world wide. It is the right time to evaluate the results achieved and to prepare the policy and implementation guidelines based on lessons learned. The ITU and WHO are working closely together preparing such document.
There is no doubt that the World Summit will speed up the application of ehealth solutions and services in many countries. The demand is growing and the compatibility of telemedicine or medical information systems is becoming one of the main priorities. It is important to ensure that these systems can operate across different telecommunication networks, that systems can interact, and that what is developed for use in one scenario can be transported to another. Vertical systems, built to satisfy narrow interests, impede real progress toward a coordinated, integrated health information infrastructure. Investment in research and development in ICT for health should be a priority.
Several meetings and presentations on the subject of compatibility, interconnectivity and standardization in ehealth are scheduled to take place during Med-e-Tel 2004 in Luxembourg. More information is available at www.medetel.lu.


The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with Cisco Systems Inc., The Geneva Foundation for Diseases of the Tropics, The Kuwait Fund, The International Telecommunication Union, and The Arab Fund, has launched a global health and technology network. The project, called "Health Academy", is a novel approach to improve health through information technology. John Morgridge, Chairman of the Board, Cisco Systems, said: "Cisco is proud to collaborate with the World Health Organization in this pioneering effort to extend health education to the world, in building stronger, healthier and more productive global communities".
WHO's vision for the Health Academy is one of a health information network based on proven technological expertise with the far-reaching goal of touching people wherever they may be. In an age where information travels at its fastest ever, but where many remain victims of ill-health and disease, spreading awareness and educating communities and individuals on life-sustaining approaches to health is of the utmost priority. Such a health information network can have far-reaching effects into the future by reorganizing the very dynamic between health and the public through the effective use of such advanced technology.
The pilot implementation is underway in two countries (Egypt and Jordan). The e-learning technology used by the Health Academy is much more complicated than the simple distance learning. Once the Health Academy is established in a country, the equipment could be used for other ehealth activities in addition to medical education. It would be a hub for an ehealth network within a country connecting hospitals and other medical institutions together for consultations, second opinion, and other ehealth applications.


The International Society for Telemedicine (ISfT) has a new website at www.isft.net. After its re-start in September 2003, ISfT, under the presidency of Prof. Dr. Michael Nerlich, has been actively working on the development of the new site which has been launched in January 2004 and contains a discussion forum, information about past ISfT conferences, membership application details, conference calender, and more. The site will be updated with more news and information in the coming weeks. For more details about becoming an ISfT member, make sure to meet with ISfT representatives and national member associations at the Med-e-Tel conference and exhibition in Luxembourg (April 21-23, 2004), or already submit your application form at www.isft.net or send an e-mail to .
At a recent ISfT board meeting in Copenhagen, the Society also decided to join forces with ITU and Med-e-Tel in the publication of the "Telemedicine & eHealth Directory 2004". This Directory will feature a listing of companies and organizations offering telemedicine and ehealth related products, services, projects and media. The Directory will be officially presented and distributed at Med-e-Tel 2004 and will also be distributed by ITU among their worldwide list of contacts, through their regional offices and at various ITU meetings and events, and also by ISfT among their members and at their annual conference. The Directory will also be available for consultation on the Internet at the websites of Med-e-Tel (www.medetel.lu), ITU (www.itu.int) and ISfT (www.isft.net). For more information about the Directory and obtaining a listing in it, contact [email protected].


The aim of the DERMA projects is to develop an extremely efficient system for monitoring skin lesions and wounds.
In the actual clinical setting, measurement and monitoring of skin wounds and lesions is performed by clinicians relying on common sense and experience, using no special tools or equipment. DERMA has been specially designed to significantly improve evaluation of skin lesions. A 3D scanner, with a 640x480 image acquired by a rotary filter, a lighting system (2x23W 4000°K energy saving lamps) and sophisticated data processing techniques are used in order to offer a complete wound monitoring system capable of accurate, truly objective and repeatable analysis. DERMA makes it possible to obtain the geometric and chromatic characteristics of the wound, and, thanks to state-of-the-art data processing software, calculate the numerical values of various parameters required to describe the wound.
With their participation at Med-e-Tel in Luxembourg in April 2004, the DERMA project partners are specifically looking for new partners who can assist in the further commercialisation of the tool.


Aerotel Medical Systems, a leader in the field of telemedicine and ehealth management systems will be showing its HeartLine and MPM product range at Med-e-Tel 2004 in Luxembourg. HeartLine is a transtelephonic EKG transmission system for remote cardiac monitoring. By the use of a miniature HeartLine monitor, the patient’s EKG is acoustically transmitted over the telephone lines from any location to a computerized receiving center where diagnostics and additional medical services can be provided. The MPM is a transtelephonic automatic Medical Parameter Monitoring system that is capable of automatically acquiring medical data sent digitally, over the telephone lines by use of the Aerotel Tele-CliniQ device. Blood pressure measuring device, electronic high precision scale, glucometer, peak flow meter, pulse oximeter and ECG are amongst the devices that can be connected to the Tele-CliniQ data communicator. Aerotel is now also offering MPM-Net: a web-based secured application, accessible by physicians and patients, for the improvement of healthcare and disease management.
Aerotel will also present results at Med-e-Tel of studies that show the importance of telemedicine in reducing the time to hospitalization, ER triage, cost reduction and improving quality of life.
As part of its strategy, Aerotel is currently seeking to add new distributors to its marketing and sales force worldwide. Ad hoc and long term joint venture proposals are also welcome. Contact Roberto Schliesser, VP Business Development () to set up an appointment during Med-e-Tel.


For information on publications, journals, magazines and on-line information services that will help you to stay abreast of what is going on in the field of ehealth and to make better informed decisions in your daily business or healthcare practice, check out the list of Media Partners on www.medetel.lu. To follow is a review of just some of the publications that will be featured at the Med-e-Tel Media Corner during Med-e-Tel 2004 (April 21-23, 2004):

  • Clinica Reports provide the highest standard of focused business intelligence in the global medical device and diagnostics industries covering diagnostic technologies, regulatory affairs, market analysis, medical device and strategic management issues. Clinica's report The Future of IT in Healthcare provides a strategic insight into today's market and evaluates the current situation by looking at how systems will develop and forecasts growth by 2007. Key issues addressed are: political & health related drivers for adoption of integrated healthcare, demand for evidence based medicine and better disease management, rise in interest of Electronic Patient Records (EPR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR), technical standards and protocols for integration, increasingly integration of primary and secondary care health and need for multi-centre access to data, current and future corporate landscape (role and influence of major medical companies, such as Siemens, Philips and GE, and specialist IT companies). For more information, visit www.clinicareports.com.
  • TIS (the UK Telemedicine Information Service) has become TEIS, the Telemedicine and E-health Information Service. TEIS is a database of activities, companies and other information about the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to deliver health care to patients at a distance. Through it, clinicians and administrators who are thinking of setting up their own telemedicine or ehealth project can find out about other practitioners who may have already done similar things. The database is accessible on the Internet at either www.teis.port.ac.uk or www.teis.nhs.uk. TEIS covers applications that use information and communication technology to deliver health and/or social care in new ways on a person to person basis where those people are physically apart. The database holds over 2000 entries and is fully searchable. It is updated regularly by a team who monitor the professional press and attend telemedicine events. The service is provided by the Healthcare Computing Group at the University of Portsmouth and is sponsored by the NHS Information Authority.
  • The latest strategic publication from HBS Consulting (www.hbs-consulting.com), entitled Smart Cards - Current Trends, Developments and Future Prospects in the Healthcare Industry, reveals not only the wealth of opportunities in the healthcare market for smart cards, but goes on to identify the size and nature of the available market. It reveals that more than two thirds of the schemes planned for Europe in the next five years do not yet have defined suppliers - and highlights which. The report will be of startegic value to both companies who wish to participate in the market and organisations, such as health authorities and government departments, who require an up-to-date analysis of the current situation.


To follow are links to some interesting and recently published articles and studies (if you know of any articles of notice, feel free to send details to and we will include a link in a next newsletter):
- Telemedicine provides regional access to specialist Plastic and Burns Unit (South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust)
- Vendors Scramble to Meet Mobile Demand (Mobile Health Data)
- U.K. e-health groups ally to present coherent message (Diagnostic Imaging)
- Enhanced communication capabilities drive worldwide demand for networked ECG monitoring systems (Virtual Medical World)
- Technology Integrations for Medical Applications implements telemedicine platform to link doctors and hospitals worldwide (Virtual Medical Worlds)
- Otelo project members demonstrate robotic tele-echography between Tours, Barcelona and Nicosia (Virtual Medical World)
- Physicians Group Pushes Electronic Records (Health Data Management)
- Telepathology and Medical Billing Cross International Borders (ATSP)
- An E-Movement Toward Continuity of Care (Advance for Health Information Executives)
- French Ambulance Data Goes Mobile (Mobile Health Data)
- HHS Asks HL7, Others to Focus on EHR Core Functions (Health-IT World)
- Emerging Technologies (Healthcare Informatics)
- Patient Acceptance and the Psychological Effects of Women Experiencing Telecolposcopy and Colposcopy (Journal of the American Board of Family Practice)
- Wireless networks free up radiology departments, within limits (Diagnostic Imaging)
- When Disaster Strikes EMRs Keep Practices Afloat (Advance for Health Information Executives
- Mobile Technology Saves Lives and Resources in the Emergency Ward (IT Sweden)
- Government Initiatives Key to Promoting PACS Solutions in Europe - European PACS Market Review (Frost & Sullivan)
- Professional Services to Ease Transition to PACS - European PACS Professional Services Market (Frost & Sullivan)
- New device gathers disparate image files under one umbrella (Diagnostic Imaging)
- VA initiates big expansion of its EMR (Diagnostic Imaging)
- AHIMAs electronic record standards (American Hospital Association News)


- The European Commission under the Information Society Technology (IST) programme is supporting the eChallenges e-2004 Conference, which will take place in Vienna, Austria from 26 to 29 October 2004. The event is the fourteenth in a series which showcases the best of European IST research results, whether funded privately, nationally, regionally or at European level. eChallenges, brings together practitioners, researchers and government officials from around the world to share experiences and increase awareness of exploitable research results and applications. e-2004 will provide a forum to showcase the achievements of FP5, eEurope 2005 and Regional, National and International ICT related initiatives, and look forward to the future by focusing on the thematic priorities of FP6. The 'European Research Area' (ERA) and research priorities and trends for the future will also be discussed. The core thematic priorities for e-2004 are: eBusiness Future forms of organisations, Technology and Applications eGovernment Services to Citizens and Business, Organisational Transformation, eWork New Working Environments, eEurope 2005 and ICT take-up by SMEs and International Collaboration on IST. For more information on the event, visit the event portal at www.echallenges.org.
- ATSP's Telehealth 2004 conference will take place on September 30 & October 1, 2004 at the Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon, USA. The theme of this year's ATSP conference is "The Ultimate Network". The meeting will bring together the pioneers who are re-inventing telehealth for our networked world. More info available at www.telehealthconference.org. - A next ATSP TeleUpdate on "Corrections Telehealth" is slated for February 26, 2004. Telehealth offers unique solutions to corrections facilities; it also brings up unique problems. HIV, an aging inmate population, increasing demand for mental health services and the high cost of transporting inmates to external medical facilities all make telehealth a viable option for many correctional institutions. Operating a successful corrections telehealth program requires an understanding of how and where telehealth can best be used to provide medical services in this unique environment. More information at www.telehealthconference.org. - An International Telehealth Conference under the title Innovation and Evaluation will be held on March 4-5, 2004 in Anchorage, Alaska, USA, bringing together persons interested and involved in designing, using and evaluating telehealth systems in rural and remote settings across the United States and the Arctic. This conference will run in conjunction with the Alaska Rural Health Conference. For more information, visit www.ruralhealthconference.com.

 
 

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