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News: Newsletter 15

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February 25, 2003

In this newsletter:

  • International turnout at the Telemedicine Trade Fair's educational program
  • Using and sharing health information in the 21st century
  • Telepsychology between fiction and reality
  • Zambian Central Board of Health pursuing telemedicine development
  • HINE: focusing on ICT opportunities within a global healthcare context
  • Impressive cost gains through prevention of hospitalization and treatment adherence
  • Attend the Telemedicine Trade Fair's educational programs and exhibition and establish valuable international contacts
  • News from the Telemedicine Trade Fair's media partners
  • Newsbriefs
  • Conferences


The educational program of the Telemedicine Trade Fair will consist of a series of parallel sessions focusing on the following topics: application of broadband/high speed connections in telemedicine, economic benefits of telemedicine, international telemedicine projects-lessons learned, legal issues in telecare, presentation of national telemedicine projects, satellite communication, DICOM standard, teleconsultations, distance education and an emerging area in the field of telemedicine: telemental health (see also article on 'Telepsychology between fiction and reality' in this newsletter). The parallel sessions will feature speakers and presentations from more than 20 countries and bring you insights and valuable experiences from around the world.
A series of plenary sessions and discussions with focus on 'cost effectiveness and impact assessment', 'emerging technologies and industrial challenges' and 'impact of telemedicine in developing countries' will also be part of the program. These sessions will include contributions from international organizations and consultancies like the European Commission, International Telecommunication Union, World Health Organization, European Space Agency, Deloitte & Touche, Frost & Sullivan.
For more information, consult the program details at www.telemedicine.lu. Updates on these sessions and more information about some additional meetings and presentations that are taking place in conjunction with the Telemedicine Trade Fair will be communicated in forthcoming newsletters.


Throughout Europe and the rest of the world governments are investing millions in modern information systems that will enable health professionals to share more information about patients, manage them more efficiently, protect the public’s health and undertake research to find new treatments. But the more efficient sharing of health information also presents more risks. The more information is being shared, the more will become known – not only about people’s present health but also about their future health. If this information is inappropriately shared outside the immediate care-providing team it can affect the way people are treated by others – prejudicing their ability to get jobs, life insurance and mortgages and leading to social isolation.
On Thursday 10 April 2003, the European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL) will present a special workshop at the Telemedicine Trade Fair that will enable participants to understand the challenges involved in using and sharing health information in the 21st century. The workshop will answer issues surrounding how to manage patient information in a legally and ethically responsible way that minimises the risks of harm to patients without imposing impossible barriers to information sharing. More information is available at www.telemedicine.lu.


The rapid development of information and communication technology in the past fifteen years has had its impact on psychology and mental health therapy. The Internet offers totally new ways of communication. It bridges physical, psychological and social distances. Psychology and psychotherapy are actively trying out these new opportunities to provide care provision for patients with psychological problems or mental disorders. Apart from e-mailing among professionals, psychological usage of the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, is also increasing, such as the use of the Internet for training and education purposes, to promote decision-making or contribute to social changes or to assist mental health care by means of consultation and supervision.
Additional applications of this 'virtual reality' are being explored in a much wider area of mental health testing, evaluation, and delivery. An increasing number of people are using the Internet to seek psychological guidance, support or therapy. Mental health professionals are pioneering new services that offer expert advice and counseling. More and more websites offer what they call 'cyber-therapy' or 'e-therapy'. Surveys of on-line professional advice and counseling have shown that consumer satisfaction is high. Although it is clear that on-line psychological help has not the same value as the traditional face-to-face psychotherapy, in many cases it can be used as a successful substitute (for instance on-line and GSM connections for purposes of crisis intervention and suicide prevention, utilization of real time video connections in interactive therapeutic contact).
The practical application of telepsychology is one of the topics in the educational program of the Telemedicine Trade fair 2003, with sessions focusing on (see also www.telemedicine.lu):

  • effects of short message service (SMS) based intervention for the aftercare treatment of Bulimia Nervosa;
  • efficiency of psychotherapeutically guided internet chat group for a psychosomatic inpatient treatment;
  • IT test for detection and rehabilitation early dementia stages;
  • internet/intranet-based system (AKQUASI) specifically developed for outcome monitoring and quality management in psychotherapy.


In their 2003 Action Plan, the Information Technology Unit of the Central Board of Health (CBoH) in Zambia has budgeted for some specific IT equipment. They are looking to acquire a.o.: digital cameras, CCNP, navision support, HMIS, VPN, laptops, imaging devices. The CBoH, as implementors of the policies of the Ministry of Health, plays a critical role in the delivery of health care services in Zambia. According to Kenneth Chanda of the University of Zambia and the Zambia Africa Telehealth Chapter, the CBoH will be the driving force behind a National Telehealth System in Zambia. Chanda is convinced that the link which the CBoH plans to set up between Kaputa, a remote area in Zambia, and the Board in Lusaka, will be a starting point for telemedicine in Zambia. If you would like more information or if you provide some of the above equipment, feel free to and we will put you in touch with the CBoH.


The Deloitte & Touche Health Centre of Excellence (HCE) was founded in 1997, in the framework of developing Deloitte & Touche Management Solutions consultancy activities within the Health Sector. Deloitte & Touche HCE now offers its vast knowledge and capabilities to the sector and other players. Their services apply to the entire world of Health: healthcare providers, industry and public authorities. A key activity for Deloitte & Touche HCE in 2003 is to conduct the Health Information Network Europe (HINE). Deloitte & Touche HCE is being funded by the European Commission to set up a market information service, Health Information Network Europe (HINE). HINE is designed to provide a practical market information service that enables subscribers to focus on European ICT opportunities within a global healthcare context. This service is designed to help raise the profile of eHealth in Europe and promote an effective market in healthcare ICT - serving the interests of both users and suppliers. For more information about HINE, make sure to meet the Deloitte & Touche and HINE representatives at the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2003 and to attend their presentation on 'Understanding the eHealth Market - A Roadmap for the Future - The Market Status on Citizens-Patients, General Practitioners and Hospitals'.


Docobo, an international telemedicine company, has brought together extensive experience and expertise of a number of technologists and healthcare professionals, in order to offer a unique range of remote clinical monitoring and data collection services, based around the doc@HOME concept. Docobo has designed a low-cost and easy to use data collection unit called Docobo. The device has inbuilt ECG, cardiac output, body composition measurement and two-way communication capability. Doctors can have access to patient long-term data via the doc@HOME secure website. A medical study using doc@HOME has shown that cost gains up to 50% can be achieved through prevention of hospitalisation and by supporting proper adherence to treatment. For more information on the Docobo unit and the doc@HOME concept, meet with Docobo at the Telemedicine Trade Fair 2003!


Join exhibitors, visitors and speakers from over 40 countries worldwide at the Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair and make your plans now to travel to Luxembourg in April to participate in three days of information-packed presentations and conferences, exhibition, social events and a chance to meet and discuss with colleagues from around the world. Go to www.telemedicine.lu to register now, or follow the direct link to the 'visitor registration form' which is mentioned at the end of this newsletter. Visitor registrations have been received so far from the following countries: Albania, Algeria, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, Zambia.
Hotel reservations can still be made at special discounted rates. Make sure to book now via the Luxembourg Convention Bureau in order to take advantage of these special rates. Go to www.telemedicine.lu to submit your reservation request, or follow the direct link to the 'hotel reservation request form' which is mentioned at the end of this newsletter.


  • International Hospital Equipment and Solutions (IHE) is a Reed Elsevier publication reporting on medical technology news and solutions for the modern hospital. The journal, which is published 8 times a year, targets senior physicians and medical department heads, hospital managers, hospital IT specialists and biomedical engineers in Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific & Latin America. IHE offers a personally requested, BPA-audited circulation and is distributed at major international medical congresses and exhibitions. In 2004, IHE celebrates its 30th anniversary as a leading publication for the healthcare decision maker.
    The IHE April 2003 issue will have a special focus on Telemedicine and The Digital Hospital. If you have recently developed a new product or technology in the field of telemedicine or health information technology, or if you offer an innovative solution for the implementation of an all-digital hospital, look at www.ihe-online.com for information about submitting material for editorial consideration.
  • "Telehealth - A Key For Future Healthcare Delivery" - Strategy Review published by HBS Consulting. HBS Consulting is a leading consulting firm that works in partnership with in-house Business Development and Marketing Teams exclusively within the medical device, biotechnology, diagnostic and pharmaceutical industries. In a Strategic Report HBS is presenting a number of strategies for success that may be used by companies attempting to gain a material foothold in telehealth and that are seriously interested in benefiting from the growing use of Telehealth. Further information about HBS, including feature article and table of contents can be found at www.hbs-consulting.com/mainsite/report_tele.asp. Alternatively, to request a free Executive Summary of this Strategy Review please contact Elizabeth Jurkiewicz on +44 207 630 4444 or e-mail: .
  • Radcliffe Medical Press publish a range of titles and journals seeking to make information more understandable and accessible. The titles are written for the full range of practitioners, managers, and support staff. Its intention is to take the threat and the mystique out of information and instead to give confidence in how to find, appreciate, and use information as a key resource for those who deliver, plan, or manage healthcare. Please look on www.radcliffe-oxford.com for full list of books and journals.
  • For more information about these and other Telemedicine Trade Fair media partners, check out www.telemedicine.lu. Information about the media partners will also be available during the Telemedicine & Telecare International Trade Fair in the trade fair's media corner.


- Study reports on use of "touch screen" health kiosks, the British Medical Journal reports --- click here for full article.
- The Many Faces of PACS Implementation --- click here for full story (by Frost & Sullivan).
- Spanish tilt at a regional PACS, PACSweb (an information partnership between AGFA and DIAGNOSTICIMAGING.com) reports --- click here for full article.
- Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking Study of American Hospital Association now available, Virtual Medical Worlds Monthly reports --- click here for full article.
- Text messages prove a life-saver, BBC News reports --- click here for full article.
- Telephone heart sensor under test, BBC News reports --- click here for full article.
- Preliminary research by the Dutch Electronic-Highway Platform (EPN) indicates that homecare in The Netherlands uses very few innovative applications such as telecare, videoconferencing and telemonitoring, compared to some other countries (such as Germany, Denmark, UK, Norway, Sweden, USA and Canada) where these forms of telemedicine are being used on a large scale by homecare nurses. The research states that nursing agencies as well as patients in these countries are very satisfied with telecare applications because they create a larger care capacity and at the same time increase the quality of care --- click here for more information (in Dutch).
- Telemedicine reaches over 200 Alaska locations, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reports --- click here for full article.
- The Army is using Telepathology to Help with the Shortage of Pathologists, Federal Telemedicine Update reports --- click here for full article.


- The Association of Telehealth Service Providers (ATSP) is holding another audio teleconference: Solutions in Home Telehealth. The conference will include presentations on "Home Telehealth Technologies and Applications Overview", "Predicting Costs and Calculating Return on Investment (ROI) in Home Telehealth" and "Real World Experiences and Solutions Forum". ATSP Solutions in Home Telehealth will be held on March 5, 2003. More information including the program and online registration forms can be found at www.telehealthconference.org.
- During a national conference on Telemedicine held in Lucknow, India in April 2001, the idea of forming a national scientific body dedicated to the science and art of telemedicine was generated and led to the formation of the Telemedicine Society of India.
The First Annual Conference of the Telemedicine Society of India (www.sgpgihealthinfo.org) was held in Lucknow in November 2002. This conference received the patronage of Department of Information Technology, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Department of Space and Indian Space Research Organisation, National Informatics Centre and Centre of Development of Advanced Computing, Centre for Electronics Design & Technology of India, the Government of India. Besides several other major events, two integrated telemedicine software systems ("Mercury" by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing and "Sanjeevani" by Centre for Electronics Design & Technology of India) were released by Shri S. Lakshminarayanan, Additional Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Govt. of India, during the conference. The conference furthermore focused on patient records, hospital information systems, PACS, telepathology, teleradiology, telecardiology, distance medical education and mobile healthcare delivery. A draft of the guidelines and standards for telemedicine in India were also discussed. The Second Annual Conference of Telemedicine Society of India will be held in Bangalore (South of India) or Chandigarh (North of India). The venue will be finalized in the following meeting of the Society’s Core Group.

 
 

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