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News: Newsletter 30

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January 13, 2005

In this newsletter:

  • Admire-P and SITE: Meet Russian researchers at Med-e-Tel 2005
  • Trans-national interoperability in ehealth: Facing the challenges and overcoming the barriers
  • Don't miss the Med-e-Tel 2005 early-bird registration deadline
  • Register for a listing in the Telemedicine & eHealth Directory 2005
  • Open access teleconsultation in dermatology
  • News from ISfT
  • Med-e-Tel Matchmaker
  • News from the Med-e-Tel media partners
  • Newsbriefs
  • Conferences


Russia's research excellence in the field of telemedicine, ehealth and related issues is recognized all over the world. If you are looking for partners to develop IST-proposals in these fields, visit the exhibition stand of Admire-P and SITE at the Med-e-Tel conference: Admire-P and Site promote co-operation between Europe and Russia, in particular within the IST-programme. The two projects bring a delegation of Russian researchers to Med-e-Tel. You can meet them at the exhibition stand where you can also learn more about the various services offered by Admire-P and SITE for setting up collaboration with Russia:
- Have a look at the catalogue with project ideas of Russian researchers active in the field of eHealth and take advantage of the partnering opportunities linked to it.
- Visit the online databases with nearly 400 classified and updated profiles of Russian researchers active in the different priorities of the IST-programme.
- Meet the Russian researchers at the exhibition stand and discuss with them about future project ideas.
- Inform yourself about the various support services offered by the helpdesk for overcoming cultural problems of collaboration.
If you are attending the conference, Admire-P and SITE can arrange a meeting with a Russian researcher or put you in contact with a Russian researcher of your choice from the catalogue or from the online database. Real and virtual brokerage activities will support partnering at the exhibition stand throughout the Med-e-Tel event.
Finally, enjoy caviar, folk and classical music and have fun at the exhibition stand!
For more information, please visit www.singleimage.co.uk/admire-p or contact .


The TM Alliance, a cooperation between the European Commission (EC), World Health Organization (WHO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and European Space Agency (ESA), is organising a session at Med-e-Tel 2005 on the subject of trans-national interoperability in ehealth. Key experts will present the results of a special workshop being organised by the Alliance in the context of the TMA-Bridge project, supported by the EC (6th Framework programme). The session will present a coherent picture of interoperability in ehealth, with examples across the various types of services, and analyses of the challenges and roadblocks to ehealth implementation, identifying the gaps, and concretely recommending the way ahead. The approach will be holistic, viewing the problems of technical interoperability along the different frameworks, such as, organisational, cultural and policy. Our approach will be trans-national because our aim is that the various systems now being developed in the different countries and regions can communicate with each other; so that the solutions offered will also have a broad trans-national market for applications; that the European citizen, patient, health practitioner may receive and provide services across national borders. The presentations will link the broad topics such as technical standards and semantics with certification, accreditation, organisation, reimbursement and even cultural differences: the underlying philosophy is that unless the problems are viewed holistically and the approaches coordinated openly and trans-nationally, there will be little progress in this exciting and challenging arena. The session will culminate with a panel discussion. More information about the session will be available shortly at www.medetel.lu. More details about the TM Alliance and TMA-Bridge project are available at www.esa.int.


Med-e-Tel, the international trade gathering and conference for ehealth, telemedicine and health ICT, with participants from more than 45 countries, is the perfect place to meet with suppliers of ehealth/telemedicine equipment and services, ask questions about the implementation of ehealth/telemedicine applications in your organization, spot future trends, attend high profile conferences and presentations, and make valuable contacts with colleagues from around the world.
Register before 25 February 2005 here and take advantage of the early-bird fee. Registration includes access to the exhibition, conference programs and social events during the 3 days of the event.
Exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities are also still available from as little as €1000, including free pre-show marketing possibilities and a presentation slot in the Med-e-Tel conference program. E-mail us at to obtain more information and to secure your participation.


he International Telecommunication Union (ITU), World Health Organization (WHO), International Society for Telemedicine (ISfT) and Med-e-Tel are preparing the third edition of the Telemedicine & eHealth Directory (2005) which will incorporate an updated list of ehealth and telemedicine vendors, service providers, organizations, media and projects.
A listing in the Telemedicine & eHealth Directory offers great opportunities for worldwide publicity among people who are looking for ehealth and telemedicine products, technologies and services.
The 2005 directory will officially be presented and distributed at the Med-e-Tel 2005 exhibition and conference in Luxembourg (April 6-8, 2005) and will also be distributed by ITU and WHO among their worldwide list of contacts, through their regional offices and at various ITU and WHO meetings and events, as well as by the ISfT among their members and at their annual conference. The directory will also be available for consultation on the internet.
The fee for listing in the directory for for-profit companies is €250. This includes a one page listing with contact information, company information and products/services information (company/organization logo and/or product photograph may also be included).
The listing in the directory is free of charge for non-profit organizations and projects.
To obtain your listing in the directory, please fill out and return the listing and registration form before February 10, 2005. Forms can be downloaded here or send an e-mail to to request the forms.
Don't miss the opportunity to be listed in this important information resource on ehealth, telemedicine and health ICT products and service providers!


In May 2002 the Department of Dermatology of the Medical University of Graz (Austria) created a started up an online community in dermatology called telederm.org with the aim to create a user-friendly web application, whereby physicians create by themselves user-generated content and in addition seek a second opinion for a given dermatologic case. The vision was and still is to promote open access teleconsultation in dermatology using the multi-hub facilities of the internet. Until today there are still no other similar experiences in teledermatology.
Users of telederm.org share challenging and unusual cases by submitting .jpg image files to the online community. Users are mainly dermatologists who use the internet for discussing dermatologic cases, as well as some general practitioners, pathologists, pediatrics and gynecologists. Today more than 400 physicians from 45 countries are subscribed to telederm.org. The service not only offers opportunities to physicians for teleconsultation and second opinion, but also to students for studying clinical cases in dermatology and thus act as a distance education medium.
A full interview by Bob Pyke with Dr. Cesare Massone, telederm.org moderator, is available from the Online Journal of Nursing Informatics.


In this section of the Med-e-Tel newsletter, we report news from the ISfT (International Society for Telemedicine), supporting partner of the Med-e-Tel event.
- In the aftermath of the tsunami disaster in South-East Asia, ISfT has been asked to become active as an international telemedicine specialist group. There is a proposal from Riga, Latvia, to set up a teleconsultation network including clinical telemedicine capacities in Regensburg (Germany), in Riga (Latvia), in Moscow (Russia) and other specialist sites. The plan is to set up a videoconferencing unit in Colombo, Sri Lanka and to start offering teleconsultations. There is obviously a great need for such services. Prof. Dr. Michael Nerlich, Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Regensburg and ISfT President is sending some of his technical specialists to Colombo to set up this tele-bridge by ISDN and LAN networks.
- ISfT Board Members together with the WHO ehealth team are also coordinating specific telemedicine actions and support for the affected areas in the form of telemedicine links via e-mail and other initiatives.
- ISfT will participate at the ASEM conference in London (21-22 February 2005).
- Another opportunity to meet ISfT representatives and members will be at Med-e-Tel (6-8 April 2005) in Luxembourg where also an ISfT board meeting will take place.
- The 10th ISfT International Conference will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 23-26 October 2005 in conjunction with the meeting of the Conselho Brasileiro de Telemedicina e Telesaude (www.cbtms.com.br/isft).
- For more information or to contact ISfT, see www.isft.net or send an e-mail to .


The Med-e-Tel matchmaker aims to facilitate contacts and links between various telemedicine and ehealth professionals and providers around the world. Below is a list of requests (some of which were also already published in previous newsletters). To obtain more details or to provide your services, contact us at and we will put you in touch with the source of these requests. If you would like to submit a request of your own, and we will publish it in a next newsletter.
- Mauritius: developers of a national health information system looking for partners and equipment to link up hospitals/university, transmit clinical data based on radiology works and remote general practice works. Patient management software may be needed as well.
- USA: Developers of a new course in telemedicine as part of BSc degree in Biomedical Engeineering Technology are looking for assistance in determining course content.
- Malta: Paediatric Gastroenterologist looking to establish a videoconference-based virtual outreach clinic in Malta (with links to other countries) in the field of parental nutrition and other medical disciplines.
- Rwanda: Non-profit organization setting up a health ICT project to bridge the gap between local Rwandese medical staff and those from the developed world, is looking for contacts with "telemedicine" vendors and service providers.
- Russia: Russian government agency looking to establish cooperation with telemedicine companies and hospitals to setup videoconsultations (mainly for heart related problems) and interactive tele-education.


For information on publications, journals, magazines, reports 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 2005 (April 6-8, 2005):
 
- Informatics in Primary Care aims to provide information, help and guidance to all those concerned with information technology and information management in primary care, both nationally and internationally. Informatics is a new and exciting discipline, cutting across medicine, nursing, computing, technology, communications, education, statistics, psychology and sociology, but its primary purpose is the application of information and communications technology to support health care. The journal seeks high-quality material for both researchers and practitioners in the field of primary care informatics, ranging from scientific research papers, through editorials and case studies, to websites, useful tools, reviews and conferences. For more information on the journal, visit www.radcliffe-oxford.com.
 
- The Royal Society of Medicine Press is providing information in the Med-e-Tel Media Corner about the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, which is widely regarded as the leading journal in the field. Due to the continuing success of the journal, from 2005, the Journal will be published 8 times per year instead of 6, adding a new, US based co-editor, Liz Krupinski of Tucson University, and adding in several new content sections. To browse the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare table of contents back to 1996 or to download a free sample issue, go to www.rsmpress.co.uk/jtt.htm.
 
- The Telemedicine Journal and e-Health is a peer-reviewed journal covering all aspects of clinical telemedicine practice, technical advances, enabling technologies, education, health policy and regulation and biomedical and health services research dealing with clinical effectiveness, efficacy and safety of telemedicine and its effects on quality, cost and accessibility of care. Telemedicine Journal and e-Health is the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association. For more information and to view a free sample issue online, go to www.liebertpub.com/tmj.
 
- A new book, Wearable eHealth Systems for Personalised Health Management, is available from IOS Press. This book consists of papers describing developments and trends all over the world in the areas of smart wearable monitoring and diagnostic systems, smart treatment systems, biomedical clothing and smart fibres and fabrics. It covers also non-research aspects such as citizens and patients needs, interoperability, risk management and market perspectives. The participation of the major actors involved in research, development, decision making and business should make this book unique and pioneer in the field. The book, together with other IOS Press publications and also the Technology and Health Care journal will be presented in the Med-e-Tel Media Corner next April.
 
- A new report by Touch Briefings on US Healthcare Strategies is due out in May 2005. The report will bring together leading industry practitioners and prominent scientists to provide a valuable insight into provider IT strategy priorities, attitudes to outsourcing, and purchasing influences, and will reveal the influence innovative technologies are having in healthcare. The report will document and recommend strategies for overcoming barriers to the successful integration of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into the delivery of healthcare.


To follow are links to some interesting and recently published articles and studies (if you would like to suggest an article for inclusion into a following newsletter, feel free to send details to ):

  • Telecardiology to Overtake Teleradiology as the Main Telemedicine Application In European Hospitals According to New Report (ATSP)
  • Bringing Images into the OR (Health Imaging & IT)
  • The Future of the EHR is Now (Health Imaging & IT)
  • New Study Shows Wounds Can Be Successfully Monitored Remotely (ATSP)
  • A simple telemedicine system to provide second-opinion advice to the patients of an Albanian diagnostic centre (Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare)
  • X-rays sent off to Spain (Telegraph)
  • Prospective case review of a global e-health system for doctors in developing countries (Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare)
  • Network investment aids European telehealth projects (Diagnostic Imaging)
  • PACS Implementation in a Small Hospital (Health Imaging & IT)
  • Telemedicine and distance learning after the tsunami (The Space Review)
  • Policy, Regulatory Mandates and Legislation to Play a Critical Role in Ensuring Standardisation across European Healthcare IT Industry (Frost & Sullivan)
  • Do You Have an Appointment? Automated systems ease the load for patient schedulers, and that's just the beginning (Healthcare Informatics)
  • An information system and medical record to support HIV treatment in rural Haiti (British Medical Journal)


- ASEM (Asia-Europe) is a multi lateral forum for action-orientated debate between the EU member states and Asia Partners. The 4th ASEM Conference on eCommerce will be held in London 21-22 February 2005. The conference will be opened by Mike O'Brien, the UK minister of State for Energy and eCommerce. An important aspect of this trade facilitation is to identify ways of increasing the use of online technologies in business. Expert speakers will be invited from business, government and academia in Asia and Europe. There will be sponsored lunches, dinners and receptions during the 2 day programme, and an exhibition space. Seminar themes for the conference are: Paperless Trading - importance of international standards and electronic documents in facilitating trade; Tackling Spam - emerging responses to an increasingly criminal threat to the global information society; eLogistics - global radio frequency identification (RFID) technology standards, applications and elect! ronic tagging solutions; eLearning - addressing the digital divide, market developments and opportunities for cooperation; eHealth - national programmes, global applications and evolving technologies. For further information, plase visit www.asemec-london.org.
- eChallenges e-2005, taking place on 19-21 October 2005 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, is the fifteenth in a series of Annual Conferences supported by the European Commission. Focusing on eBusiness, eGovernment and eDemocracy, eWork, eEurope beyond 2005 and ICT take-up by SMEs and International Co-operation on IST, the goal of e-2005 is to stimulate takeup of Research & Technology Development (RTD) results by industry, in particular SMEs, and the European public sector. e-2005 will provide a forum to showcase the achievements of FP5 and FP6, eEurope 2005 and Regional, National and International ICT related initiatives, and look forward to the future by focusing on the thematic priorities of FP6 and FP7. The European Research Area (ERA), eServices and research priorities and trends for the future will also be discussed. The programme will combine strategic keynote presentations, technical, legal and policy papers, business case studies, workshops, an exhibition and social activities. For further information and to download the Call for Papers, visit the conference portal at www.eChallenges.org.

 
 

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