Quote Of The Year

Timeless Quotes - Sadly The Late Paul Shetler - "Its not Your Health Record it's a Government Record Of Your Health Information"

or

H. L. Mencken - "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Useful and Interesting Health IT Links from the Last Week – 06/05/2007

Again, in the last week I have come across a few reports and news items which are worth passing on. These include first:

The Informatics Review : May 1, 2007 : Vol.10 No.9

http://www.informatics-review.com/index.html

Ten Simple Rules for a Successful Collaboration

Given that collaboration is crucial, how do you go about picking the right collaborators, and how can you best make the collaboration work? Here are ten simple rules based on our experience that we hope will help. Above all, keep in mind that these rules are for both you and your collaborators. Always remember to treat your collaborators as you would want to be treated yourself—empathy is key.

Ten Simple Rules for Reviewers

There is no magic formula for what constitutes a good or a bad paper—the majority of papers fall in between—so what do you look for as a reviewer? We would suggest, above all else, you are looking for what the journal you are reviewing for prides itself on.

Ten Simple Rules for Getting Grants

At the present time, US funding is frequently below 10% for a given grant program. Today, more than ever, we need all the help we can get in writing successful grant proposals. We hope you find these rules useful in reaching your research career goals.

Ten Simple Rules for Making Good Oral Presentations

Clear and logical delivery of your ideas and scientific results is an important component of a successful scientific career. Presentations encourage broader dissemination of your work and highlight work that may not receive attention in written form.

Ten Simple Rules for Getting Published

When you are long gone, your scientific legacy is, in large part, the literature you left behind and the impact it represents. I hope these ten simple rules can help you leave behind something future generations of scientists will admire.

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This is a useful collection of tips for those in the academic community who need to develop and maintain an academic profile. Useful for all those hoping to establish them in Health IT Academia!

Second we have:

http://healthdatamanagement.com

EHR Pioneers Try to Stay Out Front

Latest projects include adding decision support, improving connectivity and developing PHRs.

By Howard J. Anderson, Executive Editor

Like the pioneers who headed West, blazing trails for millions of others to follow, a handful of hospitals and clinics in the final decades of the 20th century were electronic health records pioneers. They took the risk of automating clinical information at a time when many organizations were just taking the first steps toward automating financial records.

Many of these same trailblazers are leading the way toward a new generation of clinical automation decades after they began their original quests. And their efforts continue to yield many important lessons for others following in their paths.

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This is a useful set of suggestions as to where the second generation of EHR’s is heading. A long but worthwhile article. In the same May issue there is also quite a useful discussion on the unexpected security risks associated with embedded software in hospital equipment such as dispensing machines.

Third we have:

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070502/FREE/70502003/1029/FREE

Paper records more secure: survey

By: Joseph Conn / HITS staff writer

Story posted: May 2, 2007 - 9:02 am EDT

A plurality of people in a recent survey indicated paper-based medical-records systems are more secure than electronic records, but under emergency circumstances, a large majority also indicated the rewards of having their medical records made electric outweigh the risks, according to a survey released today by Kaiser Permanente.

The Oakland, Calif.-based integrated delivery system sponsored the random, national telephone survey of 1,000 adult U.S. residents by StrategyOne, a unit of the Edelman public relations firm. Kaiser, which is undertaking an overbudget and overdue multibillion-dollar healthcare information technology rollout, is hosting a healthcare IT conference today in Washington.

According to the survey, when asked which form of record system was more efficient, 72% of respondents chose computer-based compared with 19% for paper-based, with 8% answering they were unsure. But when asked which type of medical records system was more secure, 47% chose paper, 42% computerized, and 10% were unsure. (Some numbers do not add up to 100% due to rounding.)

Survey participants also were asked whether they agree or disagree with the following statement: "The benefits of electronic medical records, such as better treatment in an emergency and a reduction in medical errors outweigh any potential risk to patient privacy or the security of patient information." Their answers: 21% indicated they strongly agree, 52% somewhat agree, 16% somewhat disagree, 9% strongly disagree and 2% indicated they didn’t know or were unsure.

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The complete article provides a range of interesting findings that slightly belie the headline. Indeed the relative safety of paper vs. electronic records was close to balanced and that many people clearly understood the benefits of electronic records. It seems likely that even a limited public educational program regarding the risks and benefits of EHRs is likely to be quite successful.

Fourth we have:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/classifieds/news/jobcenter/news/stories/DN-informatics_29emp.ART.State.Edition1.4320696.html#

Nurses bridge gap between IT, care

Brave new paperless world opens opportunities for more nurse informaticists

08:59 AM CDT on Monday, April 30, 2007

By SUSAN KREIMER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
More and more nurses have been bridging the gap between information technology and clinical practice. And Mary Beth Mitchell, a registered nurse, finds herself happily positioned at these crossroads.

"It is not enough to have programmers and engineers designing and implementing these systems," said Ms. Mitchell, director of clinical informatics at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas.

Nurse informaticists are needed as the advent of electronic health records ushers in a preference to go paperless. At least 75 percent of nurse informaticists are developing or implementing clinical information or documentation systems, according to an industry survey. A shortage of these experts bodes well for nurses considering this niche.

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An interesting article revealing the truth those of us who have been in the field for a while. “Don’t forget to involve and work with the nurses from the very start of any project”!

Enjoy!

David.

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