Cloud storage for the exchange of health information

ZH_dossier_voorbeeld.pdf Download this file

For several years I'm complaining that paper health records are getting lost when one of the elderly residents of our carehome is hospitalised.

We did all kinds of efforts to prevent loss of the papers, but no success till now.

In case of loss we had to fax (alas, no email) the papers to the central reception of the hospital (alas, no fax at the specific department).

I was approached by a hospital and a software vendor to find a solution.

A logical suggestion was to use cloud storage (like Amazon, Dropbox, Nomadesk, ...) and to use encrypted folders (per user or per organisation) for such papers. Such cloud solutions are easy to use, very flexible, easy to implement and safe enough for this purpose. When hospital staff reacts outraged 'how unsafe this is', I point them to the current 'solution' where we fax the papers to the central reception.

I'm very curious which cloud solution they are going to produce, how cheap it will be and how user friendly it will be.

Freemium in care: Zorgbeheer care-platform looking for webdev

Zorgbeheer (dutch for 'care management') is a platform for Flemish care-managers since 2006.
It grew from a small private communication platform for carehome owners to a communication platform for the captains of care.
The website has about 5 to 600 unique visitors a day.
There's a strong demand for further development, which should take the platform from it's current situation (stage 1) to a perpetual stage 3.

Stage 1

Mostly inspection, supervision and small improvements of the current situation.

Stage 2

Major overhaul with open source CMS (Joomla, Drupal, ...) or own development.
Improvements in matchmaking
Offering mobile content

Stage 3

Crowdsourcing care professionals for needs and building web and mobile apps to fill those needs ... and offering the apps for free.

Where's the money?
First two stages will be paid by commercial revenues (ads).
During the last (perpetual) stage, the webdev company can develop apps for individual care organisations too. The webdev business card being a solid (and proven) reputation as Zorgbeheer-platform-builder.

Why in English? It's a site in Dutch!
As far as I know, there are no platforms offering the stage 3 solution; improving care by offering web and mobile tools for free.
This format might be interesting for international development.

Requirements

• Good knowledge of Joomla CMS (in stage 1)
• Proficiency in mobile development
• Experience with mapping, communication and community (matchmaking) tools
• Determined to produce apps that are Fisher Price easy.

You can improve care AND earn a living.
Win-win!
Contact: bart at mhealth BE

The Social Media Revolution. Watch this.

via feedproxy.google.com

Posted via web from bartcollet's posterous

ROI of social media in healthcare #bbmtehc

ROI

• Volunteers / Fundraising / Charity
• Get media coverage (= also reputation?)
• Expectancy / Reputation / Credibility
• Patient guidance + empowerment
• Blurring lines of geograpical borders / limitations (= also reputation?)
• Follow up negative comments + conversation in general (= also reputation?)
• Teaching / Education
• If someone is searching for you on web, and doesn’t find you, you don’t exist! Ditto w/social media

REMARKS

• Four primary social media tools for hospitals--Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, and blogs.
• Doctor engagement when low cost in terms of time (flip video in stead of blog postings)
• ROI <-> ROC =Return on Connections
• Not focus on 1 medium, fast switching (ex. from MySpace -> Facebook)
• "Social media is the 21st century evolution of Word of Mouth." -@LeeAase
• "Our first step (at MD Anderson) was to think about identifying our audience. What content are they interested in?" -@JennTex
• @JennTex - your hospital's target audiences will influence or dictate which #sm aand #hcsm sites & tools you will use
• Loss of "control" difficult for many #hospitals to accept
• The end of traditional "Push-only" Web sites
• One great idea, use unique 800#s to measure interest from Social Media channels
• should use more than just number of friends to track success, but use landing pages ie. specific url's to drive traffic and measure / Using a landing page in a tweet allows you to track the users activity on the site after they've followed the lead
• How about Cost Of Not Investing in social media? / What's the "Return on Ignoring"? ==> 40% decrease in visitors after stopping sm activities
• HIPAA is concern in tweeting medical and surgical procedures; but not significantly differ from video and articles from procedures
• Love use of the word "moderate" rather than control. Too many ppl feel the need to control SM
• Most effective videos come from simple cameras, person telling story in powerful, honest and truthful way. No polish.

LINKS

• Danbury Hospital Terms and Conditions http://www.danburyhospital.org/body.cfm?id=1607
• Here are the @mayoclinic social media guidelines http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/guidelines/for-mayo-clinic-employees/
  
• http://twitter.com/dhs_tittle
• Personal hands-on experience with social media, try SMUG http://social-media-university-global.org/
• Sharing Mayo clinic : http://sharing.mayoclinic.org
• http://wthashtag.com/Bbmtehc
• http://www.spezify.com/
• http://www.icerocket.com/
• Here is a summary of Mayo Clinic social media activities #bbmtehc http://bit.ly/43Sbqc
• Slides of ROI of social media in healthcare here http://www.bigbad.com/exchange/bbmtehc/

Updating blogs with mobile

Using a Nokia N97 and the new functionality of Posterous, which is autopostr.
This is no 'groundbreaking' technology, but I only want to stress the ease of use. The very simple keyboard (which allows reasonable fast typing) of the N97 and its 5 megapixel camera are the base for this lightweight type of communication. The posterous autopostr updates posterous + blog by sending ONE email. Can't get any easier then that.
Could use a spellcheck though.
Produced in

Posted via email from bartcollet's posterous

ICT = Internet Cooking Technology

Manufacturing software solutions resembles more and more to assembly line cooking.

What does it take to produce an easy to use communication platform for team members of a new project, coupled to an extensive document work flow and management application, a bug tracker and time-scheduler, a basic invoicing application, a mobile website for consulting information, embedded video conferencing and chat, LDAP synchronization and with possibilities for customer interaction? The project is limited in time and requires only collaboration during a period of 10 months. The budget is minimal and it should be up and running tomorrow!

Going to your kitchen you get creative with -for example- Alfresco, Scrumy, Task2gather, Assembla, Planzone, ZOHO, OOVOO, Laconica, RTM, Yuuguu, Userplane, Dipity, Getsatisfaction, Joomla, ... tying together the info with plugins or API's or embedding them in a portal solution. Taking a knife to cut away some fat, seasoning the dish with some templates or css and combining different microformats, et voilà: a delicious end-product.

This results is a highly configurable and flexible solution that may grow or shrink during the project ... whatever pleases the hungry client. It will be relatively easy to set up and easy to dismantle afterwards. The solution will not be expensive and perfectly fit the needs. The organization is not forced to invest in extensive courses to cope with this (assembled) product. Team members will not have a steep learning curve. Difficult tools just cut the appetite. The only requisite for end users is the ability to handle a micro-wave-oven or to boil water. There is simply no time and budget for cooking the traditional way.

In this era of focus on product-manufacturing in the long tail, this evolution (or production method) makes it easy to create fresh dishes *exactly* to the clients wishes, it's just a question of combining the wright ingredients in your meal assembly kitchen.

The "possibility of the solution" is not a criteria anymore, other criteria like speed, high touch and feel, userfriendlyness and flexibility come into play. Instant satisfaction is the criterion.

In analogy to TV-shows we may also see rockstar-like software-solution-cooks performing on gigs, producing a surprise assembly-task in front of a crowd, or producing a solution against the clock where the process is displayed on large screens. Show - cooking!

READS
Choosing Web Tools: Best-Fit Versus Good Enough?
Get the max out of ZOHO
Google Gears, is software offered by Google that "enables more powerful web applications, by adding new features to your web browser."
... and Cooking for Engineers: Step by Step Recipes and Food for the Analytically Minded ;)

Company communication improvement: Yammer and Present.ly

YAMMER

The Solution to Email Overload
In 2007, The New York Times described email as "a $650 Billion Drag on the Economy", and it's easy to see why: email inboxes are overflowing with messages tangentially relevant to the people addressed. Meanwhile, those who should see the information are omitted.
Yammer is an enterprise productivity solution that uses a publish-and-subscribe model to improve communication while reducing email overload. Yammer allows you and your employees to:

• Publish status updates, ideas, news, links, and questions without cluttering up inboxes.
• Subscribe to the people and topics that are relevant to you.
• Reply to status updates and have discussions.
• See what people are actually working on and talking about.
• Search archived messages as a knowledge-base.
• Find people in the directory to contact them or learn more about them.

GOOD

• no restriction on number of characters used
• auto fill tags (for faster typing & consistency)
• daily digest per email
• no limit on number of users

NOT SO GOOD

• slow loading time (at least slower than present.ly)
• no attachments
• mobile: only blackberry and iphone are supported

COULD BE GOOD - COULD BE NOT SO GOOD

Members of a group should be from the same e-mail domain

PRESENT.LY

Present.ly is a communication platform that, like Twitter, is designed to allow for short, frequent updates to be posted by individuals and tracked or "followed" by others. Unlike Twitter, however, Present.ly provides a secure and private way to share updates among members of a company without it being visible to the outside world.
Many times a problem that one person in a company experiences may have already been experienced and solved by another. Present.ly gives you the ability to tap the collective knowledge of your colleagues to find quick answers to difficult or time-consuming research tasks.
With Present.ly, it's easy to share images, documents, video, and audioclips with your colleagues. Whether you're looking for feedback on a new design mockup or sending out new policy documents for human resources, it's never been easier to rapidly share and communicate media in your company.
You don't always have a computer at the ready when you need to tell people what you're up to. Present.ly provides interfaces that let you keep in touch wherever you are. Use it from your computer, your mobile phone, or most any device capable of connecting to the internet.
Present.ly allows you to create groups and direct communication to and from those groups. Send messages only to members of a group or simply direct relevant news and information to the group for its information.

GOOD

• fast load times
• attachments are allowed
• excellent mobile application, for all platforms
• support for Twitter API
• elaborate email settings (but no daily digest in the free plan like Yammer )
• not only tags, but also groups for filtering

NOT SO GOOD

• 140 character restriction
• free plan is restricted to 5 users
• no autofill for tags (for faster typing & consistency)

COULD BE GOOD - COULD BE NOT SO GOOD

Members of a group are not limited to have the same e-mail domain

LINKS
Article Socialmediatoday: Enterprise Twitter heats up with Present.ly
NYT: Popularity or Income? Two Sites Fight It Out
Ross Dawson: Business models for micro-blogging in the enterprise
CO-OP: Co-op makes it easy to stay connected with your co-workers without disrupting them.
Articlebase: Tear Down That Firewall Mr. Corporate it
DIY microblog with Laconica: http://laconi.ca
An eLearning experience: Tweeting for business
Matt's Musings: Threats, risks and mitigation treatments for Twitter

WIFI in healthcare = too many arrows

updated: 2008-10-13

Never in my life i have underestimated a buyers decision more than the one I am facing right now. This decision is about replacing the current PABX business phone system in a home for the elderly.
As we are building new rooms for new customers, we will have to change the current system as it's maximum capacity will be exceeded.
Replacing the current PABX/DECT solution by a new one seems most obvious. But I am frustrated by the high costs, the limitations and inflexibility towards rapid evolving technology. It is very difficult to add value (through improved team-communication, better response to customers, better logging, better compatibility with third party software, etc.). Buying a telephone solution with PABX/DECT looks like trowing away your money.
Wading through enormous piles of information and brochures, I quickly understood that WIFI gives me the best (future-proof) possibilities and added value. Team communication can be optimized (imagen an interface like MSN/Gtalk/AIM), data and voice is integrated (and coupled) in one system, integration of WLAN and web-based applications, ... flexibility galore, without expensive cabling! Moreover I can improve communication for elderly customers: big button WIFI-cellphones, big screen devices, softphones, message boards (kiosk), free possibilities like Skype, Netmeetings, etc.

The theory is obvious, the practicalities not. I spoke with 9 firms, some once, some 3 times. Each firm contradicting the opinions of their opponents, some firms making mistakes in areas/technologies they are not familiar with, each firm giving more questions and doubts than answers. As a customer I'm forced to study the possibilities and impact of the technology for an objective view.
In this study it's very easy to get completely lost in information overload. As a technical minded user it is very easy to get blinded by the thrill of the chase of new technology.

Bottom line is that WIFI is entangled in so many disciplines within my care organisation that I end up with too much different technologies, too many questions, too many sales reps, too many technicians, ... each defending their technology. I have too many arrows on my diagram ...

WIFI Plus

• No slowly dying technology like DECT. "It is clear that VoIP technology will replace traditional circuit-switched telephony in the enterprise. It is no longer a question of if, but when enterprises will migrate to IP-based telephony solutions. This is where WiFi holds a clear advantage over DECT, or any other proprietary TDM-based wireless solution. WiFi allows for end-to-end IP telephony making it the most elegant — and cost-effective — technology for enterprise wireless in the long run."
• Connectivity: all WIFI devices can be connected (no propriety installation like DECT)
• Compatibility: all (current + future) applications can be coupled to this one voice + data-highway
• Limitless configuration- and management- possibilities
• Flexibility: end solution being *exactly* what a customer wants, dataflow (like for example UMS) can be tailor made
  
• Possibility to add "tracing" to your network
• Cost of communication will go down as more people will use VOIP (instead of landlines)
• No expensive wiring.

WIFI Minus

• Battery-life of mobile WIFI-devices is 8 hours maximum. In a care-environment this could be insufficient.
• Range of WIFI-transmitters is smaller than it's DECT counterpart. You need more transmitters (about 30% more).
• Maximum length of an UTP (cat 5) cable is 100 meter.
• What if the switch has a defect? Default backup-solution is essential.
• Power-out = no communication possible.
• Cost of installation (a lot higher than traditional solutions, although no cabling is required)
• No completely integrated and proven solution in a healthcare-setting. Where can I personally witness a working WIFI-installation and ask for user-feedback?
  

Questions

• Is quality of voice communication with WIFI inferior to other solutions? As i've used different Java-communication-apps frequently, I can't say I've ever experienced any quality loss though. But this situation is a single user situation.
  
• Is it possible to have different ringtones on a DECT-phone. This is, can the receiver perceive a distinction in ringtones on a mobile dect-device, if it's origin differs. Origin could be: inbound call, room service, fire-alarm, etc.
• How much will internal WIFI communication cost? I fail to see any costs, 3 sales reps claim the opposite.
• Is seamless handover (from one transmitter to another) guaranteed with WIFI-handsets?
• Alarms-handling: How are alarms handled? Is it possible that a certain alarm(-signal) gets lost?
• Is WIFI secure? This is the communication itself, access to the network and usage (bandwidth).
• How much capacity should the switch have? How many lines are needed for, as example, 10 staff people and 70 customers?
• Will WIFI-devices interfere with one another?
• How much different actions do i have to perform to make an internal call, to accept an alarm, to put calls through, ... how easy can regular users perform these everyday actions?
  

Good Reads
http://www.howstuffworks.com/search.php?terms=voip&x=0&y=0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voip
http://www.pcmech.com/article/taking-your-phone-line-online/
http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/0205/WiFi-Telephony-All-Grown-Up.htm
http://www.intel.com/healthcare/ps/mca/index.htm?iid=healthcare_mcadevelopers+tabs_overview
http://blog.abptech.com/blog/the-dect-versus-wlan-wifi-debate/
http://blog.voipsupply.com/mobile-voip/dect-vs-wi-fi-death-match%E2%80%A6who-will-be-victorious
http://www.chcf.org/documents/chronicdisease/HealthCareUnpluggedTheRoleOfWireless.pdf
http://www.texting4health.org/slides/Landscape%20of%20Texting4Health-R%20Adler.pdf
http://www.ehealth-connection.org/files/conf-materials/mHealth_%20A%20Developing%20Country%20Perspective_0.pdf
Considerations for deploying Voice over Wireless LANs (25' webcast registration required)

Thanks to
Nextel http://www.nextel.be/
Essec http://www.essec.be/
Telecom-IT http://www.telecom-it.be/
Newtel http://www.newtel.be/
Avaya http://www.avaya.be/
Televic http://www.televic.com/
CLB http://www.clb-belgium.be/
AMR-ICT http://www.amr-ict.nl/
Tadicom http://www.tadicom.com/

Follow-up article: http://zorgbeheer.blogspot.com/2008/11/roi-of-wifi-nintendo-ds-light-in.html