Answers To Diseases

This week on Microsoft Health Tech Today we report on some amazing work by graduate students at UC Davis.  Wilson To and his colleagues have come up with a smartphone app that helps medical workers in the field diagnose malaria.  And, this isnt the first time on our show that weve profiled these brilliant young scientists and engineers. We first met Wilson To last season on Health Tech Today.  Wilson and his team from UC Davis had been named as one of two winners in the U.S. Imagine Cup competition for software design sponsored by Microsoft. The Imagine Cup is a world competition that challenges students to design innovative tech solutions for some of the worlds biggest problems.  Wilson told us about his teams award winning idea called Mobilife . Using a smartphone they were able to take photographs of the conjunctiva (white portion) of an individuals eyes. An algorithm was then used to measure the tortuosity of the blood vessels in the conjunctiva. This provided useful information about the microcirculation of the body. As a screening test, it can help identify children and adults who might be at risk for chronic conditions such as sickle cell anemia, hypertension, diabetes, or even Alzheimers disease. The technology was designed to be inexpensive and simple to use. A trained field worker in remote villages or rural locations can gather accurate data making it possible to screen and refer high-risk individuals for additional medical evaluation and treatment. Not content to rest on their laurels, this award winning team came up with yet another idea for the 2011 Imagine Cup.  And once again, it is designed to help medical workers in the field.  This time, the smartphone is used to screen blood samples for the parasites that cause malaria.  On our program, Wilson To shows us how the new application called lifelens works. Here are a few screen shots of the app, and also a short promo for the show.  Be sure to stop by the Health Tech Today landing page on Tuesday, June 14th, to see this inspirational story.       Imagine Cup 2011 lifelens Bill Crounse, MD                  Senior Director, Worldwide Health           Microsoft Technorati Tags: smartphone , Microsoft , Imagine Cup , UC Davis , health IT , ICT , malaria , apps , screening tests , clinicians…(read more)

On a May 26th HealthBlog post, The Health Industry Stampede to Cloud Computing , I shared some encouraging information from CDW ( Cloud Computing Tracking Poll ) on the health industrys measured, yet growing enthusiasm for cloud computing.  As a former hospital Senior VP/CIO/CMIO I know all too well that a hospitals core competency isnt IT.  Hospitals exist to provide patient care.  But increasingly, IT is also a strategic asset for hospitals and CIOs are as Gartner has pointed out, expected to be enterprise change managers in their organizations.  That doesnt mean, however, that CIOs now have keys to the treasury.  Quite the opposite!  As is the case in many businesses these days, the charge is to do more with less.  Enter what may be a prime facilitator for doing more with less – cloud computing. As defined by CDW, cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources such as networks, servers, storage, applications and services, that can be rapidly provisioned.    As I pointed out a few weeks ago, the greatest opportunity in the hospital environment is to first move many of the organizations so-called commodity applications such as email, file storage, web and video conferencing, and online learning applications to the cloud.  And, this is exactly the approach many hospitals are taking. One example is Tampa General Hospital , a 1004 bed facility with some 7000 employees serving West Central Florida.  In a new case study published by Microsoft , Tampa General IT executives explain why they are embracing cloud computing and how moving some of their commodity applications to the cloud is freeing up IT staff for more strategic projects. As Balaji Ramadoss, Chief Technology Officer at Tampa General Hospital, says, We are now focusing them on new healthcare innovation instead of maintenance. Were happy to leave the technical details of email and productivity applications to Microsoft, which allows us to focus on our core healthcare business. The hospital is now well positioned to take advantage of some of the revolutionary changes in community care, programs, and services that a strategic IT plan enables. But what about data security and privacy – a chief concern for health organizations in their journey to the cloud?  In the new case study, Shane Ochotny, Technology Architect in the IT Department at Tampa General Hospital says,  As a healthcare provider, we needed to ensure that our messaging system was secure and offered single sign on access.  Before choosing Microsoft Online Services, we completed an extensive review of Microsoft security policies, certifications, and data security qualifications. Through our security audits, it became clear that Microsoft Online Services offered a highly secure environment that surpassed anything we could build in our own data center.  Mr. Ramadoss adds, Weve only been on Microsoft Online Services for a short time, but Microsoft has sufficient redundancy in place to assure us.  Microsoft data centers house data for huge banks, government agencies, and large corporations whose audits are far more stringent than anything we would ever require. Not only can we meet HIPAA [Health Information Portability and Accountability Act] and other healthcare regulations, we can completely exceed them. Tampa Generals journey to the cloud and what this progressive health organization has gained from that journey is well documented in the case study report .  I encourage you to take a look.  And this is just one example of the evidence we are gathering from around the world on the health industrys migration to the cloud.  Wed like to hear from you too. Bill Crounse, MD                       Senior Director, Worldwide Health                 Microsoft Technorati Tags: Microsoft , hospitals , health IT , ICT , cloud computing , security , privacy , on-line services , messaging , mail , e-mail , web conferencing , CDW , Gartner   …(read more)

In a piece published today on Hospitals and Health Networks Daily , Hayden Bush provides an interesting perspective on the customer service expectations that people have when dealing with healthcare providers and possible generational differences in those expectations.  He points out that Baby Boomers and those older (the so-called Silent Generation) may have lower customer service expectations from hospitals and clinics than Gen-Xers and people younger.  He says, older folks are less likely to change providers even when the service they get is less than stellar.  They tend to stick with their providers showing more concern with organizational reputation and proximity to their homes than good customer service.  In the future, he says, these organizations may be dealing with a different kind of customer one who expects, in fact demands, good customer service much as they would expect to receive from a fine hotel or a top restaurant. Mr. Bush relates a  very positive experience he and his wife recently had with a healthcare provider organization.  In particular, he notes the excellent communication services he received from clinic staff about his wifes disposition throughout the day and what a difference it made. Recalling that event, he states; Outside of the positive feeling these experiences left me with on an otherwise uncertain day, coordinated customer service leaves the general impression of coordinated patient care. Conversely, my own recent trips to another nearby health care facility, which have been characterized by long waits and difficulty extracting information, left a more chaotic impression. Most of us will probably attest to the fact that we get better customer service and communication from our veterinarian or automobile service center than we typically get from our doctor.  I know for certain that I get more regular service reminders to maintain my car in good working order than I get from my doctor about my health.  Im sure at least part of this difference is due to the fact that my automobile service center uses sophisticated customer relationship management software to better coordinate their communications with me. Next week it will be my pleasure to provide a general session keynote at the Case Management Society of Americas annual conference and exhibition in San Antonio, Texas.  One of my messages to this group of 2500 case management professionals will be the importance of good communication, collaboration and customer service in healthcare.   Especially when dealing with people who are suffering from one or more chronic diseases -  timely, regular and purposeful communication can make all the difference in relieving a patients anxiety and communicating a sense that the organization and its providers really care about the patients health and well being.  Good communication also instills greater confidence that the care being delivered is well coordinated.  Customer relationship management software can certainly help.  So will training staff on the essentials of providing good customer service.  After all, as Mr. Bush points out, future generations of patients are more likely to expect good service, and vote with their feet when it isnt provided. Bill Crounse, MD                Senior Director, Worldwide Health           Microsoft   Technorati Tags: CMSA , Microsoft , CRM , customer relationship management , Dynanmics CRM , patient care , care quality , customer service , health IT , ICT , chronic conditions , disease managment , hospitals , clinics , providers    …(read more)

Identity and access management solutions for the enterprise some people might consider that to be a pretty dull topic!  But its not a dull topic if youre an IT professional for a large hospital or clinic and charged with managing who has secure access to the enterprises diverse applications and sensitive data.  And it is not a dull topic if youre a clinician who wants hassle-free, efficient access to all of the appropriate IT systems and tools he or she needs to deliver and document patient care.  That is why this week on Microsoft Health Tech Today well be exploring identity and access management (IAM), and some of the things youll want to think about if you are looking for IAM solutions for your hospital or clinic. I am joined on our program by Linda Hill, Manager, Technical Assistance Center, Sharp Healthcare in San Diego.  She sat down with me recently at the Microsoft Connected Health Conference in Chicago to discuss why IAM is so important in the healthcare enterprise, and how Sharp Healthcare is using IAM solutions to strike the right balance between maintaining productivity, privacy and security. Specifically, we are addressing two Microsoft solutions for IAM.  One is called Vergence ,  a solution for bringing single sign-on, context management, and multi-factor authentication together on a clinical workstation.  The other is called proVision , an identity management solution that enables hospitals to easily automate centralized policies for managing data access as employees enter and leave the organization or as their roles change. Vergence minimizes the tedious, time-consuming, and error-prone activities of signing on to each application and then searching for the patients record in each application. Vergence privacy auditor can be added to provide a centralized audit capability that tracks access of each patients electronic record independent of the specific applications used. proVision is uniquely designed for healthcare.  It enables organizations to automatically provision applications and easily create user accounts for employees and outside users who require access to computer resources. proVision provides near real-time status of a users electronic identities and includes rich delegation features to enable self-service capabilities for non-technical users. Simply put, proVision allows IT administrators to effectively track users and application accounts across the enterprise. Our full program on Identity and Access Management solutions will be live on the Health Tech Today landing page on Wednesday, June 1st.  In the meantime, here is a short promo for tomorrows show. Simplifying Security You can find more information about Microsoft solutions for identity and access management here . I hope you enjoy the show!  And remember to check back often for new editions of Health Tech Today the on-line video series at the intersection of health and information technology. Bill Crounse, MD         Senior Director, Worldwide Health             Microsoft Technorati Tags: Microsoft , health ICT , health IT , proVision , Vergence , security , privacy , single sign-on , Sentillion , hospitals , clinics , clinicians , patient care , EMR , EHR , HIS , information systems  …(read more)

Stampede?  OK, that would be a bit of an exaggeration.  But even I found a new poll conducted by CDW to be surprising and quite encouraging.  As I travel about the USA and the world talking with health industry customers, I find theres a genuine interest in cloud computing.  The flexibility, scalability and lower costs associated with moving certain line of business applications to the cloud are compelling, especially for an industry like healthcare.  After all, the primary focus of hospitals and clinics is caring for patients, not running an IT empire.  Theres not a CIO, CFO, CEO, COO, CNO, CMIO, or CMO who wouldnt love to shift some of their IT spending to delivering better care to the communities they serve. So, whats actually going on out there?  Can health organizations overcome concerns they might have about moving business critical applications to the cloud?  Apparently, yes.  According to CDWs Cloud Computing Tracking Poll , an assessment of current and future cloud computing made by polling 1200 IT professionals, 30 percent of healthcare organizations are classified as cloud adopters. As defined by CDW, cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources such as networks, servers, storage, applications and services, that can be rapidly provisioned. In the report published by Healthcare IT News , David Cottingham, senior director, managed services at CDW, said, "Many organizations are carefully and selectively moving into cloud computing, as well they should, because it represents a significant shift in how computing resources are provided and managed." With thoughtful planning, organizations can realize benefits that align directly with their organizational goals: consolidated IT infrastructure, reduced IT energy and capital costs, and ‘anywhere’ access to documents and applications."  The kinds of applications that are most commonly operated in the cloud are so-called commodity applications such as email (24 percent of healthcare respondents), file storage (19 percent of healthcare respondents), Web and video conferencing (39 percent of healthcare respondents), and online learning (12 percent of healthcare respondents). Moving your commodity applications to the cloud is an excellent place to start.  Id suggest first reaching out to your health industry peers and professional organizations to get a better sense of whos doing what.  I think when youve learned about some of the best health industry practices in cloud computing, youll be ready to explore what might be possible in your own organization.  Once youve done that, reach out to your Microsoft account executive, system integrator, or visit www.microsoft.com/cloud for more information.   Your CFO, patients, and community will thank you.  Bill Crounse, MD                             Senior Director, Worldwide Health            Microsoft   Technorati Tags: Microsoft , health IT , cloud , internet , ICT , line of business , IT Pros , IT , providers , hospitals , clinics , CDW , healthcare…(read more)

A new study from Manhattan Research reveals that about 7 percent of US physicians are currently doing web video chats with their patients.  The practice is most common in certain specialties such as mental health or oncology where patients benefit from more frequent, and convenient contact with the physicians or other clinicians caring for them.  In an article published by Health IT News , Manhattan Research president, Meredith Ressi said, "Telemedicine has the potential to open up consultations with top specialists, regardless of your location.  Combined with the impending shortage of primary care physicians, the implications of these technologies for how healthcare is delivered in our country are remarkable."  Although clinicians continue to have concerns regarding reimbursement, security and HIPAA when using video chat technology, the trend in using the technology is only expected to grow.  And video chatting isnt the only way patients are getting more connected to their care and care providers. One example of providing patients with better tools to help keep them informed and in-touch with the medical professionals caring for them comes from a joint announcement made today by Microsoft HealthVault and a large provider of mental health and substance abuse services in the UK, the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM).  SLaM treats people in South London and offers specialist services for people from across the country.  The Maudsley Hospital is one of a number of facilities operated by SLaM. SLaM and Microsoft are working in partnership to develop a personal online health record for people using mental health services. Using Microsofts privacy and security-enhanced HealthVault platform, SLaM will be able to offer an online solution that enables clinicians and patients to work collaboratively on care and treatment by providing patients secure access to their health records and the facility to contribute to them directly.  According to officials at SLaM, this represents the next phase in patient choice by empowering patients to shape and influence their care and treatment plans. The aim is to encourage a more equal dialogue between patient and clinician and improve the nature of the relationship. It ultimately puts the patient in greater control of their healthcare, allowing individuals to become more engaged. SlaMs aim is to develop a web portal that uses the HealthVault platform to provide patients with access to their health records and also encourages a two-way flow of information between clinicians and patients. The Trust will be working with patients and clinicians to develop the system over the next few months. According to Martin Baggaley, Medical Director at SlaM, Patients engage in different ways with their clinicians and often express desire to be more involved in the treatment and services they receive.  This is why we see Microsoft HealthVault as a valuable tool in helping us to move in the direction of considering and strengthening the patient-clinician relationship by working in partnership with patients to facilitate their recovery journeys. Microsoft partner, Get Real Consulting, has been selected by SLaM, to define and implement two HealthVault-compatible web applications based on GRCs proprietary, award-winning patient health management platform, InstantPHR. The web applications will be developed in collaboration with SLaM service users and clinicians. For patients suffering with mental health disorders, and desiring more frequent contact with the clinicians and information resources they need, the new web services platform provided by SLaM should be welcome relief.  Its yet another great example for the ways that information technology can improve access to services and help keep patients better connected with their care. Bill Crounse, MD                        Senior Director, Worldwide Health               Microsoft   Technorati Tags: mental health , video chat , HealthVault , SLaM , Manhattan Research , Health IT , Maudsley Hospital , NHS , London , ICT , PHR , Microsoft , Internet , patient care , web services…(read more)