As care moves from the clinical setting to the retail or home setting, how is coexistence affected? How are the coexistence issues similar or dissimilar between those settings? In light of the ongoing healthcare transformation, how can medical devices be future-proofed? What is the next on the horizon for wireless test beds in the clinical and non-clinical settings? How can relevant stakeholders develop a learning environment for wireless medical technologies so that information can be shared while balancing proprietary interests? What are some strategies to evaluate, catalog, and disseminate knowledge related to intelligent information of medical devices into wireless systems in various settings?
The future of mobile computing in clinical medicine depends on products that are easy to use, with an individualized surface and allow for uncomplicated and instant communication with the clinical information system of the environment in which a physician practises. For consultants who work in different institutions, the most interesting feature of such a device is that there is no need to log in to different documentation systems. An example for such a web based documentation tool has been brought to market recently in Switzerland, rockethealth. The name of the company that has developped it, is HELMEDICA (unfortunately, so far, only a German language version of the website exists). English language contacts on request.
www.helmedica.com
I use both ways : physical and virtual consultations - more and more often combined .
It gives more flexibility and avaibility for wound care treatments and therefore could be life saving .In particular I do remember a patient followed both in the wound clinic and at home care. The nurse of home care called me a few hours before one of unworked national festival day,after she sent me pictures .I told her to send the patient on the spot to the emergency room and a balloon was performed the next day saving limb and life.
The problem is to have the tools and both kind of works payed as they should by the established authorities !
My colleague Dr Chrstoph Baumann wrote to me in a mail today that the English language version of his website will be available soon and that he is interested in direct questions concerning rockhealth. Here is his address:
Rockethealth by Helmedica AG
Web: www.rockethealth.ch
Dr. med. Christoph Baumann
Master in Health Service Management, FHO
Chief Executive Officer
Mail: [email protected]
Tel.: +41 76 4519639
Technopark Winterthur
Technoparkstrasse 2
CH-8406 Winterthur
I do not know what the future here will be but I do know what could be done using the digital techniques already available. For example, I think of a tighter connection between physicians regarding the exchange of indications and medical therapies. In particular, it should become visible which drugs are applied to a patient to detect antagonistic or potentiating effects at very early stages. I know that this is one of the basic ideas for the German health insurance card. However, many of these implementations are not transparent to the patient. In addition, the data stored on the insurance card are supposed to be stored by the same company that also holds data on people's creditibility! Such data do not belong in private hands.
All in all, it is extemely important to avoid additional burden to both the patients and the physicians when interconnecting diverse institutions. Last but not least, there are many potential tools available, wireless or not, but there are also many interested parties in this game that hope to make much money from new implementations. This money is mostly drawn from the physicians' budgets. In conclusion, I am more than doubtful that these wireless toys can be introduced cost-effectively in the health care system.
Well, I think the best way is that I share with you how we are working.
The Israeli health system is a rather socialised one where all the citizens are entitled to get the treatments and services included in the basket of treatments defined by law and provided by one of the 4 health funds.If one wants to see sombody else , he can do it privately.
Every fund has is own proprietary computerized system in which the file and all medical data of the poatients are registered.Any physician or nurse has access to all the data concerning a patient on the condition of passing a personnal magnetic card or a special code number given by a secretary allowed to it.
In the wound clinic there are patients coming to the office but tere are also patients that we are following through phone calls and communication with a wound nurse in a branch of the fund that is in the vicinity of the patient or through a nurse in the home care service at the very home of the patient.
Pictures and data are sent to my smartphone ( privacy is supposed protected as name and id are sent separately from the other data) or to my mail in the health fund.
the answer can be on line by phone or offline by mail or sms and always registered in the patient file.
The final aim is to get in the wound clinic only the patient that are in need of : physical debridement or intricate decision to be taken with the patient and more than often with the rest of his family.
Therefore I named this way of working : high tech- low cost.It gives flexibility,quick avaibility and proximity.
I do not see any reason for wich it should not be integrated in main stream medecine as patients are less wandering and the medical answer is very quick in any case needed without waiting for an appointment to allways overcrowded doctors.
Dr. Hans-Ulrich Iselin,
Likewise, I believe it is of paramount significance that the instaneous comunication between wireless devices , succesfuly transmitting comprehensive accurate health data in its entirety, which is easy to use, will dramatically influence the outcome, value, design, and widespread adoption. Without Interoperability between wireless devices, it will be impossible to create the value for which it is inteded to provide. Thank you for providing me the information pertaining to rockethealth, HELMEDICA, and your colleague. Look forward researching, reviewing, and discussing with you in further detail.
Sincerely,
Lars Lafferty
Dr. Aharon Wanszelbaum,
Thank you for sharing your experience, with regards to your experience and current use of wireless technology in your healthcare setting. Exciting to hear that the flexibility, quick availibiliy (interoperability), and proximity has facilitated the improved quality of care delivered at your wound clinic. Additionally, the design of proprietary software accounts for the transition of care for patients, enhancing and maximizing the ability for healthcare providers to have accurate, complete, information at the right time, facilitating an improvement in the quality of care and outcome of the patient. What type of information do your patients have access to? Are they involved in creating measurable data and metrics, inside and outside of the wound clinic, which can be monitored, obtained, analyzed, and used to design efficaious treatments? I would be thrilled to hear more about the type of software which you have been using at your wound clinic, thank you again for commenting. I look forward to speaking with you in further detail.
Sincerely,
Lars Lafferty
Dr. Carsten Kettner,
Thank you for your input on this particular topic. Likewise, as I stated in the earlier comment to Dr. Hans-Ulrich Iselin , it is of paramount significance that the instaneous comunication between wireless devices , succesfuly transmitting comprehensive accurate health data in its entirety, which is easy to use, will dramatically influence the outcome, value, design, and widespread adoption. In agreement with you, comprehenive information pertaining to each patient, such as prescribtion drugs detect antagonistic or potentiating effects, at any stage, should be visible and easily accesbile, driving an imrpovement of the coordination of care between physicians, providing improved outcomes and quality of care for each patient. I would be thrilled to discuss with you in further detail, the current and future prospectives incorporating this type of technology in the german healthcare system. Transparency , privacy, and protecting patient data continues to be and I believe will always remain at the forefront of barriers, which stall the innovative desgin, application, use, and widespread adoption of these particular devices. However I am optimistic, that in the future, through dynamic cross-disclipinary collaborations which include involvement of patients in the development, experimentation, monitoring, and analysis will foster the succesful integration of breakthrough revolutioary wireless medical devices. I look forward to speaking with you in the future, thanks again for your response.
Sincerely,
Lars Lafferty
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Chemistry
- Nanotechnology