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Med-e-Tel Newsletter
This newsletter is your source for Med-e-Tel updates, news from the Med-e-Tel partners, sponsors, exhibitors and speakers, as well as other telemedicine and eHealth news from around the world.
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Organizer
Med-e-Tel is organized by the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth (ISfTeH).
ISfTeH is the international federation of national telemedicine/eHealth associations, research institutions, care provider organizations, companies and individuals.
ISfTeH is an NGO in Official Relations with WHO (World Health Organization).
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Featured Partner
Get a European Commission update during the Med-e-Tel 2011 opening session and find out more about the new Innovation Union agenda and other EU initiatives that will support the deployment of eHealth and telemedicine.
Med-e-Tel works together with a distinguished academy of organizations, associations and institutions who are active in the fields of ehealth, telemedicine, and health ICT. Click here for a full list of supporting organizations and partners.
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Med-e-Tel 2011
sponsors:
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Featured Media Partners
The Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare provides excellent coverage of developments in telemedicine and e-health and is now widely recognised as the leading journal in its field. Contributions from around the world provide a unique perspective on how different countries and health systems are using new technology in health care. Sections within the journal include technology updates, editorials, original articles, research tutorials, educational material, review articles and reports from various telemedicine organisations. A subscription to this journal will help you to stay up-to-date in this fast moving and growing area of medicine.
The quarterly CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation (C&R) magazine covers clinically-focused and practice-driven articles, congress reports, news and other relevant topics appealing to a wider readership including industry professionals, policy makers, clinicians, and individual citizens.
Digitalzorg.nl is a new Dutch platform for professionals in healthcare, ICT and innovation. It enables visitors to share information and knowledge, learn from others and discuss today's issues. Readers are open to contribute and react to others. Subjects that are being discussed are Electronic Health Records, PHR, Ambient Assisted Living, e-health, telemedicine, smart homes, health 2.0, healthcare innovation and much more.
eHEALTH is a niche monthly publication (print and online) focusing on healthcare ICT technologies and applications. It provides rich and relevant content for healthcare stakeholders, medical professionals, researchers and policy makers across the world for global capacity building and knowledge exchange towards better eHealth adoption.
Healthcare IT News International provides monthly news on all major healthcare IT developments, trends and issues around the globe. Complete with coverage of annual international conferences such as Med-e-Tel, this newsletter is a must for all readers looking to stay current on global healthcare IT initiatives. Sign up to Healthcare IT News International updates.
IGI Global is publisher of computer science and information technology management books, journals, cases, and databases. Providing comprehensive coverage on the role of technology in biomedical and healthcare research and practice, their newest imprint, Medical Information Science Reference, offers cutting-edge collections of vital interest to biomedical researchers, healthcare technology specialists, hospital and clinical administrators, healthcare practitioners, medical librarians, as well as students and educators in a range of related fields.
International Hospital Equipment & Solutions (IHE) reports on medical technology news and solutions for the modern hospital in an easily digestible format and is one of the leading international publications for healthcare decision makers. The magazine, published 7 times a year, targets senior physicians and medical department heads, hospital managers, hospital IT specialists and biomedical engineers in Europe, Middle East, Asia-Pacific & Latin-America.
The Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation (JCR) is published quarterly by the Virtual Reality Medical Institute. The journal explores the uses of advanced technologies for therapy, training, education, prevention and rehabilitation. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, psychiatry, psychology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, cognitive rehabilitation, neurorehabilitation, oncology, obesity, eating disorders, and autism, among many others.
The Med-e-Tel media partnerships provide you with a look at a wide range of healthcare and medical journals, magazines and on-line news and information services that will help you to stay abreast of what is going on in the field of ehealth, telemedicine and healthcare IT and to make better informed decisions in your daily business or healthcare practice. |
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Submit presentation proposals for Med-e-Tel 2011 before December 10th
The Med-e-Tel 2011 conference program will feature presentations of practical experiences, research initiatives and projects from health and social care providers, industry representatives, researchers and policy makers from around the world. Presentation proposals on relevant topics (see www.medetel.eu) for inclusion into the Med-e-Tel conference program are welcome. We encourage contributions on practical experiences, business cases, projects, pilots, and research activities. Click here to go to the online abstract submission form (note: text of the abstract should be limited to max. 2500 characters; plain text only, no images or tables, no bullets, etc.). All abstracts should be submitted using this online form. Abstract submission deadline is Friday 10 December 2010. For more information, contact Malina Jordanova, Educational Program Coordinator, at education@medetel.eu. |
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Make your mark at Med-e-Tel 2011
Med-e-Tel 2011, scheduled for 6-8 April 2011 in Luxembourg, will feature a variety of thematical sessions throughout the 3-day conference on topics such as chronic disease management, cybertherapy and rehabilitation, eHealth integration into routine medical practice, eLearning, electronic health records, home telehealth and independent living solutions, mobile health solutions, open source solutions in healthcare, regional initiatives in telemedicine/eHealth, and more.
For companies offering solutions and technology in these areas, it is the perfect opportunity to allow Med-e-Tel participants to see and evaluate actual products, technologies and services and to find out how they can be beneficial for them, their organization, or their health system. Med-e-Tel offers great networking and marketing opportunities among a global audience of key telemedicine and eHealth stakeholders. It is the perfect forum to establish new contacts and partnerships.
Companies interested in presenting their products and solutions at the event or supporting one of the thematical sessions, contact info@medetel.eu.
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Africa urged to embrace and use eHealth
African countries have been urged to embrace and use eHealth - defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the cost-effective and secure use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for health and health-related fields - with a view to contributing to strengthening their health systems and improving health outcomes.
Making the plea in a report to the 60th session of WHO Regional Committee for Africa which took place in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Luis Sambo, said: "eHealth can contribute to health systems strengthening in several ways by improving the availability, quality and use of information and evidence through strengthened health information systems and public health surveillance systems; developing the health workforce and improving performance by eliminating distance and time barriers through telemedicine and continuing medical education; improving access to existing global and local health information and knowledge; and fostering positive lifestyle changes to prevent and control common diseases."
The report identifies some of the challenges facing countries in the adoption and application of eHealth solutions as tools for strengthening health systems in order to accelerate progress towards the attainment of the MDGs and improving health outcomes in the region.
The challenges include: weak and inadequate ICT infrastructure and services and limited ability to use them; limited awareness of the potential benefits of the use of eHealth; inadequate financial resources; lack of an enabling policy environment, and issues related to weak leadership, coordination, monitoring and evaluation.
Dr. Sambo proposed a seven point eHealth action plan that would lead to increased access to eHealth tools and services. These include promotion of national political commitment and awareness of eHealth; the development of an enabling policy environment; the strengthening of leadership and coordination, the building of infrastructure and the establishment services for eHealth.
Others are the development of human capacity for eHealth through systematic education in eHealth for health personnel; the mobilization of financial resources for eHealth through necessary investment in ICT infrastructure and services in the health sector, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of national eHealth plans and frameworks by instituting systems to measure progress in the implementation of national eHealth strategic plans.
Several countries in the Region are implementing telemedicine and eLearning projects, some of them using mobile phones to support the delivery of health care, awareness and education; remote data collection; remote monitoring and home care; communicating treatments to patients; and reporting and responding to disease outbreaks and emergencies. Others are using satellite technologies to broadcast health promotion messages to patients and health workers in hospitals and clinics.
Dr. Sambo concluded: "While eHealth projects in the Region continue to be on a small scale and are fragmented, the rapid advances in ICT have put countries under intense market pressure to adopt ICT-associated services. There is a need to ensure that the introduction of ICT in the health sector is driven by country needs and appropriate policies, rather than by pressures from technology producers".
Meet and hear more from WHO officials about WHO's African and global activities and initiatives at Med-e-Tel 2011.
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Global Telehealth 2010 - Australia hosts successful joint ISfTeH/ATHS conference
Global Telehealth 2010, held from November 10th till 12th in the Indian Ocean seaport of Fremantle, Western Australia, was the 15th International Meeting of the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth (ISfTeH). An even more significant milestone for this meeting was that it was the first national conference of the Australasian Telehealth Society (ATHS), which was formed only in 2008.
The meeting adopted as its theme "Telehealth for every nation, community and home", reflecting the many scales on which telehealth is practised, from multi-national initiatives to home and community-based projects.The Ambassador for eHealth for the ISfTeH, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, addressed the meeting through a video message in which he said "the world is relying on your work to build a better future".
While Australian delegates comprised about two-thirds of the delegates, 21 other countries were represented in the delegate list, which totaled 170.51 papers were accepted for oral or poster presentations, and 20 of the long papers were published as Volume 161 in the prestigious book series Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, published by IOS Press.
The meeting was preceded by six workshops, which allowed some of the speakers (including several of the invited keynote presenters) to expand on their expertise in an intimate, interactive environment.The keynote speakers covered a range of topics including telecare and telehealth service frameworks (Malcolm Fisk), global and environmental issues (Richard Scott), human factors in image-based applications (Elizabeth Krupinski) and international surgical training (Shuji Shimizu).
Several themes emerged during the meeting; one was the provision of services to underserved populations, especially in remote Australia or Africa. It was indeed fitting that the meeting was held in Western Australia, where health services need to be delivered over distances longer than in almost any other health jurisdiction on earth. Another topic which received discussion was sustainability of telehealth projects. The imminent deployment of the National Broadband Network in Australia and its implications for telehealth delivery formed another focus for several of the presentations, while mobile applications were also highlighted in many presentations.
The meeting was well supported by industry, with fully subscribed sponsorship and a busy trade display from twenty manufacturers and other organisations.
The Australasian Telehealth Society is proud to have hosted such a successful meeting and looks forward to further active participation in the global telehealth community .
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Thymbra announces release of 'medical': a universal EMR and HIS
 Thymbra, corporate member in the ISfTeH, announces the first release candidate version of 'medical', a multi-user, highly scalable, centralized electronic medical record and hospital information system (HIS) for OpenERP.
This version is the result of over 2 years of work, and the starting point for a modern, scalable free health and hospital information system.
Highlights of the system are:
- covers the most important functionalities of preventive and family medicine;
- fully integrated to OpenERP 6.0;
- health center administration (human resources, financial , stock, billing, ...);
- socio-economics : living conditions, sewers, drinking water, economic income, family members, electricity, ...;
- lifestyle: exercise, hours of work, diet, sleep hours, smoking, ...;
- sexual education and habits;
- social exclusion and drug abuse indicators;
- includes commonly used illegal drugs, by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) and their rating, addiction and tolerance, toxicity, etc.;
- laboratory administration;
- prescription writing;
- patient appointment administration (both ambulatory and inpatient);
- inpatient (hospitalization) management;
- vademecum: includes the WHO essential list of medicines;
- genetic and hereditary diseases (>4200 NCBI and disease genes);
- includes International Classification of Diseases, version 10, as well as the ICD-10-PCS (Procedure Coding System).
The 1.0 release should be out in December, and in between there will be at least two more Release Canditates (RC2 and RC3).
The data model is designed in a way that centralizes the information, so no duplication occurs.
The main language is English, but it can easily be translated to any other language using OpenERP 5.0 module translation. The Spanish version will exist concurrently with the English version.
More information is available at the Sourceforge page at http://medical.sourceforge.net.
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International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth update
The International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth (ISfTeH) is the international federation of national Telemedicine/eHealth associations, research institutions, care provider organizations, companies and individuals. ISfTeH is the organizer of the Med-e-Tel conference and is an NGO in Official Relations with WHO. New MembersISfTeH is proud to welcome a new national member in its international network: the South African Telemedicine Association (SATMA), as well as a new corporate member: Polycom. Info about all member organizations can be found through the ISfTeH member directory. Member newsYunnan SUNPA Tel Image Co., corporate member in the ISfTeH, organized the International Telemedicine Workshop during the past summer. Authorized by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, SUNPA launched this international cooperation project five years ago for training candidates from developing countries in telemedicine. Facilitated by SUNPA Africa, 16 carefully selected candidates from Uganda, Nigeria, Congo, Botswana, Lithuania, Turkey, Zimbabwe, USA, Thailand, Ethiopia, and a World Bank representative, completed the course successfully. The course assisted the participants to master the theory and operating skills of modern telemedicine technology and the application thereof. It helped them to get a better understanding of the new achievements, new technology and overall experience in China. Based on the principles of combining theory and practice, the course adopted different forms of teaching methods: classroom explanations, special lecturers, illustrations, real-time tele-interactive teaching, tele-instruction, visiting telemedicine hospitals, research & investigation, and discussions & reports. After the training, the trainees were awarded with a qualified training certificate issued by Ministry of Science & Technology. For more information or to participate in future courses, send your details to contact@isft.net. The Finnish Society for Telemedicine & eHealth (FSTeH), the national member for Finland in the ISfTeH, announces the publication of the second issue of the Finnish Journal of eHealth and eWelfare. It is a scientific journal established by the Finnish Social and Health Informatics Association and the FSTeH, and it also serves as the official journal for the members of the establishers. It is mainly a Finnish-language journal, but can also include articles, abstracts and other material in English and Swedish. Telemedicine and e-Health is now an official journal of the ISfTeH. This long-standing publication has expanded coverage, publishing 10 issues per year, providing readers with an understanding of new technology applications and evidence-based usage, and a new section on Medical Connectivity. The new section includes roundtables, initiatives in industry, tutorials, webwatch, commentaries, new services, and people in the news. AMD Global Telemedicine announced that it has expanded its Telemedicine Design Group offerings to now include new training and program consultation offerings specifically geared towards educating future telemedicine trainers. Leveraging its experience in the telemedicine device market, the newly redesigned training program implemented by AMD's Telemedicine Design Group focuses on providing future telemedicine trainers with the knowledge and tools needed to understand how to use AMD's telemedicine devices and software while also providing them with tools and tips for conducting an effective clinical telemedicine encounter. Albania initiates telemedicine project: the Integrated Telemedicine and e-Health Programme in Albania is a two-year, $750,000 project that will establish a National Telemedicine Centre at the Mother Theresa Hospital in Tirana and five Regional Telemedicine Centers. The project is led by ISfTeH member Dr. Rifat Latifi. The Institute of Clinical Medicine at Tallinn University of Technology, an institutional member in the ISfTeH, announced that it will open enrollment to their new master's curriculum in " Health Care Technology". The objective of the master's curriculum is to prepare eHealth technology specialists who, having passed the curriculum, have acquired the know-how for working in different health care sector enterprises and have knowledge about the client and patient centered approach and behavior characteristics of the modern health care system. The Health Care Technology master's curriculum was composed in association with The Institute of Clinical Medicine, AS Medicum, East Tallinn Central Hospital, Estonian eHealth Foundation, Aalto University School of Science and Technology and Karolinska Institute. To be considered for admission, applicants must have a bachelor's degree, preferably in IT, Health Science, Social Science, Natural Science, Mathematics/Mathematical Statistics, Economic Science (management), Law, or Medical Science. Up to 35 students will be accepted to the master's curriculum.
EventsIn the past weeks, the ISfTeH and/or its members have actively contributed to, organized or supported many conferences and meetings around the world. To follow are links to just a few of these international events: CBIS 2010 (Porto de Galinhas, Brazil) TeleDerm 2010 (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) Nationaler Fachkongress Telemedizin (Berlin, Germany) Global Telehealth 2010 (Perth, Australia) IWEEE 2010 - eHealth for All (Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil) Telemedicon '10 (Bhubaneswar, India) Upcoming events: eHealth Congress (Brussels, Belgium) eHealth 2010 (Casablanca, Morocco) eTelemed 2011 (Gosier, Guadeloupe) Telemedicine: Experience@Prospects (Donetsk, Ukraine) Med-e-Tel 2011Med-e-Tel 2011, scheduled for 6-8 April 2011 in Luxembourg, will feature a meeting of the ISfTeH Board of Directors, an ISfTeH member breakfast meeting, and various conference sessions presented by ISfTeH members. Some national member societies will also set up a national pavilion on the Med-e-Tel expo and present local companies, initiatives and projects. To become a part of this, contact the ISfTeH. Join the ISfTeHIf you are heading a national telemedicine/eHealth organization, if you offer telemedicine products and solutions, if you are doing research on telemedicine and eHealth applications and technologies, if your organization provides (or wants to offer) care services by means of telemedicine/eHealth technologies, or if you are engaged in healthcare policy, join the ISfTeH network to expand your global reach or to learn from existing experiences and best practices. Membership information is available here. Or send an e-mail with your question or membership request.
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Med-e-Tel 2011 features track on "benefits of open source software in healthcare"
After the success of its first edition at Med-e-Tel 2010 (23 speakers, 1 keynote presentation, 1 panel discussion), the "Free/Libre Open Source Software in Health Care (FLOSS-HC)" track 2011 aims to create the leading European summit bringing together FLOSS-HC developers, service providers and users from all over the world to cross-fertilize Open technological, business and social initiatives to shape the future of open health care systems.
Co-organized by the European Federation for Medical Informatics Free/Libre Open Source Working Group (EFMI LIFOSS WG), the International Medical Informatics Association Open Source Working Group (IMIA OS WG) and the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth (ISfTeH), it offers a new platform for collaboration establishment, experience exchange and a unique opportunity to foster prospective thinking towards open, collaboratively developed systems in health care.
Submissions from all areas of health care are welcome that deal with free/libre open source software. Topics of interest for this track cover various aspects of FLOSS in health informatics, including but not limited to:
- collaborative care across the Internet
- interoperability between different FLOSS-HC systems
- free access to shared medical knowledge and Evidence Based Medicine (EBM)
- second opinion and support for training
- software solutions for low resource settings
- FLOSS-HC as a strategy for software development supported by welfare organizations
- systems for public health
- cross-fertilization with the Humanitarian FOSS (H-FOSS) community
- analysis of cultural differences which could require adapted software solutions
- reuse of modular software components
- FLOSS-HC in education
Open source software companies are also encouraged to provide some insights in their open source based business model, offered services and products. Potential subjects could be:
- successful business models for FLOSS in health care
- certification process: fulfillment of legal requirements as service
- successful co-existance of a community maintained main-project and a vendor extended sub-project
- license considerations: which license to choose to allow also commercial reuse in own products
- success stories: transformation from an originally closed to an open source development approach
- user acceptance: has "open source" already become a marketing argument?
Click here for more information or contact the track coordinator Thomas Karopka (tkaropka@googlemail.com).
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ISfTeH Students Working Group announces 4th videoconferencing session at Med-e-Tel 2011
 The ISfTeH Students Working Group is currently gathering submissions for its 4th Students' Videoconferencing Session to be held during the Med-e-Tel 2011 conference in Luxembourg. The Group brings together students from around the world, with various academic backgrounds and with an interest for telemedicine. The videoconferencing sessions allow the students to participate in high-level conferences and present their current work or research.
The sessions are run using the "Elluminate Live VRoom" platform, through which the students can remotely make their presentation to the audience at the conference.
The ISfTeH also presents an award each year at Med-e-Tel for the Best Student Presentation. Earlier this year, at Med-e-Tel 2010, the award was won by Ania Kostrubala from Poland for her presentation " Youtube clips for remotely mentored hip osteoarthritis telerehabilitation". The award comes with a cash prize that the student can use to attend a future ISfTeH conference.
For information on how to participate in the Students' Videoconferencing Session at Med-e-Tel 2011, please contact the Working Group coordinators Adolfo Sparenberg (adolfosparenberg@hotmail.com) and Thais Russomano (trussomano@hotmail.com). Participants must become an ISfTeH Student Member (which is a no-fee membership category).
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Newsbriefs
To follow are links to some interesting and recently published articles, studies, interviews and reports (if you would like to suggest an article for inclusion into a following newsletter, feel free to send details to info@medetel.eu):
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