We’ve set up a new Health Informatics Discussion Forum. Sections include Evidence Based Medicine, Electronic Health Records, Decision Support Sytems, Standards, Careers, Education and more.

As I reported on my new Health Informatics Blog, the boss of the Google Health project has quit to pursue other projects.

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News on Meridian Health Informatics’ DIY Clinical Information Management System - the IDME:

Meridian is close to release of Version 2.5 of its DIY Clinical Information Management System - the IDME. This version adds the ability to chart clinical data and store and annotate graphic files (ie Ultrasound). Additionally photographs captured by mobile tablet PCs are immediately stored to the patient file. IDME Systems are widely used in Obstetrics management in Australia with a growing Healthcare customer base in Asia. All IDME ‘models’ have been designed by hospital based clinicains.

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About Meridian Health Informatics:

In business since 1990, Meridian Health Informatics Pty Ltd (Meridian) devolved from the Meridian Information Services group in 2000, when growing business in the Australian Healthcare sector demanded an exclusive and dedicated focus on, and expertise in, this market.

Meridian has prospered through its exclusive focus on Healthcare IT, whilst Meridian Information Services continues to work, primarily, within the financial and banking sectors

Based in the city of Sydney, Australia, Meridian maintains a multi-disciplinary team of commercial and technical staff, with deep healthcare knowledge, expertise and experience.

In addition to the development, marketing, implementation and support of packaged software applications, Meridian also maintains a solid custom development business, serving large Australian clients such as NSW Health, the Cancer Institute and the Brisbane Mater Hospital group.

Recognised as a supplier of quality system solutions, software products and services, Meridian has an extensive user base across NSW Hospitals with additional interstate clients. Most major NSW hospitals are running several Meridian authored solutions, with a state-wide roll out of two major departmental products currently underway.

Meridian was the first company to sign the new NSW Health ’Procure IT’ agreement in December 2005.

Electronic Medical Records systems could help reduce the more than 7000 people a year who are killed by doctor’s poor handwriting according to a July 2006 report from the National Academies of Science’s Insititute of Medicine.

A coalition of health care companies and technology firms has launched a program that allows doctors in the US to write electronic prescriptions for free.

The National e-prescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI) will offer doctors access to eRx Now, a Web-based tool that physicians can use to write prescriptions electronically, check for potentially harmful drug interactions and ensure that pharmacies provide appropriate medications and dosages.

Source: Time

HiMSS 06 is taking place on 12-16th Feb in San Diego. Keynote speakers include:

Tom Ridge
Feb 15 1:00 - 2:30 pm.

The first Secretary of Homeland Security.

Craig R. Barrett
Feb 16 8:00 - 8:45 am

Craig Barrett, chairman of Intel, willl be talking about “Transformations in the Healthcare Industry”.

Governor Mark R Warner
Feb 16 8:45 - 9:30 am

Governor of Virginia

Dana Carvery
Feb 16 1:00 - 2:30pm

Comedian shares personal experience of relevance to the audience.

The Department of Health and Medical Services and Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department have signed a memorandum of understanding introducing a mandatory eHealth card for residence visa applicants.

The aims is to integrate the existing eGate card and health card to boost the visa process.

Source: Khaleej Times

Connecting for Health is inviting applications for it NHS Leadership in Health Informatics Accolade Scheme 2006. This years theme for the awards is “The Clinical and Informatics Partnership” which aims to highlight the work of front-line staff and IT.

Judges are drawn from representatives of Connecting for Health, the NHS, the Department of HEalth, UKCHIP and ASSIST.

The awards will be presented on May 16 at a joing ASSIST/NHS Connecting for HEalth Professionalism Conference.

Download the applications form and read more details here.

Experts from Center for Disease Control are saying that the use of IT for tracking and defeating an avian flu pandemic are being hampered by lack of best practices, a need for more comprehensive state-of-the-art systems and the absense of a system to share data consistently from the actualy sites of outbreaks.

Lynetter Brammer, epidemiologist fro influenza at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said, “The majority of our systems have been running for years and years, and some of the technology is definitely not state of the art.”

Computerworld has more on the story.