Ramblings: My article on Medical Tourism in Korea

Ok, I got a few emails from readers querying / reminding me that I’ve not done the article on Medical Tourism in Korea, hence this blog post.

Firstly, my apologies for the delay, I’ve actually done up draft one back on the 27th Nov 09 and the final version on the 8th Dec 09. Normally, I’d publish the article once I reach a ‘final version’ but this particular article is being sponsored by an external consulting firm so it is actually waiting for ‘approval’ (hence the slight delay).

So again, I do apologise for the delay and I will strive to have it published before the year is up.

Cheers~

New Article: So, You want to buy an ECG Management System

I was organising the ‘old files’ in my portable hard disk when I came across a research proposal I wrote back in Sep 2008 (for a PhD that never happened). I reread the contents and found it still quite relevant so I ‘dusted’ it a little and trimmed it into a “So, You want to” article.

This article briefly examines some of the considerations one should take note of if they are interested in implementing an ECG Management System, mainly on features selection as ECG Management Systems in general does not require major customisation or enhancement to maximise clinical or operational workflow.

I hope you enjoy “So you want to buy an ECG Management System“.

Ramblings: I passed the CPHIMS exam

I posted an entry sharing on the CPHIMS exam (administer by HIMSS) that I took recently in Singapore (first time its offered in Singapore).

The results just came in the mail, I got 82 out of 100, not bad given that there were a few questions that I couldn’t answer due to the lack of understanding on the US healthcare system  and about 4-5 that I left it as blank as I didn’t have the time to do the math part of it.

Nevertheless, according to the score report, I am now ‘recognized by HIMSS as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems and may use the CPHIMS credential immediately.’ That’s kind of cool

So there you have it, I am a ‘CPHIMS’.

Till the next certification trophy~

P.S. Anyone interested in getting the Preparing for Success in Healthcare Information and Management Systems:
The CPHIMS Review CD ROM (priced originally at USD $325) I’m letting go of my copy.

Ramblings: What a month it has been..

It has been quite a month and no, the month (of November) is not up yet but what a ‘month’ it has been since I got back from South Korea.

I have basically been spending my time (and will continue till the month is up) on 4 major items this month and I reckon I should talk about the first 2 points (the remaining 2 will be reveal later) because while it appears that I have ’slowed down’ on the work at binaryHealthCare.com, I have in actual fact, work on a great number of related projects

So this is the first 2 items (out of 4) that I have been working on for the month of November;

1) Writing a Book
Before I ramble on ‘The Book”, allow me to share with you a side project I’ve been working on since February 2009  – the development of a post tertiary program on Imaging Informatics (aka PACS Administration) for an institute of higher learning in Singapore (yes, first of its kind in the region with more to come!)

Part of the work includes the development of the educational materials and I decided to write the text myself – hence a book (there would be slides and lab practice too). While I have no problem developing presentation slides for conferences and articles for the media, I actually have no experience in authoring a book, even though I took a course on book writing to minimize the learning curve, the actual process is by no means an easy feat (I’ll post more thoughts on this ‘little journey’ once I finish draft one)

2) Building the community at ClubPACS 2.0
Now one would imagine that rebuilding ClubPACS would be ‘a walk in the park’ given its fame and popularity before closing down. Well at least that’s what I thought, boy was I so wrong.

For those who have never managed an online community before but like to visit one, do the community owners / managers of those community a small flavor (if you visit ClubPACS 2.0, do me this favor too). Participate in the forums. Yes, it really helps.

The reason is simple, it actually reflects that there is activity going on in the community. I get so many PM (private messages) asking for help and I made the mistake of actually replying in full – the results? Empty forums, and let me tell you, empty forums is bad because it gives the impression that no one visits the community (which is not true).

The other problem I had was trying to get people to register. For ClubPACS 2.0, no registration is needed, anyone can assess the contents (forums included, unless they want to post) so what happens? People just read through the content / knowledge base. This is ok (that’s what ClubPACS is about – sharing of knowledge) but it just give the impression that the community is not alive and this ‘vicious cycle’ goes on (which is bad if you are trying to build a community).

The good news? It’s actually getting better and the research and practice I did on community management is making me a (slightly) better community manager.

However, if you are reading this and you have not register or post an introduction at ClubPACS 2.0, get it done right now

So there you have it, the 2 items that has been keeping me busy but it is well worth the time because the deliverable from these 2 items will benefit the health informatics on the whole

Business Leadership Seminar by Singapore Computer Society

This is an important blog entry that I had to make sure I get it posted, it’s on the Business Leadership Seminar organized by the Singapore Computer Society that took place on the 7th November 2009 (on a Saturday morning) at the Singapore Management University, Singapore. I attended the event with two purpose in mind;

• I needed the CPD points. I’m a Certified IT Project Manager and this seminar awards 6 CPD points towards my ‘unmet quota’
• I wanted to listen the track on Transforming Healthcare through IT by Dr Sarah Muttitt – Chief Information Officer of MOH Holdings, Singapore

Ok, so it was really more for point two than one but in all, I think it was a fruitful trip as I learned quite a fair bit from the other speakers too – Robert Yap, CEO of YCH Group (I didn’t know they dabble in some aspects of Health IT until I google the company) and Howie Lau, GM of Lenovo ASEAN.

I love the session from Howie as he provided some very good examples of how he applied certain marketing concepts and theory (given that the seminar took place in a university’s auditorium, one can be forgiven if the impression given was that an MBA lecture on Marketing was going on).

The session that was most insightful was of course the one provided by Dr Sarah Muttitt as it gave me (further) heads-up to the direction Singapore is heading towards in the national wide electronic health project.

I also managed to talk personally to Dr Muttitt on a side project of mine that will benefit the health community at large but that’s another story for another time (I don’t want to give away the element of ’surprise’).

In all, it was a good seminar (even for one on a Saturday morning

Ramblings: New short course I am taking – I bet you never saw this coming

Ok, before I start, I must put on a disclaimer – “This has nothing to do with health informatics – unless you see it from my point of view”

So I am taking up a new course – a short 12 audio lessons (with assignments to be done) on communicating with toddlers (I’ve a young daughter and the ‘terrible two’ is quite beyond me).

For the ‘uninitiated’, dealing with toddlers can be much more difficult than dealing with physicians (well, like toddlers, most of them are friendly and accommodating but the occasional ‘one off’ can really drive you insane).

So I sign-up (well, my wife did actually) for a course on how to improve my communication skills and ‘build powerful skills of influence’ so I can get my kid to comply with my ‘requests’ more often and reduces ‘the occurrence of fights and screaming matches’  (sounds familiar to your work as a Health IT professional? lol)

Alright, so I jested a little but heck, one can always apply knowledge gain from difference sources in different areas, I do that all the time so I reckon I might just pickup something to ‘improve my communication skills with Doctors

Ramblings: ICE seminar (Innovation, Commercialisation, Entrepreneurship) at Temasek Polytechnic

I was supposed to attend a seminar on “Innovation & Entrepreneurship Fair and Seminar” organized by the Global Entrepreneurship Week at Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore.

I actually arrived pretty earlier – at 1pm and proceed to local an available eatery for lunch (boy was it crowded) before attending the fair of 10 booths (which I finish examining in less than 15 minutes, after trying to gain some intelligent answers out from the participating students).

I was getting bored as the seminars starts at 2pm and I had 45 minutes on-hand, I needed to get productive (I don’t even find enough time to sleep these days, there is no way I’ll spend 45 minutes doing nothing). So I whipped out my phone and started to go through my calendar and by 1:45pm, the phone battery went flat (ouch).

It would seem that although I had decent power reserved for the day, I had forgotten to turn off the ‘Port Splitter’ I used to enable my GPS (I had to use the GPS earlier on to find my way to two unfamiliar locations). I took it as a sign from above and headed to my car, arriving back home at 2:15pm and resume writing my book.

Now that was the dose of  “Innovation, Commercialization, Entrepreneurship” I got out of the “Innovation & Entrepreneurship Fair and Seminar”.

Ah well, such is life

Ramblings: My Next 2 Speaking Slots

My next two speaking slots are on the same topic: Workflow Preparation and Automation Solutions to Strengthen and Enhance Hospital Operational Efficiencies.

The two conferences are organized by MedTech Dynamics Asia and will be held at;

1. Tokyo (Japan) on the 12th November 2009 @ Hyatt Regency Tokyo
2. Delhi (India) on the 3rd December 2009 @ The Leela Kempinski Gurgaon

Do let me know if you are attending either conferences and want to catch up.

 

Ramblings: I was off on a holiday in Korea

Guess what, I was on a holiday in Korea from the 28th Oct (the day after I took the CPHIMS exam) to 3rd Nov 09 (arrived at Singapore at night-time) and it slipped my mind to update you guys of my absence.

I do have some interesting observation to share on the medical tourism sector in Korea but I’ll leave the details in a later post as I’m still a little groggy (I suspect I’m having a mild case of jet lag).

 

Panel: Health IT professional shortfall underestimated

Good news fellow Healthcare Informatics Professionals, HealthImaging.com ran an article that the Connected Health Symposium (USA) projected a shortage of some 50,000 health IT professionals (in the USA alone, imagine the rest of the world).

BOSTON–A projected shortage of some 50,000 health IT professionals in the United States is most likely an underestimate by the federal government, according to a panel discussion at the Connected Health Symposium on Thursday.

Panelists John Glaser, MD, vice president and chief imaging officer for Partners HealthCare; Eileen Sporing, chief nursing officer at Children’s Hospital Boston; and Andrew Vaz, national director of life sciences at Deloitte Consulting, shared a bevy of professional insights on current health IT market trends and its future direction.

Andrews said he believes that a projected shortage of 50,000 health IT professionals underestimates the market need by about 20 to 30 percent.

Vaz said that offshoring and emerging markets in China will contribute to an IT explosion “to win the war in talent.” Sporing said computer scientists are going to have to help providers expand the role of health IT in the future. Glaser acknowledged that the American Recovery and Reimbursement Act (ARRA) will force health IT professionals to hit the ground running when meaningful use is defined.

He said that the new health IT employment opportunities will need to be occupied in a relatively short amount of time, and all will require staff with the proper training.

According to the panel, the cost of health IT training may be a burden that providers have to shoulder.

Glaser noted that the federal government will put “some money” on the table for curriculum and to jumpstart the process. Increasingly, organizations will front money to bring in talent, Glaser said. He predicted that certification programs will proliferate, as the need for health IT professionals continues to grow.

The panel predicted that individuals also will shoulder some training costs in order to provide themselves with a competitive edge in the job market.

Vaz said that one of the biggest challenges facilities face is obtaining experienced project managers and information system designers. Glaser agreed, noting that “an element of effectiveness comes with experience.”

In a question-and-answer session, Jay Sanders, MD, president and CEO of the Global Telemedicine Group, said he had no doubt that an infrastructure will be set in place for EHR meaningful use requirements. His concern was that the “integrity of the information infrastructure” might be compromised.

“That is a persistent and never-ending challenge,” Glaser responded, adding that there will always be inherent limitations on the quality of data. Glaser noted that you’ll always want to piggy-back “knowledge to complement the algorithms.”