“What’d I miss?” -Week of May 11th

As usual there were a lot of things happening this week in healthcare, and not all of it was technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I browsed this week.

PTR posted a summary of what happened at the ASCP Midyear Conference in Orlando, FL last week. It appears that long-term care (LTC) is taking technology seriously. Maybe it’s time for me to consider a change in practice environments.

Neil Versel’s Healthcare IT Blog broadcast an open invitation to editors to do a feature on “Live video from amubulance to ED“. The author does a follow-up piece at FierceMobileHealthcare.com.

New York Times: “…in a report, Gadgets and Gigawatts, released on Wednesday, that the number of people using a personal computer will exceed one billion in coming months, and that already half the globe’s population subscribes to a mobile telephone service. These trends were helping to account for increasing demands on grids. Nobuo Tanaka, the agency’s executive director, said that “despite anticipated improvements in the efficiency of electronic devices, these savings are likely to be overshadowed by the rising demand for technology” in rich and developing countries.”  Wow, one billion personal computers. Gives some validity to “If you build it, they will come“.

Mobileread.com reported that anyone can make their blog available to read on the Kindle via the new Kindle Publishing for Blogs Beta program. Or course you’ll have to pay for the privilege.

Speaking of the Kindle, my brother purchased one for his wife on Mother’s Day. I had the opportunity for a little “hands on” this week. My impression of the Kindle prior to laying my hands on it was that it was lame, very lame. Now I feel silly because the device is completely and totally awesome. The online photos simply don’t do it justice. It is a sleek, sophisticated device that was a pleasure to hold and read with. I’m placing an order for the new Kindle as soon as it’s available. Hopefully the waiting list won’t be too long.

Dynamism offered a pre-order event for the Viliv S5. If you haven’t seen this little device in action, treat yourself to a video.

The author of the EMR (EHR) and HIPAA blog has gone crazy this week by posting some of the best information on EMRs that I’ve seen to date. The information is refreshing, thoughtful and plentiful. He has some great insight on the subject. It leaves me wondering how he comes up with all these great blogs every single day. Well done.

ASHP.com: “The Leapfrog Group’s annual hospital survey report, released in April, found that hospitals have a long way to go to fully implement the organization’s recommendations for improving the safety and efficiency of patient care.” If you have the opportunity make sure to read the entire article, it’s a real eye opener.