Informatics update: April 2008 part 1

Dear all

Your help is needed:

The RCN has recently launched a new survey to investigate how well universities and placements are preparing nursing students for using computers and other types of information technology in their future clinical practice. Please pass this e-mail to students on your patch.  The survey will take you around 10 minutes to complete. Everyone who completes the questionnaire will be entered into a draw to win an iPod Shuffle. The winner of the iPod will be selected at random and notified once the survey has closed. To be entered into the draw, please remember to add your name, email address and contact telephone number in the fields at the bottom of the questionnaire.

A nurse practitioner and an educator from the USA is seeking your help: "For many years I have been concerned about the lack of research to support what we do as advance practice nurses in telehealth. For my doctoral dissertation, I have chosen to study the APRN in the telehealth environment and how we demonstrate caring when we do not actually touch the patient. I think it is vital that we question every aspect of our practice, and I need your input on this important issue about the innovative telehealth access system. If you would agree to assist me, your entire response can be done online. All you need to do is answer 12 open-ended questions, but your time commitment is totally under your control. Please consider contributing to this study to answer one of the criticisms of the telehealth environment. If you would like to learn more about this study and perhaps consider participating, please e-mail  sbvarghe@utmb.edu 

Resources/training

  • Microsoft NHS Resource Centre has enhanced its existing e-learning platform to include richer functionality and brand new courses, which all members can use for free. The site has added new course collections in Microsoft Office 2007 including training in the Groove collaboration tool and OneNote, a way of keeping organised notes and images on your PC. Training is also available in Windows Vista and SharePoint Services 3.0. The training platform has a new look and feel and the new courses offer even more interactivity, Microsoft says.
  • AHRQ National Resource Centre for Health Information Technology: Health IT Compendium. The Centre, based in the USA, has compiled a set of publicly available surveys to provide quantitative and qualitative data when evaluating health information technology projects. The surveys have been categorized in four ways.
  • Essential IT Skills (EITS) regional event presentations. Presentations can be downloaded from a series of recent events relating to the launch of the EITS programme.
  • Foundation of Nursing Leadership: Free online leadership assessments. Five assessment tools which have been designed to support personal and leadership development each of which takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
  • Health Foundation: Leaders for Change Programme launched. The aim of the scheme is to equip individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge to act as effective leaders of change and to achieve sustained service improvement that is directly related to improving the quality of healthcare. Applications must be received by 9 May 2008. 

In the news:

Articles of interest:

Older people favour telemedicine if it keeps them independent: Older adults and family caregivers are very willing to use technologies such as telemedicine and telepharmacy that can allow them to remain independent and in their own homes, according to a report from AARP. But both groups could benefit by knowing more about technological innovations that are available today and those that are on the horizon, the report notes. Three-fourths of older adults support use of telemedicine to diagnose or monitor health conditions remotely in their home, while more than 9 in 10 support use of telepharmacy to have their doctor monitor their medications. Caregivers are also willing to use new technologies to meet their needs; but more than 8 in 10 think they will have difficulty persuading the people they care for to use these items.

BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making. Instant availability of patient records, but diminished availability of information. A multi-method study of GPs use of electronic patient records.

Knowledge Management in Health Care: The Third Age: The March 2008 edition of Health Care and Informatics Review Online includes the following five papers: "Coming of Age for Healthcare Knowledge Management", "Information, Knowledge and Technology: Role in Anaesthesia Patient Safety", "Audit of Health Data Captured Routinely in Primary Healthcare for the Clinical Decision Support System PREDICT (PREDICT CVD-4)", "How do Health Informatics Systems Improve Quality and Cost Efficiency in ACC Contracted Community Rehabilitation Teams", "Reduction in Diabetes-Related Hospital-Bed Days for Adults Using Wireless Technology: A Case Report".

Events:

The 3rd Mackenzie Lecture, entitled Best laid plans: record linkage illuminates public health, and other jurisdictions' will be presented by Professor Sheila Bird from the MRC Biostatistics Unit, Cambridge. The Lecture will take place in Lecture Theatre 2, Level 7, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School, Dundee from 12.00 pm to 1.15 pm on Wednesday 23 April 2008.  Refreshments will be available from 11.30 am at the promenade area, outside Lecture Theatre 1.

New Information Technologies and Governance of Health Systems: The International Conference on Systems Science in Health Care will focus on the role played by new information technologies in the health care sector, and particularly on the impact of these technologies on health care systems governance. The event will take place in Lyon, France on September 3-5, 2008.

The most interesting agenda for the NHS-HE Forum meeting on 14 May is available. This free event will take place at the Royal Society of Arts, 8 John Adam St, London, WC2N 6EZ. Please note that it starts at 10.30 am (with coffee from 10) For more details contact Malcolm Teague, NHS-HE Co-ordinator tel +44 1752 240175  mob +44 7976 593 486  E-mail Malcolm.Teague@ja.net

I hope to see many of you at HC next week or at RCN Congress the week after.

Sharon  Levy  (Mr)
Informatics Adviser