Providers

Are you thinking about moving data (e.g., patient files, images, telemedicine survey data) from that clunky old Yugo computer or storage system to a brand new shiny Ferrari system? Are those happy thoughts or are they clouded by dread and visions of digital monsters eating up all your data and laughing in your face? You are not alone.

Data migration can be painful but there are ways to lessen that pain with careful preparation. First let’s start with a few basic terms. Legacy data is what you have now and want to transfer. Data migration is the process of importing that data into the new system. Data cleansing is getting the old data ready to move – making it compatible with what the new system requires or expects. It’s this last part that is often the most difficult.

In Early September we had the pleasure and honor of conducting a telemedicine training event as a pre-session course before the Congreso de Telesalud Región de las Américas 2014 that was held in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Dr. Pedro Ramos extended the invitation to us and he and his associates welcomed us with open arms and made our visit quite enjoyable. Four representatives of the Arizona Telemedicine Program (ATP) and Southwest Telehealth Resource Center (SWTRC) traveled to Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico to train a group of healthcare providers, share information and ideas, and learn about telemedicine programs in our neighboring country.

Are you thinking about getting into telemedicine, can’t find anyone to provide services or don’t know who to choose from once you do find some potential providers? This is not uncommon and can often be quite paralyzing in terms of jumpstarting your efforts. As telemedicine has grown exponentially over the past few years, so has the number of commercial companies providing services.

It’s often enough just to keep up with what’s happening in your own local area in telemedicine, let alone keeping up with the world! However sometimes it’s easier than others, especially if your husband is French, reads Le Figaro regularly, and then sends you articles to read (although I must admit Google translate often helps with this last step!).

Telemedicine pops up in the most unexpected places! I was fortunate to attend the 4th International Conference on Information Technologies in Biomedicine (ITIB) in Kamień Śląski, Poland (a lovely little town northwest of Krakow which was a seat of knights and noblemen families in the past and where the castle in which St. Jacek was born is located – which is now a quaint conference center and sanatorium) and in addition to image analysis, computer-aided surgery, bioengineering, bioinformatics and signal analysis are 2 sessions dedicated to telemedicine!

It’s impossible to summarize the 2014 American Telemedicine Association meeting for those unable to attend as it was impossible to see the whole thing even for those attending! ATA grows every year and this year was no exception – it was huge and it was exciting!! Believe me when I say I got quite a cardiovascular workout running between sessions and up and down the stairs between the conference rooms and the Exhibit Hall – which was probably a half-mile long and filled with vendors!

Telemedicine, telehealth, e-health, m-health – it’s all healthcare. But where would healthcare be today without informatics? Broadly, healthcare informatics deals with the resources, devices, and methods needed to optimize acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of information in health and biomedicine. Imaging Informatics is the study and application of processes of information and communications technology for the acquisition, manipulation, analysis, and distribution of medical image data in particular.

Are you thinking about getting into telemedicine either as a service provider or using a service provider but have no idea what’s available, how to find customers as a service provider, or as a user find a service provider? Wouldn’t it be great if there was somewhere you could go to find out what’s out there and ask all the questions you have?

The inaugural Northern Arizona presentation of the Arizona Telemedicine Program (ATP) and Southwest Telehealth Resource Center (SWTC) telemedicine training conference was a resounding success, with a sellout crowd and nationally recognized speakers representing several high-profile Arizona telehealth programs. The ATP and SWTRC presented the full-day “Arizona Telemedicine Course: Applications, Infrastructure, Reimbursement” at Flagstaff Medical Center on Tuesday, April 1.

Tooth decay remains one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood especially for Arizona children.  Many Arizona Children start school with tooth decay, a disease that is largely preventable.  Early tooth decay can start in children as soon as the first teeth erupt and progresses with age.  By the time Arizona children reach 3^rd grade, over 75% of them have experienced tooth decay. Arizona’s oral health workforce is challenged by the high dental needs of the state’s children, especially in rural areas which extend into 80% of the state’s land.