Studies in health technology and informatics
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2009
Open source and healthcare in Europe - time to put leading edge ideas into practice.
Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) is a process of software development, a method of licensing and a philosophy. Although FLOSS plays a significant role in several market areas, the impact in the health care arena is still limited. FLOSS is promoted as one of the most effective means for overcoming fragmentation in the health care sector and providing a basis for more efficient, timely and cost effective health care provision. ⋯ The workshop will further refine this strategy and elaborate avenues for FLOSS-HC from scientific, business and end-user perspectives. To gain acceptance by different stakeholders in the health care industry, different activities have to be conducted in collaboration. The workshop will focus on the scientific challenges in developing methodologies and criteria to support FLOSS-HC in becoming a viable alternative to commercial and proprietary software development and deployment.
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An interactive, video game-based training module, Burn Center, was developed to simulate the real-life emergency events of a mass casualty disaster scenario, involving in 40 victims. The game contains two components - triage and resuscitation. ⋯ After complete the triage component, the player will then take on the role of a burn care provider, balancing the clinical needs of multiple burn patients through a 36-hour resuscitation period, using familiar computer-simulated hospital devices. Once complete, players of Burn Center will come away with applicable skills and knowledge of burn care, for both field triage and initial resuscitation of the burn patients.
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We live our lives in digital networks. We wake up in the morning, check our e-mail, make a quick phone call, commute to work, buy lunch. Many of these transactions leave digital breadcrumbs--tiny records of our daily experiences. ⋯ It is crucial that behavior-logging technology not be forced on anyone. But legal statutes are lagging behind data collection capabilities, making it particularly important to begin discussing how the technology will and should be used. Therefore, an additional focus of this chapter will be the development of a legal and ethical framework concerning the data used by reality mining techniques.
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Interdisciplinary communication in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is complicated by the dynamic workflow of clinicians, instability of patients, and highly technological therapies, equipment and information systems. Many countries have examined methods to improve clinician communication and to understand common patient care goals. ⋯ We found that the clinicians studied value the availability of time sensitive information when it impacts their decisions and workflow and trust RNs' judgment of clinical information and situations. Future work should include analyses of RN perceptions of interdisciplinary communication in the ICU.
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Nursing informatics competency lists can provide a clear picture of required skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed for today's nursing workforce in a high-tech environment. Many stakeholders such as employers and educators have a vested interest in defining nursing informatics competencies for nurses. The primary objective of this paper was to compare and contrast published nursing informatics competencies. ⋯ Findings revealed that there is variation among published informatics competencies in regard to content, presentation, and audience. A general list of competencies that can be utilized by nurses at all levels is needed. As a result nurses could operationalize and measure the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to execute safe and effective nursing care in today's health care setting.