ASCO is the American Society of Clinical Oncology and their annual meeting is coming up June 1-5 in Chicago. I hope to see you at the #ASCO12 tweetup on Saturday, June 2 from 3:00pm - 4:00pm (CDT). This year, the tweetup will be led by:

Dr. Robert Miller @rsm2800
• Trends in Twitter Use by Physicians at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, 2010 and 2011
• Practical Guidance: The Use of Social Media in Oncology Practice

Dr. Mike Thompson @mtmdphd
• The Role of Twitter and Social Media in Clinical Trials
• Decoding QR Codes for ASCO Posters

Dr. Brian McGowan @BrianSMcGowan
Joining via Skype
• The Meaningful Use of Social Media by Physicians
• Data Highlights from Physician Adoption of Social Media for Life-long Learning

Learn more about the #ASCO12 tweetup here.

I hope to see you at the 2012 Diagnostic Error in Medicine Conference that will be held at Johns Hopkins University this November 11-14, 2012.

More information about the conference can be found here.

The Diagnostic Error in Medicine Conference (DEM) is dedicated specifically to diagnostic error in medicine. The ultimate goal of this conference is to improve patient safety by reducing the likelihood of diagnostic error in medicine. Minimizing diagnostic error is an essential component of safe patient care, and towards this end the conference activities are organized to summarize the current state of the field, to review active research, and to consider emerging ideas on the education and research agenda that should be implemented to reduce diagnostic error.

The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine is committed to encouraging research, promoting education, and building awareness about misdiagnosis.

There are a growing number of organizations around the country that have received funding from the U.S. government to provide telemedicine education, training, and support to regional health care provider groups. Given that I went to medical school in Arkansas (UAMS), I wanted to share what the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences was up to these days. The UAMS Center for Distance Health (which didn't exist when I was a student back many years ago) has set up a website called LearnTelehealth.org and they are featuring courses and even a telehealth game so that you can test your knowledge regarding the telemedicine industry. I had a chance to say hello to the folks from UAMS when I was attending the 2012 American Telemedicine Association (ATA) conference in San Jose, CA earlier this year.

As the telemedicine industry continues to grow, expect to see more of these types of regional support and training groups popping up in your neighborhood. LearnTelehealth.org is the website for the South Central Telehealth Resource Center.

The South Central Telehealth Resource Center (SCTRC) serves Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. It functions primarily through a new website that will work in partnership with the Center for Distance Health’s Training Center based at UAMS. The resource center website, www.learntelehealth.org, targets health care and health education groups that have an interest in using telehealth.

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You won't want to miss this exciting event!

New York Digital Health Accelerator

Thursday, May 10, 2012
5:15 PM - 8:00 PM (Eastern Time)

The TimesCenter
242 West 41st Street
Between 7th & 8th Avenues
New York, New York 10036
United States

Recently, the New York eHealth Collaborative along with the New York City Investment Fund and the NYS Department of Health, launched the New York Digital Health Accelerator (NYDHA) to fund 12 early- and growth-stage companies that are developing cutting-edge technology products in care coordination, patient engagement, analytics, and message alerts for healthcare providers.

The 9 month program will provide up to $300,000 of funding per company from a syndicate of leading venture capital and strategic investors, along with direct mentorship and feedback from senior-level executives at a broad network of provider organizations in New York State.

Eighteen highly influential healthcare provider organizations are participating in the program, including New York Presbyterian, NYU Medical Center, Albany Medical Center, and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation.

The deadline to apply is Friday, June 1.

www.digitalhealthaccelerator.com

Here is a video recorded at the 2012 American Telemedicine Association (ATA) annual conference explaining how Medweb and HP provided telemedicine support in Afghanistan.



ATA12 coverage is sponsored by HP. HP’s extensive portfolio of products, solutions, services and relationships can help your healthcare organization achieve quality business practices and provide quality patient care.

Here at the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) 2012 annual conference, everyone is talking about health policy. One of the last sessions this year was the Industry Executive Panel 9: Policy Priorities. What policy issues are most critical? What kind of change do we need? Participants included: Verizon, Intel, Aligne Health Resources, and UnitedHealth Group.

Reimbursement is a recurrent theme that revolves around telemedicine. Who should be paying for these types of services? Right now, some payors are involved, but we need to see to see large employers getting involved since telemedicine is more cost-effective and efficient.

Telemedicine is not the current standard of care because patients still want the live interaction with their physicians. However, newer digital tools are overcoming certain barriers that are allowing physicians to have meaningful interactions with patients. Plus, non face-to-face care can be safer for patients who are at risk of catching dangerous infections in the clinical setting.


Interstate medical licensure is another barrier in the United States for physicians who want to engage in telemedicine. Will we see a national telemedicine license someday? Given that every state has different requirements and regulations around medical licensure, I'm not too sure that we'll see this anytime in the near future. I don't think the state licensing boards want to move in this direction. But then again, the VA Health System has embraced the concept of a national medical license by allowing physicians to provide care to veterans as long as they have an active medical license in some state. Perhaps the short-term solution is a national database of telemedicine credentialing for patients covered through government insurance plans.
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