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Hacking Health in Hamilton Ontario - Let's hear that pitch!

What compelled me to register for a weekend Health Hackathon? Anyway, I could soon be up to my ears in it. A pubmed search on Health Hack...

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Playing video games 'improves eyesight'

I know the researcher in this study quite well. I wanted to sign up for one of the video game studies on amblyopia (lazy eye) because I have lazy eye, and I would get a free X-Box. I am not a gamer, but if I had the technology, I know I would become addicted to it. Now that scientist like Dr. Maurer suggest in this research, that playing video games is therapeutic for eyesight, I don't see why I don't invest in a gaming system. There is a caveat here, and that is not to believe everything you read in headlines, or anything you might happen to find on the internet. Going to the scientific article to study the findings is the best idea. Since hearing about Dr. Maurer's research, I have become hopeful that newer and better forms of vision therapy can be developed. I have read and tried the eye improvement exercises in the Bates Method and the book by Aldous Huxley called "The Art of Seeing". The cognitive basis of vision is so clear in these books and this research. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9088262/Playing-video-games-improves-eyesight.html

What do predicting wine quality and evidence-based medicine have in common?

The answer is McMaster University and a book by Ian Ayers, called "SuperCrunchers, Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart" Through regression analysis and crunching the numbers, the quality of wines can be predicted just as well as by expert wine tasters - in advance of the harvest. There is a chapter on how McMaster University medicine developed the science of evidence-based medicine - also by looking at the numbers. This is the dawning of the age of Big Data, as we all should know.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Regenerative Medicine - Organ Printing

Not so much science fiction anymore. Machines that work like ink jet printers, print cells on layers of dissolvable "cell paper" thus creating three dimension organ structure. This reminded me of a science fiction movie staring Jude Law and Scarlet Johansen called "Island". For a great list of science fiction movies I recommend this list at Ray Kurzweil's Accelerating Intelligence site: http://www.kurzweilai.net/films-we-like

Thursday, February 23, 2012

If I ugrade my EHR I can lose the ads?

I am totally new to Blogger and yesterday I signed up for Google Ad Sense. Was trying to get the idea on how clicks translate into cash. This blog will never accumulate that much interest. One day soon I will see how the ads look when they appear on the side navigation or wherever it is I choose they should appear. This made me think today about Practice Fusions - a FREE web-based Electronic Health Record systems for small medical practices. Nothing is free in this world however, and if you upgrade with a monthly fee you will actually lose the advertisements on your EHR pages. I could try to make a joke about that, but I just can't see one right now, so will have to try later. http://www.practicefusion.com/

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Medical Student Candidate Interview Season

For the past 8 years I have been a volunteer with the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine Admissions program at McMaster University. As a "community member" I have been one of the group of appraisers of auto-biographical submissions, as well as a participant in the Multi-mini interviews (MMI). McMaster is famous for developing problem-based learning, but they also developed the MMI system for choosing candidates in the medical school. This system is widely used around the world, and not only by education systems. I have participated in some of the research studies that attempt to improve the selection of medical students. One was an experiment in online assessing of auto-biographical questions, using video and online submission.  I like this system quite a lot. I still don't fully understand the anonymity of the submissions - we never know the names or any other information - only answers to questions. The MMI is different. We see candidates face to face and we know their names and where they are from. It is very interesting to meet these top notch students, if only for the ten minute station we see them, where they are asked to answer a question about ethics, do a small task, or assess some world issue. Mostly we are looking for the kind of communication skills and sense of presence aspiring healthcare leaders might have.
The same process is being applied to the Physician Assistant, the Bachelor of Health Science,and the Arts and Science programs at McMaster - for all of which I have also volunteered as a "community member" assessor.
It is like a lottery - the odds are almost against you from getting accepted unless the stars line-up in your favour. This is only the way it appears to be not what can actually transpire. Of course, the medical schools want to accept the brightest and highest GPA students, but that is not the sole criteria for potential healthcare leaders. More researcher into this process will always be welcome I think, in order to make it less than a lottery and more like the fulfillment of a dream.

John Halamka - Keynote at eHealth Vancouver 2012

Just learned that John Halamka, (Geek Doctor blog) will be Keynote speaker at Vancouver eHealth 2012. http://www.e-healthconference.com/keynote.html Might get a chance to meet him if I go there. Might go to York University for the Advances in Health Informatics conference instead to present same paper (where I reference a lot of the work of John Halamka on Personal Health Records) http://www.ahic.nihi.ca/

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Vancouver eHealth ePoster presentation

I was accepted to present an eposter at the Vancouver eHealth 2012 conference:
http://www.e-healthconference.com/

eposters are a new idea.


I would only get 2 minutes to present and 3 minutes Q & A.  My topic is "The Role of Tethered Personal Health Records on the Canada Health Infoway". 
http://www.e-healthconference.com/guidelines.html

Not sure I will go all the way out there for the 5 minutes.  Will see.