ITGS News

In this article the stakeholders are worried about the internet connectivity. Since many people are using it today as we speak they are watching videos, tv shows, listening to music from the Internet, and many others and would be known as stakeholders. The issue here is the reliability of the hardware. In the article it states that the copper wires that were initially put for calling which only required voice. Now it has increased with much more and in order for the internet connectivity to increase there needs to be more of a solution than fiber optic cables since it was not planted in to the ground before. The IT systems that requiring so much internet speeds are computers, mobile devices, computers within the doctors office, and many other. For tele medicine to continue there needs to sufficient or reliable internet connectivity. For instance, say a doctor wanted to help out another doctor in India. For the doctor in America it wouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. If the hospital did not have its own secure internet then it would have taken a long time since other internet connectors are using it to download and upload video,stream live music, and much more. The point here is that for one to have accessibility in the internet connectivity there needs to be globalization. Globalization will help increase and satisfy almost everyone's needs.

The USAID and FCC are currently working together trying to find the best ways to take advantage of telemedecine during natural disasters. Yet, it's not really the idea of promoting it's usage for many nations have already began using it to recover and aid those whom were highly wounded, or even those who weren't harmed to make sure they continue being healthy through telemedicine. The point of the unity between these two organizations is to improve it's usage so that connectivity is best no matter the type of natural disaster. It has been noticed that connectivity was a problem, causing an issue of reliability since doctors can no longer contact their patients due to loss in service. The telemedicine depends on the wireless networks available. Because a natural disaster has occur, many of these networks are no longer available since satellite dishes are destroyed and no longer work. Plus, many of the computers can become damaged internally and cause inaccaurate data within a telemedicine database. More than a millions dollars was given to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) so that improvements could be made immediately, in order to prevent the upcoming disasters. This will be tested during actual disasters, and later be improved after studying it's effects on network connections. But currently, computer scientists are creating the telemedicine to be provided on mobile devices such as a cell phone which can easily use RFID to track were a person is, or barcode scans to scan patient's papers to be sent into the medical field. This form of mobile telemedicine will impact greatly towards natural disasters for the reason that is mobile, unlike computer desktops.

The article starts with a general overview of telemedicine and its roots in NASA. Then, the article switches the focus to the implementation of telemedicine in Haiti. The establishment of networks in Haiti immediately benefited the effort to recover. Communication came immediately, but telemedicine found its way into Haiti and held a crucial role in recovery. Video sessions became common, allowing simpler analysis of data and training of doctors.

After the January earthquake in Haiti, many people were left under extremely bad health conditions, with little or no health care being at their service. Haiti is a poor country, and with a natural disaster like that occurring, medical treatment for those that required it to the minimal extent was rare, let alone for the people that needed to be operated upon (such as surgical patients). The solution that some United States officials found after attempting to help Haiti with this issue was telehealth, better known as telemedicine; telemedicine was initially used for space astronauts back in the 1960s. In the situation with Haiti however (better known as "real-time"), it essentially involves a video-conference between a patient and a health professional and/or doctor in a different location (often times in hospitals or offices). Also during certain operations however, a doctor at the scene will be conferencing with a specialist at a different geographical location through the uses and benefits of telemedicine. The main IT system involved in this situation with telemedicine is satellite connections. A satellite communication system requires a satellite to function. Thus, a satellite is in high orbit over the Earth (stationary or geosynchronous, which means that the speed of the satellite is complementary to the speed of the rotaion of the Earth, thus it will always remain above the same spot). A satellite dish on Earth is then directed at the satellite, and all the signals (voice & data information, television signals, etc.) are transmitted on an uplink. The satellite itself (while still in orbit outer space) has a receiving antenna mechanism which is able to capture the incoming signals towards it and is able to diverge them through an amplifying network.

continued.... After this process, it then re-transmits the signals to the designated receivers (these signals are waves that go upon a certain frequency). Depending on what the frequencies are, when it comes to telemedicine, the frequencies are repudicated for an instance, and the digital data is then linked to set receivers. These data packets are routed through satellite, which makes the end (whether it is a phone call or the merging of voice and data transmission such as video-conferencing) come along. The satellite may be compared to a ground-based signal, in which the signal points upward and it is later reflected down back at the user/client. Therefore, with sufficient bandwidth, Haiti is running on high-speed Internet access. As a result of this IT system involved (as well as the use of telemedicine), social and ethical issues emerge. The use of such IT devices and systems such as satellite linkage and telemedicine through video-conferencing was not present in Haiti even before the earthquake. However, with the aid of other countries, more advanced form of health care came into view. This is a breakthrough from the digital divide, where Haiti was not able to provide proper medical care for its citizens. Another issue that comes into play (vexing from the digital divide) is globalization. Doctors on the seen are able to provide their patients with the best care by either consulting a specialist from a remote area far away, or the patients who require health care have video-conferences with doctors in order to discuss health related issues. This breaks down the barrier in which Haitians were facing with little or no medical support.

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This article deals with how telemedicine was used following the earthquake that occurred in Haiti in order to provide medical care to patents and individuals. The stakeholders in this scenario include the patients and doctors in Haiti and the doctors/hospitals in the U.S. They are able to use satellite technology and wireless internet, in order to bridge the gap between both areas and provide people with access to medical care. Satellite technology is used to communicate between doctors in the U.S with clinics in Haiti. This provides real time service to patients, where the doctor is providing a consultation and diagnosis immediately to the patient. This technology also allows doctors in the U.S to perform surgeries since the satellite technology is able to support telemedicine because it provides a high amount of bandwidth. Additionally, in Haiti they are using high speed wireless internet throughout certain regions. The radio system is used in extreme cases where more advanced technology is not available, but still allows doctors from two areas to communicate with one another. Images and messages during consultations are sent through a secured network, so the data of the patients is kept private. Obvious benefits of using this technology include that people are able to get access to medical care and this decreases the digital divide and globalization. This is because people are able to get more care and consultation through using this IT technology, which would not have been available without telemedicine. However, some issues still arise despite these benefits in medical care. This includes the security of information and privacy of the patients. In this case, the article states that the internet messages are secured so that there is not privacy breach. This must be done using encryption technology so that people are not discouraged from using telemedicine and so that no private patient information is leaked or seen by unwanted users.

According to Alexander Vo, an associate professor in preventive medicine and community health, telemedicine is a helpful measure to be taken in order to help patients from a remote location. However, he says that problems have arose when telemedicine was used in relation to diaster relief. One example given is the earthquake in Haiti, when many technologies were donated by companies in order to promote the use of telemedicine for immediate disaster relief. Vo says that this technology was not used, especially within the first few weeks, because the locations were staffed with enough doctors. Further, even if the technology could be used, the doctors were not trained to use it, and there was no time to train them at that moment.Only after the voluntary doctors went back to their home towns could they be of any use in regard to telemedicine. The patients in need of special care could then connect with the doctors in the remote areas, however, there could be problems if the internet was down, or if the necessary hardware was destroyed due to the diaster. Even though the egagement in telemedicine was not the best for Haiti, it was seen to be of great help for a hurricane in Texas recently. Vo explains that telemedicine was successful because it was already established within the communities. The technology was available throughout the affected areas, and could be put to use immediately. The use of cell phones was also crucial, because many of the patients had pre-established access to doctors who could help diagnose and alleviate the problems of the patients in affected areas. Because the protocols were established prior to the disasters, the care was planed out to be available to the most amount of patients. Plans in advance can also taken into account the problem of damaged internet service, cables, and networks, and determine what the best plan of action is given the situation. Thus, the relief would allow the affected area to be back on track quickly, and efficientl

There are many patients that lack the specific care because of natural disasters, such as tsunamis and earthquakes, even blizzards. Companies such as polycom and Tandberg both provide this service that was originally meant for bigger businesses, and now these new markets are being serviced by the companies first made for these businesses. As a matter of fact, even telepsychiatry is also offered, or mental health care is also offered. If someone is from afar and needs care right away, then they will get it that easy, instead of waiting for days, they can wait have access to doctor help right away.

Watch Watson on Jeopardy.

After hurricane Karl hit and practically flooded all of Veracruz, Mexico, many people were left wounded. This article talks about three specific patients who had "hard to heal ulcers" or the stakeholders. Along with the patients, the other stakeholders in this case were the specialists reviewing the information sent to them and the people present in the same location as the4 patient. These patients were taken to PEMEX General Hospital in Veracruz. Pictures were taken using digital cameras and were small enough to be sent to through email to specialists in Mexico City. There, they analyzed the high quality pictures and were able to give a diagnostic. An issue could be security since these files are being sent through regular email as clearly stated in the article " small enough to be sent via regular email ". If there isnt a specific network that these health centers are using it might not be delivered without having someone have looked at it before. The IT system(s) in this case were the digital camera used to take pictures of the patients injuries. The computer was also another system as well as cameras used for video conferencing. By having been able use telemedicine, it saved the energy of the patients having to go to another state just to be treated.

This is not a new item, it is an abstract of a medical journal article.

Robots help the patients who are in need of fast and efficient surgeries. This robots with the help of artificial intelligences can make small incisions, which reducing hospital stays and cost. Robot called "Da Vinci" created by Intuitive Surgical, can perform complex surgeries based on the advancement of this machinery. According to Intuitive Surgical, "The system reduces hospital stays by half, reducing costs by about one-third, because of less pain and speedier recovery." This benefits the Patients and doctors of a mistake or and is less time consuming.

This is a video I found online which relates to our case study. It deals with telemedicine in Kenya and how it has greatly helped clinics and patients in receiving medical care simply through the use of a camera, scanner, and computer.

Cost saving scheme in Bangledesh "Its backers are confident they can make money from the rural centres through the cost-savings generated by identifying diseases in the early stages. "Bangladesh spends US$1bn on healthcare but patients are not getting the expected care," said Dr Zakir. "If we get to the disease in the early stages, we can save 20 times the money we are spending." "