COSI 'Open' Health

As more and more articles, news clips, resources, etc. on open source and health IT are entered into the Open Health News (OHN) system, the Search feature becomes a very effective tool to use. For example, I wanted to see information and news on open source and health IT activities in Africa, Asia, South America, and in selected U.S. states, e.g. Read More »

There are thousands of open source health IT development projects, software products, and organizations around the world.  Over the past few years the major initiatives have started to coalesce into communities. The following is a list of some of these 'open health' communities along with links to community resources (organizations, software, projects) and news related to the communities. Read More »

Embedded computer systems are usually designed to do a few specific functions, often with real-time computing constraints.  They are being installed within an increasingly wide range of complex systems or devices, e.g. Read More »

Over the next decade, many health IT systems are going to take advantage of 'Cloud Computing' technology. Just as many of health IT systems are now incorporating open source software into their architecture, 'open' cloud computing solutions will begin to be adopted. Read More »

Low cost and high-performance implantable health care solutions based on emerging nanotechnologies will dramatically change the daily clinical practices of many health care providers and the lives of the patients they treat. Read More »

The 1980's saw the emergence of some of the first uses of robots in a health care setting. These were primarily restricted to robotic carts used to move mail, medical records, prescriptions, and laboratory specimens around a medical center. There was also an increasing commitment to research and development (R&D) of stationary robotic devices used for specialized purposes, e.g. packaging drugs. Read More »

Health care provider organizations and computer specialists have begun to understand the benefits of using 'open' health IT solutions. However, most consumers still have no clue why this should be of any concern to them. Here are some key points that need to be communicated to health care consumers: Read More »

Many industries and/or organizations have chosen to establish professional ‘Codes of Ethics’ or ‘Codes of Conduct’. These codes serve several purposes:

·      to provide ethical guidance for the professionals themselves,
·      to furnish a set of principles and standards as a guide against which the conduct of the professionals may be measured, and
·      to provide the public with a clear statement of the ethical considerations that should shape the behavior of the professionals themselves. Read More »

A few weeks a go, we published our current list of top 'open' health IT solutions – the HITS List for 2011.  It contained our top picks from amongst the many high quality open source health IT solutions now available. Several other open source or public domain solutions were also possible top contenders, but didn't make the list. I'm sure that by the time we publish our top picks early next year, several of the systems on this year's list will find themselves knocked from their top spots on the HITS List for 2012. Read More »

Introduction

There is growing evidence among scientists and the public about possible health risks associated with exposure to occupational or environmental hazards. There may be short term or long term consequences to people who have been exposed to radiation, chemicals, asbestos, pollution, electro-magnetic transmissions, and hazardous waste.  We need to better understand the impact of environmental exposure on children and adults with regards to autism, asthma, cancers, diabetes, obesity, and so many other conditions and diseases. The time has come to more systematically capture data on exposure to occupational and environmental hazards in electronic health record (EHR) and personal health record (PHR) systems. Read More »