HealthManagement, Volume 9 - Issue 1, 2009
Management In Radiology (MIR)
IHE Connectathon
Update
The IHE-Europe Executive Board is pleased toannounce that the Ninth Annual European Connectathonwill be held in Vienna, Austria fromApril 20 - 24, 2009. Hosting the Connectathonwill support the Austrian IHE initiative in furtherdeveloping their presence in the healthcare interoperabilitycommunity, according to IHE cochairsPeter Kuenecke and Karima Bourquard.
The Connectathon is a connectivity marathon during which systems exchange information with complementary systems from multiple vendors, performing all of the transactions required for the roles they are implementing. At the IHE Connectathon, all companies that have implemented IHE’s Technical Framework specifications in their products, have the chance to test them with many other companies’ products in a real interoperability environment.
The results of the Connectathon will be published in the connectathon results table on the IHE-Europe website. Vendors may use the IHE integration statements to show the compliance of their products with the IHE integration profiles.
Parallel Workshops
Parallel to Connectathon 2009, IHE Austria and the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Vienna will offer a series of workshops entitled “Sharing Clinical Documents and Integrating Workflow: Practical Solutions from Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE)". The workshops are organised in two tracks, one for users of health IT and another for vendors of such systems. The User Track is categorised as follows:
• Clinical Content User Track: Designed to show healthcare professionals the benefits of using content profiles in clinical work and will be of interest to suppliers and those involved in planning the implementation of healthcare IT systems.
• Management User Track: Designed to inform CEOs, CIOs, Financial Directors, Clinical Directors, IT/ICT Directors and Managers, of the benefits of this efficient and cost-effective implementation of technology for the enhancement of communication within healthcare in Austria and Europe and will be of interest to suppliers and those involved in planning the implementation of healthcare IT systems.
For vendors, the Vendor Track is designed to inform vendors about the IHE development process and how they can stay at the cutting edge by being part of it. It will be of interest to software suppliers and those involved in planning the implementation of healthcare IT systems.
Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Europewww.ihe-europe.ne
Update From MIR Winter Course
Management in Radiology (MIR), a subcommittee of the European Society of Radiology (ESR), recently held a challenging management workshop in La Thuile, Italy, from January 15 – 17, 2009 that aimed at sharing the effective management techniques used by top industry managers with leaders in a healthcare setting.
Organised and led by Dr. Nicola Strickland, Chairman of MIR, the programme, with both educational and interactive elements, revealed the secrets of the following three management methodologies:
- The DISC Inventory, which teaches managers how to better understand what motivates employees and how to effectively deal with them;
- The Change Acceleration Process (CAP), GE’s proprietary Change Acceleration Process. CAP is a Model, Process and Tool/Skill-Set for increasing acceptance and commitment to changes, and
- LEAN, a methodology aimed at reducing waste, eliminating bottlenecks and improving quality.
Teaching Sessions Prove a Success
The Thursday morning session was an analysis of DiSC, which classifies individuals into four primary behavioural styles: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. Delegates were asked to submit an electronic personal DiSC analysis in advance of the course, which revealed their natural and adaptive DiSC profiles. These were used to discuss what motivates their colleagues, and themselves and based on this to recognise how best to conduct themselves and how to deal with colleagues most effectively.
The next sessions concentrated upon CAP and LEAN methodology. The delegates chose various medical workplace scenarios and problems in which to apply and work through these concepts. The last session addressed the issue of the five dysfunctions of a team and how to avoid and overcome these. The requirements for building up a good team within healthcare were explored.
Management in Radiology (MIR) Preliminary Programme
“Making Imaging Relevant”
MIR have announced the line-up of topics for their forthcoming conference to take place in Riga, Latvia, from September 30, to October 2, 2009. Abstracts will go online March 27, 2009 and further details will be forthcoming on www.mir-online.org.
Wednesday, September 30
Session 1 – Imaging in the Baltic States: Latvia, Lithuania & Estonia
Session 2 – How to manage low budget imaging: Investment strategy; Departmental financial management; Hospital and countrywide healthcare management
Thursday, October 1
Session 1 – SCARD: North American imaging management; Current concerns.
Session 2 – Managing the public face of Imaging: Medical professionalism in imaging; Ethics and imaging; The role of the professional radiographer; How hospital managers assess imaging; How to interface with clinical colleagues.
Session 3 – Making tele-imaging relevant: Virtual imaging – the case in favour;
Session 4 – Making imaging IT relevant: Integration of digital teaching files into PACS; Audit trails: what we need; Patient consent/opt out: what we need; Balancing governance (quality) and service delivery (quantity); IT for the MDTM (multidisciplinary team meeting).
Friday, October 2
Session 1 – “An imaging decicion, which has made a difference to imaging management”: Six fiveminute presentations from presenters; followed by a one-hour floor discussion.
Session 2 – Managing imaging equipment: Bringing an idea to market; How to choose equipment: radiological perspective; How to choose equipment: industry perspective; Single vendormanaged service: industry perspective.
Computer Assisted Radiology & Surgery (CARS)
Preliminary Programme Details
The CARS congress with its associated journal, the International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery, is focused on research and development for computer assisted systems and their applications in radiology and surgery.
The main themes emphasised in the CARS programme are established by an interdisciplinary and international group of experts from healthcare institutions, academia and industry, worldrenowned for their work on innovative methods and technologies in medicine. These are members from the ISCAS, EuroPACS, CAR, CAD, CMI and CURAC societies, who are active in the various committees of CARS, and in particular, who have successfully presented novel approaches at CARS congresses.
The CARS Congress Organising Committee invites you to join them in Berlin in June 2009, if you work in the fields of radiology, surgery, engineering, informatics and/or healthcare management, and have an interest in topics such as image guided interventions, medical imaging, molecular imaging, image processing and display, computer aided diagnosis, surgical simulation, surgical navigation and robotics, as well as new PACS applications, including infrastructures adapted for surgery. Clinical specialties represented at CARS include:
• Image Guided Tumour Ablation Therapies
• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Computed Maxillofacial Imaging
• Computer Assisted Radiation Therapy
• Computer Assisted Orthopaedic and Spinal Surgery
• Computer Assisted Head and Neck, and ENT Surgery
• Image Guided Neurosurgery
• Minimally Invasive Cardiovascular and Thoracoabdominal Surgery
Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE)
2009 Congress: Lisbon, Portugal
The CIRSE Annual Scientific and Postgraduate Educational Meeting is a unique forum where medical professionals will meet colleagues from all around the world to exchange ideas and information in the field of minimally invasive, image- guided therapies. The best recent scientific developments and novel research will be presented in more than 100 hours of sessions and workshops.
The annual CIRSE congress is the European showcase of this medical specialty. It has developed significantly over the last four years, both in size and quality. According to CIRSE President, Prof. Jim Reekers, “It is what shows us that there is a plus ultra, a further beyond which we must always strive for, just as the explorers before us. Uniting interventional radiology around the world is another key element for the success of our congress. It is also one of the main aims of our association”. He adds: “I am therefore particularly happy to announce that Brazil recently decided to become a CIRSE Group Member, thus adding the biggest South American nation to our global network. At CIRSE 2009 we will welcome Brazil to our “CIRSE meets…” sessions and I very much look forward to meeting our Brazilian colleagues in the land of their ancestors”.
A second “CIRSE meets…” session unites representatives of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) who will present topics of interest to interventional radiologists, dealing with peripheral vascular disease. Last year’s successfully launched patient awareness exhibition, which was complemented by a press conference for patient awareness groups and a programme to present interventional radiology to young residents will become a permanent feature of the scientific programme. www.cirse.org
ECRI Institute
Devices Sourcebook Now Available
ECRI Institute has announced the publication of its 2009 Health Devices Sourcebook and updated Health Devices International Sourcebase Online. Both resources help healthcare professionals locate medical device manufacturers, suppliers, and service companies as well as medical products.
ECRI Institute’s 2009 Health Devices Sourcebook lists complete contact information for more than 6,800 US and Canadian manufacturers, distributors, and service companies. Data is indexed by categories such as product listings, trade names, manufacturers’ product lines, equipment services, service company profiles, and a master company list. Executive contacts are also included.
Sourcebase, an online database updated twice a month, indexes 15,000 worldwide manufacturers and distributors of medical devices—from surgery equipment to healthcare in for mation technology. Through the searchable database, users can view typical price ranges and crossreference terms, commonly used names for each device, and device descriptions. The database’s supplier profiles contain general company information, including their history, annual sales, and financial information as well as executive contacts with direct email links, where available. www.ecri.org
