HealthTech.PH: Innovations

Smartphone and Game Console Technology for Health Tech Application

November 08, 2017 The Mail Man 0

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 <span style="font-size: large;">Duke University and Stanford University doctors and engineers are developing an ultrasound device that can be an equivalent of more expensive 3D imaging with just the addition of a chip that costs US$10.00</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Dr. Joshua Broder, MD, who is an associate professor and emergency physician at Duke Health, Durham, North Carolina, USA came up with the idea when he was playing the Nintendo Wii game console with his son.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Observing that  the Wii console was able to track the controller accurately, he concluded that the same principle can be done when a similar device can be “slaved” to a hand-held ultrasound probe.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">When presented at the American College of Emergency Physicians Research Forum in Washington, D.C., the innovation showed potential in emergency medicine applications.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">This device can be used in lieu of the more traditional MRI and CT Scan machines that cost five times than the ultrasound system being used.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The requirement that in order to generate a 3D image, there must be precise and accurate tracking and orientation of the ultrasound probe enables the “modified” probe to stitch hundreds of individual slices of the anatomy thus generating a 3D image.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The next step after a year was for Dr. Joshua Broder to bring his ideas to Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering. Together with undergraduate Matt Morgan and instructors and professors in biomedical engineering  Carl Herickhoff and Jeremy Dahl both of whom have since moved to Stanford University, the device is still being developed further. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The chip, the size of a fingernail is attached to an ultrasound probe and is connected to a laptop that has been inputted with a developed program for the device. In a matter of seconds, a 3D model is generated. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The device which is a standard ultrasound probe has the chip attached to it and is used in its regular way to generate the 3D image.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The prototypes were created at Duke University’s 3D printing laboratory. The next step is or trials to determine how best to use the device in patient care. Also, development is going further in enabling the device to adapt to other 3D imaging machines.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The device has good potential in generating 3D images where MRI and CT Scan devices are not available such as rural areas and in developing countries.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Source:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Readings from : </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://surgery.duke.edu/faculty/joshua-seth-broder-md">https://surgery.duke.edu/faculty/joshua-seth-broder-md</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/how-10-microchip-can-turn-ultrasounds-high-powered-3d-image-machines">http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/how-10-microchip-can-turn-ultrasounds-high-powered-3d-image-machines</a></span><br />
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Smartphone and Game Console Technology for Health Tech Application

3D Printing Applications of 3D Printing Equipment. Technology Innovations Science and Technology Smartphone and Game Console Technology for Health Tech Application

Duke University and Stanford University doctors and engineers are developing an ultrasound device that can be an equivalent of more exp...

PH Student is NatGeo’s Everyday Genius

June 07, 2017 The Mail Man 0

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NatGEo's Everyday Genius: John Elmer Loterizo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A 20 year old software engineering student from Central Philippine University (CPU) won the grand prize in National Geographic’s Everyday Genius contest.  John Elmer Loterizo to the plum with his Patient in-transit Diagnostics System (PaDS).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">PaDS is an app that sends a patient’s diagnostics prior to arrival to any hospital that is a critical component in patient management during emergencies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> “PaDS was an idea created through my observation of the protocol in emergency cases here in the country.”  “As I come to read news articles on patients not being accepted in hospitals here in the country because of the lack of facilities and the like, the chances of that patient receiving the immediate care becomes slim,” Loterizo said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">PaDS is a communications link between an emergency medical responder and a medical practitioner that is awaiting for the arrival of a patient in transit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Time and information are of the most critical essence during times of emergencies and having advanced knowledge of conditions and diagnostics of a patient will spell the difference between life and death during most cases.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the Philippine setting, emergency cases had to contend with traffic in urban areas while in rural areas, the distance between primary health centers and tertiary hospitals with the proper equipment to handle such cases is an ever present factor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As experienced by Loterizo himself, “It’s based on my personal experience,”  “I  had a hypokalemia  at around 2 a.m. I was rushed to the hospital because I had difficulty breathing but to no avail, I had to wait for a couple of minutes before being entertained. After I was entertained, the doctors still had to query me about my medical history before giving me some form of initial treatment and subjecting myself to some tests,” Loterizo related</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The wide use of smartphones in the country is a boon for solutions in addressing such critical cases. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">PaDS work as a private two way conversation between a medical practitioner and the attending emergency medical responder on-site. This is of importance when the recipient hospital is not yet aware of an incoming emergency case and PaDS will advance information to the hospital so that preparations for the proper management of the case can be made before the actual arrival of the patient. </span></div>
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Equipment health apps healthcare and Tech Infertility Technology Innovations PH Student is NatGeo’s Everyday Genius

NatGEo's Everyday Genius: John Elmer Loterizo A 20 year old software engineering student from Central Philippine University (CP...

GE Spearheads PH Cancer Management and Treatment

May 05, 2017 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="background: #DDDDDD;">Cardinal
Santos Medical Center’s latest effort to meet the country’s needs on cancer
care is the installation of the GE Discovery PET/CT 710, which features
high-sensitivity, high-definition image reconstruction to help doctors
recommend the best possible tailor-made regimen for patients while minimizing
radiation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This writer has been touched by Cancer so many times. In fact, it is the No. 1 case of death in my family. My family’s success rate in fighting Cancer is ZERO. My own mother, grandfather, 2 aunts, 2 uncles, and 1 cousin and not counting friends, parents of friends and former co-workers and their families. These are only my personal scoreboard. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In fact, national statistics state that 56,000 lives annually succumb to cancer. And worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) cancer took an 8.8 million toll last 2015.  It is estimated that it will increase to 17 million annually by the year 2030.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But cancer can be reduced by interventions such as lifestyle changes and early screening. That is what the doctors told my cousin whose father recently passed away because of cancer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Symptoms such as weight loss, fever, fatigues, skin changes are oftentimes seen as common illnesses and after sustained symptoms, it is only diagnosed as a manifestation of cancer when it has already metastasized and at its Stage 4.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With regards to early screening, GE Healthcare Philippines introduced GE Discovery PET/CT 710 which features high-definition image reconstruction that can actually help doctors recommend the best possible tailor-made regimen for patients while minimizing radiation.  </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Our work as a healthcare solutions provider does not stop with the development of innovative medical equipment. We help build on the diagnostic capacity of healthcare workers pursuant to the recommendations of WHO.” According to GE Healthcare Philippines country manager Ivan Arota.</span></div>
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GE Spearheads PH Cancer Management and Treatment

Equipment Global News Health IT Healthcare Hospitals Innovations Philippine Healthcare Professional Tech revolutionizing Medicine Technology GE Spearheads PH Cancer Management and Treatment

Cardinal Santos Medical Center’s latest effort to meet the country’s needs on cancer care is the installation of the GE Discovery PET/CT ...

Healthcare Business Competition for Students from February 4-5, 2017

January 23, 2017 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">HealthHacks PH, an overnight healthcare business technology competition, will be from Feb 4-5, 2017 at the Microsoft Offices in Makati. It is organized by undergraduate college and high school students.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">HealthHacks PH is a non-profit organization that organizes events to encourage students to create software or hardware solutions in healthcare. This organization believes that it is never too early to begin solving healthcare problems through technology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Registrants are already filled up but one can receive updates through their Facebook page on <a href="http://facebook.com/healthhacksph.">facebook.com/healthhacksph.</a></span></div>
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Featured Hackathon Health IT Innovations Startup Technology Healthcare Business Competition for Students from February 4-5, 2017

HealthHacks PH, an overnight healthcare business technology competition, will be from Feb 4-5, 2017 at the Microsoft Offices in Makati....

Centuria Medical Makati at Full Operation

January 06, 2017 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />A year after HealthTech PH published the article regarding Centuria Medical Makati, the said medical facility has gone into full blown operations. It is a whole new level in healthcare that provides its services to a wide range of medical and wellness needs.<br /><br />Standing 28 stories high, the healthcare “mall” houses 600 doctors’ clinics and facilities that are at par with the best hospitals in the country. Its core is the IT enabled outpatient center. It is indeed a “center of Excellence” that utilizes the newest and most advanced equipment.<br /><br />Partnering with top healthcare providers and including 300 medical, dental and other allied professionals that are accredited with high level local and international insurance and HMO providers.<br /><br />Centuria Medical Makati offers specialized  medical services in primary care, multispecialty surgery, dermatology and cosmetic laser treatment, multispecialty dentistry, cosmetic and facial surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology/laser eye surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, urology, physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, orthopedic, dialysis, and wellness and complementary medicine.<br /><br />There is also an Urgent Care Clinic for fast, personal service with regards to emergency related injuries. More serious cases will need a hospital visit that can be arranged.<br /><br />Hi-Precision offers diagnostics and laboratory services that are computerized and state of the art equipment. Advanced Lab Solutions by Hi Precision provides diagnostics using these new technologies at competitive prices and operated by a well trained staff of licensed medical <br /><br />The Surgery Center that started its operations last year offers surgical procedures that are undertaken by specialists who are board certified surgeons together with a team of anesthesiologists, interns, nutritionists and other medical professionals in allied fields. <br /><br />A Unit managed by the Asian Breast Center that offers women a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary approach in breast care. Prevention, screening diagnosis and treatment is included in this program.<br /><br />For eye-care, there is the Peregrine Eye and Laser Institute that features advanced technology I the field of eye-care.<br /><br />As part of a community, Centuria Medical Makati conducts health and wellness symposiums that are free to the public. Mercury Drug, the largest drugstore in the country provides the pharmaceutical needs of the patients.<br /><br />Centuria Medical Makati has already made its mark after a year of operations in the Philipines’ healthcare industry and community.<br /><br /><br /></span></div>
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EMR Equipment Events Featured Health IT Hospitals Innovations Professional Technology Centuria Medical Makati at Full Operation

A year after HealthTech PH published the article regarding Centuria Medical Makati, the said medical facility has gone into full blown op...

The Future of Philippine Healthcare Services

December 27, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">The Philippine Healthcare Services sector has been static in its evolution for almost 4 decades. Consisting of public and private healthcare institutions, it has not be able to adapt to the dynamics of economic and social development that has occurred in those past decades. Mainly, it has been classified into two. These are based on the financial and economic capabilities of those who needed healthcare. The well to do would opt for private institutions and the rest were consigned to public health institutions. Thus, the disparity in the quality of healthcare was divided by a wide gap,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These factors not only showed the quality given. Although accessibility to public healthcare is supposed to be easier, the availability of healthcare professionals, equipment and medicines were only in theory but not in practice. Thus, there are barangay health centers, the frontline of the public healthcare system that do not have the full capacity to address the needs of the larger population. This is the situation wherein most of those who need basic healthcare are referred to regional tertiary hospitals that have limited space for the growing population and its healthcare requirements. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The only other option is to go to private hospitals where such requirements can be acquired but these are only accessible to most urban residents and have higher financial costs. Even though these private hospitals have large capacities, still they are also subject to longer waiting times for those requiring services.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Philippine population is experiencing an eco-social evolution. The increase in population is also coinciding with the growth of household incomes. These are the results of a higher number of educated Filipinos with employment and the OFW phenomenon that has created an expanding middle class. This segment of the population now have the capability for better quality healthcare. What precludes them from such are factors accessibility and convenience. By their very economic and social evolution, time itself is a commodity for them and that is where the need for another option comes in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since the 1970s, retail health clinics have been present in the Philippine healthcare ecosystem. From a few clinics initially present, groups of doctors founded polyclinics wherein a number of specialized doctors are available at any given day and schedule. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another level was reached when clinics started in malls and arcades. These presented options for those who require certain medical services. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The drawback was that owing to financial factors, many of these clinics closed down. A way must be found to ensure their financial viability. This can be fulfilled by innovation with regards to added capabilities and services, thus more patients can be served and accommodated. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the US, this is already happening. Accenture has an annual growth forecast of 14% on this so called sector. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I the Philippines, this is also beginning. With FamilyDoc, leding the way, retauil clinics have found the niche where they can be of service to the community and at the same time be financially viable. Putting emphasis on expanded capabilities and services and even pharmacies located on-site, the initial branches were able to provide the needed services. This included modern equipment and laboratories that are also on-premise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another game-changer is technology wherein electronic health records are updated and is present on any given clinic. This factor led to better medical management of the clinics and of course patient monitoring as needed by those who need such with chronic diseases. This is the benefit of an integrated Health Information System (HIS)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">All these factors lead to better healthcare management, accessibility, convenience and lower healthcare costs for both the operators and the communities being served.</span></div>
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Community Clinics EMR Equipment Health IT Hospitals Innovations Technology The Future of Philippine Healthcare Services

The Philippine Healthcare Services sector has been static in its evolution for almost 4 decades. Consisting of public and private healt...

Pangasinan students win Php100K award for NutriVision app

December 13, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">Marvin Trecenio, Byron Jan Mairina and Justine Louise Villanueva, all students of Urdaneta City University (UCU) won the Php100,000 award from the Google Developers Group’s Android Masters. This is a competition between colleges for android programmers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The four students developed NutriVision an app that provide nutrition facts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">  </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">193 colleges and universities participated in the competition and NutriVision won the top plum nothwitstanding that it was the first time for UCU to join the competition. It took 4 months for the team to develop the app. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another award for the app was for being the most downloaded application in a 2 week span. Trecenio said that NutriVision can be downloaded from Google Play with no payment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The app has four options, search food, capture food, browse for food photos and pronounce the name of the food.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With the “search food” option the user inputs the name of the food desired and its nutrition details will be provided. While the “capture food” feature enables the user to know the nutrition details of a food that the user took a picture of.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The app is useful in monitoring food intake with regards to healthy nutrition habits that will also be beneficial for those who have to watch their diets.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> “This is a work in progress. We are thinking of integrating in the app any food that is good for certain illnesses,” Limuel Ocay, UCU Team Adviser said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The app can also be used when eating at fastfood places so as to know nutritional details. NutriVision has a rating of 4.5 in reviews in Google Play.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And to think that it just started with the four of them eating pizza on an afternoon.</span></div>
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Equipment Featured Health IT Innovations Startup Technology Pangasinan students win Php100K award for NutriVision app

Marvin Trecenio, Byron Jan Mairina and Justine Louise Villanueva, all students of Urdaneta City University (UCU) won the Php100,000 awa...

Health Tech.PH will tell Your Story

December 06, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">You have a Health Technology story to tell? How about new health technology products and processes? Or you are into pioneering implementation of health care operation? Let HealthTech.PH tell your story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Health Tech.PH is now the only online Health Technology industry journal in the Philippines. The journal has covered healthcare technology subjects ranging from public healthcare policy to new  developments such as nanotechnology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The advocacy of Health Tech.PH is for the country to be informed about the fast pace of innovation and development in the country. This in turn will spur more interest in this 21st Century field wherein the health of the Filipino people will be paramount.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Health Tech.PH is open to publishing articles and stories that will contribute to awareness in such fields as Electronic Medical Records (EMR), locally developed equipment, information system for hospital and clinic operations, patient, doctor and hospital interfaces, new public health technology, and other relevant subjects.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You may contact us at philcourse.ph@gmail.com and/or mobile number (+63)9159963349.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Health Tech.PH is looking forward to telling “your” story.</span></div>
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Health IT Healthcare Cost Hospitals Innovations Movers and Shakers Startup Technology Health Tech.PH will tell Your Story

You have a Health Technology story to tell? How about new health technology products and processes? Or you are into pioneering implemen...

The Return of the "Family Doctor"

November 29, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">House Calls</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am of the age that doctors used to do house calls. In fact, I was born in our ancestral house. That also goes for my sister. "Doktora Maria" delivered bot of us. She was one of two "Family Doctors". The other one was Dr. Eulalio Berroya. He would come to our hose whenever someone was sick. He would carry his black bag and he rode a bicycle. Doktora Maria would eventually open a Maternity Clinic in front of her houyse along our street and Dr. Berroya's clinic would be at the garage of his home, complete with Kaimito, Chesa, Atis and Mabolo trees. It is either they would come to our house and the houses of our community or they would be attending to patients in their clinics.  Eventually both good doctors retires and no doctor in our community made house calls anymore. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Local Health Centers</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The transition from “house calls” to “health centers”  came in a few years later, particularly in the mid -1980s – early 1990’s. These have now evolved into Barangay Health Centers and Rural Health Units as a result of the “devolution” of National Health Care as per the 1991 Local Government Code. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thus, the local community doctor is now extinct and another level of public health care has ceased to exist. There are of course private clinics that cater to public health care but these are usually stand-alone clinics with no diagnostic capabilities. In public barangay health centers and RHUs there is limited capabilities with regards to diagnostics and even emergency treatment. Also, these health centers are overwhelmed by sheer numbers of those who need basic health care particularly from those who belong to the lower income levels. Such cases are referred to tertiary hospitals that in most cases are far from those who need urgent health care much less critical diagnostic services.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is brought about by population pressure and a downstream result is urban sprawl with not enough health care centers to serve the burgeoning population. Most of the residents of these urban sprawls are middle class families who can also afford private clinics for their primary health care. The problem is the availability of such centers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">New Doctor in Town</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ayala Healthcare Holding, Inc. (AC Health) found the need for such a service. It brought back the “family” doctor to these communities. These medical centers can provide affordable, accessible and high quality primary   medical services.  </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Starting 2016, these medical centers commenced operations in their communities and suburbs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">AC Health saw the need for such and invested a huge amount of research with regards to that nich in the industry according tro AC Health CEO Paolo Borromeo. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“We spent around one full year looking at the sector end-to-end,” “We realized that there were so many areas that needed improvement where private sector could, hopefully, help, and we decided to throw our hat into the ring.” said Borromeo</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because these suburban communities are relatively new, there was a dearth of  health care infrastructure to serve the needs of the residents and the communities. Established private hospitals presented proximity challenges for these people with health care needs. Thus, Family Doc arrived.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> “What we did was we put FamilyDoc right in the middle of their community. Right outside of their villages, in community malls,” according to Borromeo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Currently, there are two FamilyDocs located Las Piñas City  and in Barangay Buhay na Tubig in Imus, Cavite with 4 more expected to pen during the remainder of 2016.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Three in One</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Unlike in barangay health centers and even private clinics, FamilyDoc offers a consultation clinic, diagnostic facilities (laboratory and imaging) and a pharmacy wherein FamilyDoc serves as a one-stop-shop for primary health care. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What is critical is access and affordability for the community. They wil;l no longer have to go one place for consultations and another place for diagnostics nd then another place for buying medicines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The cost for Basic consultation is Php300.00 and laboratory costs can be half what it would be charged in private hospitals. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Each FamilyDoc branch is a “three-in-one” medical center, offering the services of a clinic, diagnostic facility (with laboratory and imaging), and pharmacy. Basic consultation costs around P300, while laboratory tests cost half that charged by private hospitals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Ultimately, the goal of FamilyDoc is access,” says Dr. Mike Santos, AC Health medical director, who is assigned to the branch in Brgy. Buhay na Tubig.  “We’ve  made it so affordable that instead of patients asking their neighbor what to take for a cough, they go to their primary care doctor. That’s what we want to happen in all FamilyDoc branches: That people will trust us enough to give preventive care,” Dr. Mike Santos, AC Health Medical Director said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another factor is that FamilyDoc complements the existing barangay health centers and private hospitals. This will augment the current health care institutions with regards to absorbing primary health care needs at the first level. This is due to diligent studying of the communities and health care infrastructure existing in those localities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">FamilyDoc is open from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays. Although basic first aid can only be offered for emergency cases these are better than current barangay level public health centers and RHUs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">EMR</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">FamilyDoc has had over 8,000 regular patients and these are monitored at tracked by means of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system provided for by Medix. Medix is one of the leading EMR providers in the country. So any FamilyDoc branch can have access to a patient’s medical records instantly. This is crucial since a patient’s medical history will be very important in diagnostics, medical management and treatment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The future</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">FamilyDoc also intends to open up more branches in the immediate future. This goes hand in hand with encouraging many doctors to go into General Practice of GP. The essence of FamilyDoc is the same as the family doctors of bygone years. This will serve as the backbone of the “new” primary health care frontlines in the country. </span></div>
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Community Clinics EMR Health IT Innovations Technology The Return of the "Family Doctor"

House Calls I am of the age that doctors used to do house calls. In fact, I was born in our ancestral house. That also goes for my ...

Electronic Medical Records in the Philippines: Issues and Challenges

November 14, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">By: Electronic Medical Records in the Philippines Issues and Challenges ROMSTY C. SANTOS Master of Science in Health Informatics, University of the Philippines Manila</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1.  What are the implementation issues and challenges of some of the leading EMR providers in the country?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2.  Lack of manpower No designated encoderin RHUs Fast turnoverof health workers Some midwives or nurses are at retirement age Some are not techy or computer savvy or literate Management issues in the LGU Some LCEs do not prioritizehealth Health workers are overburdened of tasks Instead of encoding data, they would prefer to maximize patient services Lack of resources, e.g. computer units and internet, due to lack of fundsor the area doesn't have internet connection such as GIDAsites</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. Legalware. Healthcare is multi-disciplinary: policies for health information exchange are not yet in place. Specific policies related to security, privacy and confidentiality of patient information are not yet laid down: some informatics pessimists are unconvinced that EMRs are good/efficient tools hardware. Poor hardware maintenance. Regular budget allocation to replace parts/units. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Network problems, i.e. IP conflict and slow internet connectivity software. Local technical expertise to troubleshoot software-related issues. Health care data requirements are dynamic/ever changing: costly for some LGUs to budget for customizations peopleware.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. Intended users Making the system relevant to them is more than just informing them. Users need to actually use it in their workflow. Until such time that they experience the full cycle: from recording, reminding, prescribing and use it for decision making, etc. then it is as of now just a database of patient information. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Policy EMR providers listen to what DOH, PHIC and DOST require. However, delays in implementation, changes in administration are set backs. We go to the field promising that the system is relevant for claims yet it remains a promise after two years. Partners As a private provider of EMRS, we also need to ensure that our partners are satisfied with our work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes, there is already scope creep and we can not avoid including the work as it becomes relevant to the project based on circumstances. Technology As implementation plans change and slow down, technology on the other hand changes fast. We need to constantly upgrade which increases the cost of maintenance even before ROI kicks in. Sustainability We need to include a model for sustainability despite the software being free as there are real costs in maintaining the system.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. Lack of funding support from the national government Weak policy Weak infrastructure environment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">6. Sustainability (unlike pharmacies, PHIC IT support are channeled to LGUs, and difficult to negotiate individually) Training and support for users Hardware for health workers</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Source: <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/Romsty/electronic-medical-records-in-the-philippines-issues-and-challenges-53260542">http://www.slideshare.net/Romsty/electronic-medical-records-in-the-philippines-issues-and-challenges-53260542</a></span></div>
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EMR Equipment Health IT Innovations Technology Electronic Medical Records in the Philippines: Issues and Challenges

By: Electronic Medical Records in the Philippines Issues and Challenges ROMSTY C. SANTOS Master of Science in Health Informatics, Unive...

Medical research expert recognized during PhilASST Convention

October 10, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">Dr. Antonio Dans, President of the Philippine Society of General Internal Medicine (PSGIM) was recognized as an outstanding researcher during the 65th Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology (PhilASST) Convention.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Dr. Paulo C. Campos Award for Medical Research was awarded to Dr. Dans in recognition to medical researchers who have distinguished themselves in the conduct of their medical careers in public service.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dr. Dans was instrumental in evidence based medicine (EBM) that improved the practice of medicine and the delivery of quality healthcare in the Philippines. This efforts spearheaded the conduct of trainings on EBM with regards to the development and implementation of clinical practice guidelines for healthcare workers and professional societies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dans also initiated and implemented health researches with local and international collaborations that lead to better understanding of disease prevention and management in the country. Some of his studies were published in international, peer-reviewed, and highly cited journals including the Lancet, a medical journal in United Kingdom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“He leads the initiatives to strengthen the practice of general internal medicine in the country that provide a holistic approach to patient care through the development of relevant training prorams for physicians,” PhilASST explained.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">PhilASST noted that the health advocacies  of Dr. Dans resulted in the passage of significant legislations such as the Sin Tax Law that has had a positive effect on the government’s anti-smoking campaign.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The award was established in 2012 and was in honor of Dr. Paulo C. Campos, a National Scientist and a former president of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), and the PhilASST. </span></div>
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Featured Innovations News Professional Medical research expert recognized during PhilASST Convention

Dr. Antonio Dans, President of the Philippine Society of General Internal Medicine (PSGIM) was recognized as an outstanding researcher du...

Google’s Verily and Sanofi Form Company to Beat Diabetes

September 28, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">Two companies, giants in their own fields, have joined forces to spin off a new venture to help diabetics manage their disease and enjoy improved quality of life. French pharmaceutical company Sanofi and Verily Life Sciences, the health services division of Alphabet Inc. (formerly Google) teamed up to create a comprehensive approach to diabetes management with a new company called Onduo. Sanofi brings clinical experience and diabetes medication expertise to Onduo. Sanofi produces several versions of insulin. Verily contributes experience with miniaturized electronics, consumer software development, and analytics to the new venture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The overall plan encompasses three stages. First, Onduo plans to combine devices, medication, software, and medical care strategies to help people with type 2 diabetes manage their disease. The group will also focus on lifestyle changes for patients to improve their overall health. The second phase in Onduo’s mission will involve helping patients with type 1 diabetes with ongoing disease management. The third challenge will be working with people at risk of developing diabetes, trying to help them hold off or prevent the disease from starting. The worldwide diabetes epidemic and the threat of further expansion from sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition choices mean there will be no shortage of challenges and people to help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sanofi and Verily are each contributing the equivalent of $250 million dollars to Onduo. Initial collaborations with Sutter Health in northern California and Allegheny Health Network in western Pennsylvania will enable  Onduo to test its emerging care platform in clinical settings. In addition, Onduo has reached out to the Taking Control of Your Diabetes (TCOYD) patient advocacy group and will be connecting with other diabetes groups for input on future products and programs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The immensity of the threat of diabetes to the world’s population calls for equally large efforts to cope with the disease and explore possibilities of reducing the risk. Onduo’s resources and comprehensive approach to disease management and prevention may be the best chance yet of tackling the threat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Source: <a href="http://healthtechinsider.com/2016/09/13/googles-verily-sanofi-form-company-beat-diabetes/">http://healthtechinsider.com/2016/09/13/googles-verily-sanofi-form-company-beat-diabetes/</a></span></div>
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EMR Equipment Health IT Innovations Technology Google’s Verily and Sanofi Form Company to Beat Diabetes

Two companies, giants in their own fields, have joined forces to spin off a new venture to help diabetics manage their disease and enjoy ...

The Medical City’s robotic surgery offers less invasive treatments

September 26, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyone who’s had a medical operation knows that it can be such a source of pain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Traditional surgical procedures are invasive in nature, causing certain amount of trauma to implement a course of treatment. Many internal complaints require long incisions that take time to heal, not to mention an increase in the chances of infection. Rather than offer a quick remedy for an illness, the patient is left to recuperate on his sickbed for a period of time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, latest advancements in medical technology allow individuals to opt for a less traumatic approach to their care. The introduction of robotic surgery easily avoids all the complications brought about by most operations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now hailed as the future of surgical procedures, The Medical City (TMC) has been offering robotic surgeries since 2010 for procedures that target difficult and hard-to-reach areas. This signals its position as one of the most technologically advanced health institutions in the country, at par with leading centers in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A press event was recently held to relaunch TMC’s Robotics Surgery program with the acquisition of its second robot, the more advanced Da Vinci Si surgical system.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In robotic-assisted surgery, the surgeon performs the procedure by manipulating robotic arms from a special viewing and control console. The arms wield fine surgical instruments that are able to cut, dissect, and suture with full range of motion, as well as a camera that allows the surgeon to view the operative site in three dimensions, magnified up to 10 times.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Doctors at TMC have been using this innovation for urological, colorectal, and gynecological procedures, which focus on sensitive parts of the human body.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dr. Julius Cajucom, TMC urologist and head of the Robotics Surgery Program of The Medical City, says prostate surgeries target a “tight area” in the body.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“The degree of difficulty is so great,” explains Cajucom. “The area is very tight, and movements are so limited.” The use of the robot makes the operation in the said areas more convenient and easier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The advantages of robotic surgeries are manifold. Compared to open surgeries, it only makes tiny incisions on the patient’s body where holes are made, as in laparoscopic procedures. Through these holes, the arms of the machine are inserted to perform the needed operation within the patient’s body. The doctor operates the robot through a console that allows him to see the inside of the patient without having to open him up. Since the patient has smaller incisions, the chances of infection from external causes are minimized.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“It is less traumatic, less bloody, causes less pain post-operatively, and promotes faster recovery,” says Cajucom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Likewise, Dr. Kristine Hazel Katimbang, TMC robotic gynecologic surgeon, says robotic surgery is beneficial for many gynecological procedures, such as hysterectomies, myomectomies, and excising ovarian cysts, endometrial cancer and cervical cancer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Katimbang adds that many patients who undergo robotic surgery leave the hospital in just a day or two.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Since there is no pain, they can move easily. They can eat well after a procedure, which isn’t the case compared with an open surgery,” she says. “Since there are no long incisions, there is less pain, less stress, and less agony. You cannot imagine how doctors feel when they see their patients with smiles on their faces after robotic surgery.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Medical City has highly qualified personnel to perform robotic surgeries, from doctors to nurses. All of them trained with the leading health institutions abroad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While the procedure is presently available for urologic, colorectal, and gynecological operations, Katimbang says it can also be utilized for head and neck, trans-oral, thoracic, and vascular surgeries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Patients no longer need to fear surgeries and their after effects on their bodies with robotic surgery. Robotics surgery provides an alternative to both traditional open and conventional laparoscopic surgery, putting the doctor’s hands at the controls of a state-of-the-art robotic platform. It enables physicians to perform even the most complex and delicate procedures through very small incisions with unmatched precision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For more information about The Medical City’s Robotics Program, you may call the Department of Surgery at 9881000 or 9887000 ext. 6288 or visit themedicalcity.com.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Source: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/advertorial/life/09/23/16/the-medical-citys-robotic-surgery-offers-less-invasive-treatments">http://news.abs-cbn.com/advertorial/life/09/23/16/the-medical-citys-robotic-surgery-offers-less-invasive-treatments</a></span></div>
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Equipment Health IT Hospitals Innovations Professional Technology The Medical City’s robotic surgery offers less invasive treatments

Anyone who’s had a medical operation knows that it can be such a source of pain. Traditional surgical procedures are invasive in natu...

A New Concept in Healthcare: The Internet of Medical Things Part 1

September 13, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbvlsiut02yUxW6shyphenhyphenXIgWEMRCwGit41OJOPsVQqKcf51NVT_THkNka2Nt1LrW1vUOEP_iUOjbxs0ecsu-Yb4jWveW_eXz38gSz_0VNDS4SYzj07uGLqnsPDMl50HLJjL98lS28ivUHIj/s1600/IoMT+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbvlsiut02yUxW6shyphenhyphenXIgWEMRCwGit41OJOPsVQqKcf51NVT_THkNka2Nt1LrW1vUOEP_iUOjbxs0ecsu-Yb4jWveW_eXz38gSz_0VNDS4SYzj07uGLqnsPDMl50HLJjL98lS28ivUHIj/s400/IoMT+pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Manufacturers are eager to lay the bricks and help pave the road to better, more personalized healthcare through integration of connected devices in the new Internet of Medical Things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Compared to other industries, healthcare has been "inherently conservative and slow" to embrace innovations such as the cloud and the Internet of Things -- but that's changing. Innovative tech products and services are making it harder for healthcare providers to ignore the potential benefits of connected medical devices and the IoMT, according to Ian Shakil, CEO of Augmendix. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"We're seeing this firsthand, as major healthcare systems -- including Sutter Health, Dignity Health, CHI and TriHealth -- scale Augmedix's service across their organizations with a mission to rehumanize the doctor-patient relationship," he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Little Gadgets and Big Data</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">People aged 65 and older made up about 14.7 percent of the United States population in 2014, and that figure could reach 20 percent, according to Administration on Aging projections.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Although the over-65 population will continue to drive up healthcare costs, new support for aging in place and efforts to shorten hospital stays could alleviate that strain. However, that's dependent on device manufacturers and software developers getting the customer experience right for both patients and providers, suggested Virtual Health CEO Adam Sabloff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The valuable data rendered from connected medical devices, "such as wearables that monitor blood pressure and other vitals, is relatively useless if never presented to a patient's care team in an easy to read, actionable manner," he disclosed. "This is where innovative end-to-end solutions come into play."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Virtual Health maintains a cloud-based platform that aggregates and integrates data from a range of sources and formats to give care teams "a 360-degree view of the patient." That allows physicians to "intervene and provide proactive care before a condition manifests or worsens," said Sabloff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Patients will truly benefit from the IoMT only when end-to-end solutions are fully leveraged to help clinicians access and act on valuable data provided by wearables and other remote monitoring tools," he added.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mobility and data management are key to the IoMT's success, according to Keith Cooper, CEO of Constant Therapy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"When medical care or therapy is untethered from a face-to-face office visit, patients can receive more and consistent care on any day in any place," he told TechNewsWorld.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Constant Therapy's tools for brain rehab offer users five times more speech and cognitive therapy than conventional approaches, the company's internal studies concluded.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As for data and analytics, the company's digitization of cognitive therapy delivery has made information about a patient's strengths and deficits "instantly available and clearly understandable."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Deeper insights and data tracking can lift the veil on understanding, Cooper said. Complementing that are interoperability and a compelling customer experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Interoperability to a large degree entails building in system support for all major mobile devices, and building products that are fresh and engaging, said Michelle de Haaff, vice president of marketing and customer success at Glooko.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Freshness includes features that enable patients to share and get new insights from their data, get remote support from a care team, and even incentives that can keep them coming back for more," de Haaff told TechNewsWorld.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Culture Change</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To drive adoption of IoMT systems and to achieve more end-to-end solutions, hospital administrators, vendors and manufacturers must cooperate to lead healthcare through a culture change, said Joel Cook, senior healthcare solutions manager at Stanley Healthcare.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Remote consultations, social sensors, gadgets that offer guidance on health and wellness, analytics-driven regimens and other IoMT innovations are driving a cultural transformation that could move modern medicine into its next era.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"The keys to success are a clearly defined use case," Cook told TechNewsWorld, "and goals that are agreed upon by all the stakeholders.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/83654.html</span></div>
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EMR Equipment Health IT Hospitals Innovations Technology A New Concept in Healthcare: The Internet of Medical Things Part 1

Manufacturers are eager to lay the bricks and help pave the road to better, more personalized healthcare through integration of connected...

Why Scientists reconstructed an ancient plague

September 09, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0D4cXdTu-plZiZ2JvVitjn2fOt2N1LiplnjVZYsK4P4vPTOlKLj9hWjEeJCjwZtUCSPFEjIpnoWjXH1X7iNZYZsip4O1PlaHP2RgbQ6M0lU6TxRJ1EeCxP1FUBm4q6btFKkxX7UgRudc3/s1600/black-death-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0D4cXdTu-plZiZ2JvVitjn2fOt2N1LiplnjVZYsK4P4vPTOlKLj9hWjEeJCjwZtUCSPFEjIpnoWjXH1X7iNZYZsip4O1PlaHP2RgbQ6M0lU6TxRJ1EeCxP1FUBm4q6btFKkxX7UgRudc3/s400/black-death-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Scientists have just reconstructed the genome of an ancient plague, which may shed new light on how certain diseases can either mysteriously disappear or continue to evolve and spread.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">About 1,500 years ago, frequent outbreaks of the world's first known plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, killed more than 25 million people and sickened many others in the Mediterranean basin with "flu-like" symptoms. The pandemic, which was called the Justinian Plague after the sixth-century Byzantine emperor Justinian I, lasted to the mid-eighth century.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now, researchers in Germany have sequenced the genome of the Y. pestis strain that they believe caused the Justinian Plague but hasn't been seen since, according to a new study published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Variations of Y. pestis are thought to have caused at least three known plague pandemics. The Justinian plague was the first, and the Black Death, a pandemic that emerged in the Middle Ages and killed up to half of the European population, was the second. The third plague pandemic began in late 19th-century China, giving rise to many of the subsequent plagues that exist today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The newly sequenced genome reveals that the Y. pestis strain linked to the Justinian Plague indeed differs from the strain linked to the Black Death. (A genome of the Y. pestis strain behind the Black Death was published in a separate study in 2011.).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Therefore, "this study provides a better understanding of the history and the biology of the disease," said Michal Feldman, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute and the University of Tubingen in Germany, who served as first author of the study.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"We still do not know why the Justinian plague suddenly vanished," Feldman said. "The bacterium causing the Black Death and the Justinianic one is the same bacterium, Y. pestis, and this was already reported on in previous studies. However, the strains of the bacteria -- you can also call them variations if you like -- causing the two pandemics were different, and the Justinianic strain is extinct today."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Therefore, "this study provides a better understanding of the history and the biology of the disease," said Michal Feldman, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute and the University of Tubingen in Germany, who served as first author of the study.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"We still do not know why the Justinian plague suddenly vanished," Feldman said. "The bacterium causing the Black Death and the Justinianic one is the same bacterium, Y. pestis, and this was already reported on in previous studies. However, the strains of the bacteria -- you can also call them variations if you like -- causing the two pandemics were different, and the Justinianic strain is extinct today."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The researchers examined the skeletons of two Justinian plague victims. The remains were unearthed in 1966 among several hundred other skeletons in a large medieval cemetery in rural southern Germany.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"A communal burial indicates simultaneous death, or death close in time of those interred, and could therefore also indicate that an epidemic occurred," said Andreas Rott, a researcher at the State Collection of Anthropology and Palaeoanatomy in Munich, Germany, and a co-author of the study.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The teeth of the plague victims, a man and a woman, were analyzed and used to extract DNA samples. The researchers separated the human DNA from bacterial DNA in order to sequence the Y. pestis genome.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After analyzing the reconstructed genome, the researchers found clues that this ancient strain of Y. pestis might have had Chinese origins, which was also found in a 2014 study from a separate research team.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Additionally, the new findings provide evidence that the Justinian plague hit rural Germany. "But more data is needed to determine the rate in which the disease had spread," Feldman said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"How the pathogen reached southern Germany is at present unknown. Possibly, it traveled across the Alps from the Mediterranean or from France and western Germany. It could have also traveled up the Danube [River] from the east," Feldman said. "The exact trade routes that the disease traveled in are a subject of debate among scholars. It was transmitted either by people or by rats that were 'traveling' with cargo.".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Between 1,000 and 2,000 plague cases caused by Y. pestis are reported to the World Health Organization each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The three most endemic countries are Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Peru.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the United States, 15 people were infected with the bubonic plague last year, and about four of them died.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Antibiotics and antimicrobials are often used to treat the plague. However, with further research, many scientists think that the genomes of ancient pathogens could lead to improved treatments to eliminate plague-related deaths.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"I think it's interesting and always good to have more ancient genomes," said Hendrik Poinar, a molecular evolutionary geneticist and biological anthropologist at McMaster University in Canada, who was not involved in the new study.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">More genomes could allow scientists to better detect any small changes in the evolution of a pathogen that may affect how quickly it can spread and cause disease, Poinar said. "Those sorts of things are critical for understanding eradication in currently plague-hit areas, such as Madagascar."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Source: <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/30/health/ancient-plague-genome/index.html">http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/30/health/ancient-plague-genome/index.html</a></span></div>
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Hospitals of the future: Robots and super technology

September 06, 2016 The Mail Man 0

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<span style="font-size: large;">The hospital of the future, "a medical dream come true": That was how a reporter described the California Kaiser Permanente Hospital when it opened in 1953.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was fitted with a pneumatic tube system to post patient documents to doctors, "baby drawers" to send babies from the nurses' area to the mother's room, and waiting rooms for stressed fathers outside maternity units which were kitted out with extra large ashtrays.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the time it was considered revolutionary, and drew interest from around the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But within a decade, a lot of the technology was already outdated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That is the challenge facing Christchurch as close to $1 billion is set to be spent rebuilding and redeveloping our hospitals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Do it right, and we have an opportunity to lead the world and take advantage of amazing technology being developed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Do it wrong, and we could spend millions on things that will quickly be outdated and a burden to maintain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was almost impossible to estimate what the hospitals of the future could look like, Canterbury University School of Health Sciences professor Ray Kirk said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Development of different treatments, as well as the ageing population, could mean the conditions people needed medical care for were very different in the future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He was excited about the potential to develop things like robot-assisted surgery, with da Vinci surgical robots already in use in Christchurch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Even simple things like paperwork could change, he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Christchurch has accelerated progress in the digital health revolution, because after the earthquakes, paper records in some buildings were too dangerous to access or got wet. So Canterbury needed to go down that pathway perhaps more quickly than they might have otherwise," he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Technology could also move people away from the hospital, allowing people both to diagnose more health problems at home, and spend less time having to be monitored in hospital after treatment, he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Teams from across the world are currently competing to create a hand-held, non-invasive device which can diagnose anything from whooping cough to HIV, after $10 million in prize money was offered by the X Prize Foundation for the best design.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Combined with video conferencing technology many hospitals are already using, that could mean people could have tests run, diagnose the problem and consult a doctor about it without leaving their home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"People usually prefer not to be in hospital, they prefer to be with their families. And that's also good for rural New Zealanders," he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So how do we plan for these changes in our hospitals?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Although a major part of the CDHB Design Lab's purpose is looking ahead, there is only so much stargazing they will do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Business development manager Richard Hamilton openly admits he has no idea what the hospitals of the future will look like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But the one thing that will not change, no matter how much technology does, is people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You could be forgiven for assuming all hospitals were designed for patients, but traditionally that was not the case, he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Take the design of a ward.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you left hospital design up to architects, the space was likely to flow beautifully but simple issues, like nurses not being able to see a bed from the corridor, could cause huge problems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Leave it up to nurses, and patients would be grouped together in wards, which made it easy to treat them but meant they sacrificed patient privacy and their own space.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Even consulting patient's families wasn't the answer - many hospitals had switched to single bedroom models as it was what families wanted, forgetting that outside visiting hours the patient could be left feeling lonely and isolated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To find a solution, the Design Lab team went right back to basics, Mr Hamilton said - they built a "playpen".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Using foam, cardboard and PVC pipes, they built life-sized scale models of the new wards they imagined in a 3000 sq m warehouse in Middleton, then brought in literally thousands of staff members and former patients to test and discuss them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"We had a design challenge: How do you reinvent the Florence Nightingale-style barracks environment," he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And when everything was tightly constrained by budgets, being open with your ideas wasn't easy, CDHB director of nursing Heather Gray said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Should you go for what you want and risk people's disappointment?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The design for wards they have come up with includes four beds - five would be too many to keep the nurses' line of sight across all of them. Each room is set up at an angle, so the patient can have privacy if they lie back in bed, or talk with their neighbour if they sit up. Glass doors and curtains can be shut for extra privacy, and every bed faces a large window.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The large headboard they have designed, which they are currently in the process of patenting, incorporates two touch screens and has space to hide all kinds of medical equipment, with modular parts that can be swapped out if technology develops. The large hood over it is sound-deadening.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And even the walls are built to adapt. The ceilings in the wards have been designed high enough that it could be adapted as an operating theatre in the future, space left in the floors to run cables, and the positioning of columns carefully thought out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ministry of Health critical projects delivery director Michael Hundleby said the buildings were designed to last up to 50 years. Even in the years between designing the new buildings and being able to open them, he believed some of the technology used would become outdated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But that was not necessarily a bad thing, he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"It is very difficult to predict where technology will go in that time, so what we have focused on is building hospitals more modular and generic, so a surgical ward can become a medical ward," he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11703267&ref=rss</span></div>
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