Yesterday, the intensive care unit at Mercy Medical Center had miniature cameras installed on the ceiling in 12 ICU patient rooms.  Nurses on the floor called them ”another set of eyes”.  The pictures taken from a camera give another tool to hospital-bound doctors with special training in the treatment of critically ill patients, also called intensivists, in the growing practice of “telemedicine.”   Gastric Bypass surgery, on the other hand, is one of many surgeries that will have to be done in person for some time.

Telemedicine on babies

More and more hospitals are adding technology, such as the Sisters of Mercy in St. Louis, Mercy’s parent company, to maximize their in-house resources.  The use of remote technology in intensive care units “is probably one of the newest and fastest areas in telemedicine,” said Jonathan Linkous, chief executive officer of the American Telemedicine Association in Washington.

For the past few years, hospitals have turned to their intensive care units to help save costs and improve access to resources such as the intensivist, Linkous said.  If you look at the budget of a hospital the intensive care unit is always the highest cost one.

The general medical  industry has come to employ more intensivist-trained doctors since numerous studies have shown that these caregivers can improve the quality of care for critically ill patients and their survivability.

That’s “if you have one available,” Linkous said. “A lot of hospitals in remote locations don’t have intensivists.”

Telemedicine helps bridge that specialty doctor gap, especially among health systems with hospitals in less urban environments. More than 60 medical specialty doctors and subspecialists have used telemedicine, the association reports.   The origin of the telemedicine movement can be traced back about 40 years to applications such as transmitting X-rays across phone lines, Linkous said. Now, telemedicine is becoming an accepted diagnostic tool. Rarely to be people trasmit images using the iPhone.  Even though CSI gives the  imporessions that forensic scientists take pictures of fingerprints on their Apple iPhone and send them to the lab, this doesn’t really happen yet.

“Pretty soon we’re not going to think a thing about going to a hospital that uses telemedicine,”  Linkous said.  “I’m confident the concept is going to catch on at a rate similar to the adoption of automated teller machines in the banking industry decades ago. “

In Arkansas, telemedicine has been used to treat premature births and intensive care patients. Telemedicine has been conducted through the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas’ only teaching hospital and it’s affiliated with a children’s hospital, as well as through Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.   A great way to offer expert care and cut costs.

Linkous said the expansion of electronic ICUs has been in tandem with the growth of intensivists.

About 35 hospitals nationwide have electronic intensive care units, according to a Baltimorebased technology company called VISICU Inc.

In a demonstration Wednesday, a faint doorbell sound clued an ill patient that “back-up” care was summoned. A friendly female voice gave further identification about the technology that can allow health systems to maximize their information technology infrastructure.

Deibert fiddled with the onscreen prompts to improve the image of the patient and her caregiver in an ICU room.

Flat-panel computer monitors stacked three across and two deep in the break room at the 200-bed Catholic hospital were a duplication of a set-up 340 miles away in St. Louis, she said.

Other monitors showed the “real-time” patient vital information such as blood pressure, pulse and respiration.

Nightshift ICU nurses typically use SafeWatch more frequently than the day-shift nurses because doctors are harder to find in the middle of the night, said Carla Terrell, the director of Mercy Medical Center’s ICU.

SafeWatch can help caregivers in many ways, from actual intervention with the care of a distressed patient to electronic charting duties, she said.

In a recent example, a Mercy specialist needed the help of an intensivist in St. Louis, Terrell said, “and there were two physicians present. One here and one in St. Louis.”

The future of telemedicine is bright and we will look forward to it’s numerous advances.

Online history being made by Obama

Here’s a quick list of the best spots to watch Obama’s inauguration online on January 20th:

• Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies – closed captioned and flash required. The site has a wealth of information about what happens on Inauguration Day, including a handful of inaugural videos dating back to President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1957 swearing-in ceremony, as well as videos of presidential luncheons dating back to the inauguration of John Kennedy. (It also reveals, for those interested, the recipe for Obama’s luncheon meal, which features a main course of pheasant and duck served with sour cherry chutney.)

•  CBS News will have day-long live coverage January 20 on TV and the Web, starting at 7 a.m. EDT. Katie Couric will also host a special Webcast that night with reporters and punditry, for which viewers can submit questions during the webcast.

•  CBS streaming coverage will also be Webcast on Joost’s Everything Obama page, which also features interviews, campaign highlights, and satire clips.

•  MSNBC will be streaming the historical event on its home page and politics section, and users can embed the video into their own sites and social pages. Its inauguration page also features videos of inaugurations from decades past.

•  If a computer screen seems too small for such a momentous moment, there’s always the option of heading to a movie theater–or a Starbucks. At MSNBCEvents.com, the cable network is distributing free tickets to screenings of the inauguration in movie theaters in 21 cities (what a bargain instead of $10 a ticket for a normal movie). MSNBC is also partnering with Starbucks to

simulcast the its coverage in 650 coffee shops in New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.

•  Fox News will provide live streaming coverage via Hulu beginning at noon for about two hours. After the live stream, Hulu will provide on-demand access to the ceremony. The live stream is embeddable, as is an inauguration countdown from Hulu (wonder what companies will pay for commercials on Hulu, could be a wonderful way to get some cheap branding). The video site’s Obama Presidency page also features related content like speeches, commentary, satire, and past inaugural speeches.

•  C-SPAN will debut its Inauguration Hub on January 20, featuring an online “control room”–a multichannel grid designed by Mogulus with Webcasts of inauguration activities. Visitors will be able to choose from one of four live feeds featuring events like the swearing in at the Capitol, the parade, and a number of inaugural balls.

•  CNN is partnering with Facebook to provide live streaming of the swearing in and Obama’s speech. Viewers can “RSVP” for the event on Facebook, and as they watch, they will be able to provide status updates with their thoughts on the events. A Facebook window on the CNN.com Live channel will show viewers their friends’ relevant status updates.

•  Current TV and Twitter are teaming up, as they did during the election, to add real-time tweets to Current’s broadcast and Webcast of the swearing in, which starts at 11:30 a.m. EDT and will be replayed throughout the day.

•  The New York Times, the AP’s online video network, the Online NewsHour, and ABCNews.com will also live stream inauguration coverage.

•  Livestation, the peer-to-peer Internet video site, is featuring coverage from news outlets such as Al Jazeera English, BBC World News, Euronews, and France 24. Viewers will not only be able to skip through the different channels on the Livestation desktop player, but also chat with other viewers and program producers, I think these guys are really entering new territorty and this could be pretty interesting.  This is what I plan on checking out.

•  The Washington Post has a comprehensive online Inauguration guide that is particularly useful for Washington residents trying to keep track of everything happening in the city now through January 20. Visitors to the site will find some interactive features such as a video discussion on the question of “How historic is Obama’s inauguration?”

If you want to record one of these live webcasts check out these guys for a listing of software that can capture online video.  If we could only learn to paint or do artwork through online video it sure would help the artistic community.  Seems like plenty of colleges are out there hoping you get an online degree but how useful is it really?  Anyway, I digress…

If you know of any other websites where coverage will be held let me know.  Also would love to hear feedback on which websites did the best coverage.

So I had another online meeting with some clients this past week and decided to test out the beta test program of SharePlus desktop sharing application from FreeConference.com.  I’m sure the owner of the software hopes that I would use the phone # they provided for the meeting since this is how they make their money.  But, being the cheapskate I am, I opted to use Skype for my phone connection.  inot feel like paying 10 cents a minute per caller to use their online 800 phone # for the conference.  They did have the option for a long distance dial in # but I wasn’t sure if they meant long distance to Canada or in the US so I avoided it.

The conference setup interface was relatively painless and my clients had no problems setting up from their end.  The one thing my clients noticed is that they couldn’t see my mouse pointer while sharing my desktop and the screen seemed to lag behind about 4 seconds, more than WebEx had in the past. One cool feature with this tool is that they can send you a SMS texct message to remind you before your conference starts.  It costs .45 cents but that’s pocket change for must of us to be reminded through our cellphone.

I really had nothing to lose when I tested this free online meeting program since these clients have been with me for years and know I like to test new things.  Here were a few of the features the vendor mentioned on their website about this beta program.  It’s only free for a limited time so you should give it a trial run while you can.

Features of SharePlus from FreeConference:

• Easy to setup and use
• Real time presentation and collaboration
• Simple connection from invitations or web page
• Any-browser compatibility
• Very low cost (Free during the Beta period!)

Add Web Conferencing to your next call

• Review PowerPoint presentations
• Discuss Word documents
• Navigate to web pages
• Discuss spreadsheets
• Share photos

Here’s a quick look at the interface once you sign up, as you can see it’s pretty simple:

FreeConference.com Schedule interface

FreeConference.com Login interface

FreeConference.com

Has anyone heard of freeconference.com?  These guys allow you to not only call into a  dedicated # for free  for your conference but also you can share your desktop for free (for a limited time only, currently in beta).  If you want to check them out, click here.  Sign up is incredibly easy with these guys.  I can’t wait to test them out over the next conference call.

Here’s some more info on them:

How to share your desktop with SharePlus

• Select “Try It Free!” then continue scheduling your call
• Invite participants using the online invitations tool, or by forwarding the SharePlus link from your email, or inviting participants directly from the SharePlus session
• Start your conference call and then open the email invitation to your SharePlus session. Click once to begin the session, press “Start”, then open your materials to your desktop and begin conferencing

Here’s some quick testimonials of people that have used their service.

• “This has truly been a blessing to our ministry.  We thank you and all of the investors for making it possible for God’s ministry to go forward.  May God continue to bless you.”
• “You guys are great! This service is almost too good to be true.  I will tell everyone I know about this service.”
• “Great Stuff, luv the service.  It is very smooth and easy to use.  Keep up the great work.”
• “Excellent Service! Thank you for having this available & so easy to use!!!”

It doesn’t seem that the concept of free conferecing online can be to good to be true.  They will always charge for premium services but overall this company looks like a great concept.

With this recession kicking into high gear it’s time for small business’s to look at ways of cutting costs without slashing employees or the marketing budget.  VoIP is a quick and easy way to trim that budget for the end of the year. See the list below:

Save Money with VoIP

1. Get a free phone number and inbound calling with Toktumi hosted VoIP.
2. Get free hosted IP PBX with Bandwidth.com.
3. Get free unified voice mail with PhoneFusion Inc.
4. Use OnState’s online call center with Skype Ltd.
5. Use trixbox Pro and get Internet calling to other users for free.
6. Send Palringo Ltd. voice IMs instead of making mobile calls.
7. Make free conference calls with iotum Inc.’s Calliflower.
8. Make free VoIP calls from wifi hotspots using dual-mode handsets.
9. Make free video calls with TokBox Inc., no software download required.
10. Make and receive Skype calls from mobile phones with iSkoot Inc.
11. Make Skype calls while using Yugma Inc.’s Web-conferencing service.
12. Get a MagicJack for you and the person you talk to most (Skype is better).
13. Move to VoIP slowly with RingCentral Inc.’s hosted IP PBX.
14. Phone home for free with Jaduka.
15. Use a Voxofon LLC calling-card number when away from your office.
16. Text message using iGoogle’s feature instead of your cellphone.
17. Use your broadband provider as a voicemail system and check voicemail from anywhere you have an internet connection (Cox Communications has this).

Fore more detailed info click here.

Religious leaders tend to be slow in adapting to new technologies but online conferences are grabbing hold of all segments of the population thanks to past gas prices.  Every one that works yearns to find an easier way to meet with others around the world and online oncference software fills that need.  Here you will see how Catholic writers are using it.

“On-line conferences cross economic and political boundaries. We can reach Catholic writers who normally wouldn’t have a chance to meet, much less learn from, successful writers, editors and publishers. Plus, the faith-sharing is phenomenal,” said Karina Fabian, author of the Catholic science fiction anthology Infinite Space, Infinite God and President of the Catholic Writers’ Guild.

“If a rookie writer on the scene needed a shot of confidence, input, and tips, the CWCO (Catholic Writer’s Conference Online) was the place for them to hand around for the week. I learned so much and enjoyed being in an setting that was friendly for all who want to share the Catholic faith. Thanks for the great week of advice, information, and networking with others like me.” Beth Knotz,

For more info check out:

www.catholicwritersconference.com

Catholic writing conference for 2009 coming soon

Yugma, the new alternative to WebEx

Yugma is the new online conferencing service that kills Webex in terms of quality and pricing (Comment me if you feel different). Someone mentioned the Yugma service over at InsideCRM online magazine and I decided to check it out. These guys are good from what I see. We know that WebEx’s lowest plan starts $39 a month for only 15 users. GoToMeeting starts at $49 a month and Turbo meeting is a piece of horse manure (personal experience), so don’t use it. Check the chart from Yugam out below. More features, and conference attendees for less. They impress me (not easy to do) and here are their feature sets, tell me what you think.

Collaboration vs. Sharing

Since Yugma excels in its screen sharing capacity, the real power of Yugma lies in its real time collaboration capabilities.

With Yugma, multiple people can collaborate in any program, sharing mouse and keyboard capability in real time. The whiteboard feature of Yugma allows for virtual brainstorming sessions, either in or outside of meetings. The annotation tool allows for one or multiple people to edit or provide comments on work in progress.

While many of “the other guys” focus on old school meetings like structured collaboration, Yugma focuses on two types of collaboration: spontaneous (this happens often) and structured collaboration.

Yugma Professional Features

Yugma Professional offers a extreme set of features to meet the needs of any business. Here are the brief highlights of just some of the features you get with Yugma Professional:

Yugma Viewer

Allow meeting participants to quickly connect and view your meetings without having to download or register for Yugma.

Mouse & Keyboard Sharing

Collaborate in any program in real time with one or multiple people, whether they are in the same office or across the globe.

Annotation and Whiteboard tools

With these easy-to-use integrated tools you can brainstorm in real time, edit documents, or just add some flair to your presentations

Session Scheduling

Schedule your meetings and send invites in advance. Keep track of your scheduled sessions on Yugma’s integrated calendar.

Session Recording, Playback, an Hosted Webcast

Record important meetings or demos for later viewing. No codecs or file compatibility issues, your recorded sessions will be hosted by Yugma and playback in any browser.

Shared File Space

Avoid important files getting trapped in virus or spam filters by posting files for clients or colleagues in Yugma’s shared file space.

Yugma Enterprise Features

In addition to all the powerful features you get with Yugma Professional, Yugma Enterprise users also get some key features to help manage Yugma across a larger organization, such as group account administration, consolidated billing, and a branded meeting portal page.

For more information about our Enterprise Service, check out their website at yugma.com.

Yugma’s Satisfaction Guarantee

Yugma is commited to providing our Professional and Enterprise customers the best service and support. We promise 99.9% or better service availability. If you are not satisfied within the first 30 days of your one year contract, we’ll refund your remaining balance.

We also provide live technical support during business hours via phone, email, and live chat. Email and voice mail inquiries made during non-business hours will receive a response as soon as possible the next business day.

Yugma for Business Pricing

Yugma Professional starts at just $19.95 a month for 20 attendees. We have service plans to fit any size business, up to 500 concurrent users.

______________________

That’s a wrap, these are new huys I will be using for my online conference from here on out.  I doubt I will go back to Webex or GoToMeeting ever again.  It seems the new guys like to push the envelope while the old guys rake in the menoy and don’t really bring anything innovative anymore.  Do you agree?