The NHS Information Centre has published a set of 200 indicators of quality care. This is the result of a piece of work started by Darzi's report 'High Quality Care for All' and you can tell the clinician involvement has been continued into the deliverable with the phrase "assured by clinicians for use by clinicians". The report, downloadable in specific sections, is structured around pathways so that the indicators are clinically relevent. I've not done a count of indicators to see whether the report really has 200 indicators, but I actually find it refreshingly transparent that many sections of the document as described in one way or another as 'to be done'. It has to be said that the mechanics of governance and maintenance have been put in place around the report too so it will continue to evolve. The indicators address Effectiveness, Patient Experience and Safety, and therefore reflects current progressive thinking about what value means in health care (see "War on Waste" by Ali Parsa).
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
More Money Than Can Be Spent? In a Credit Crunch?
I had a fascinating meeting with a senior officer of the Department of Health today to look at access to innovation funding through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and some of the projects under their mentorship. What was particularly surprising is that we are seemingly conditioned to expect that funds are scarce, but actually fewer innovation grants are allocated than are available. A later check in the NIHR Annual Report confirmed that the organisation has an annual sum to spend and that for almost all categories, the 2008/09 spend is less than the forecast for 2009/10- implying that this year was underspent. This is not a criticism because the organisation rightly sets the quality bar high, but it is still a surprise that we're not generating enough good ideas to qualify for funding. Long live the Government's enthusiasm for innovating our way out of the credit crunch... thinking caps on people!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Leonardo the Inspiration for Robotic Surgery
In the fourth of my posts from the NHS Healthcare Innovation EXPO, I'll share a video I took of a magnificent piece of technology- the Da Vinci surgical robot. Designed so that surgeons could operate remotely on soldiers in the battlefield, the robot is increasingly being used for challenging laproscopic procedures. In this video you can see, briefly, how two surgeons are able to control extremely dextrous instruments in a confined space. At the last count I heard of, there were only a small handful of these robots in use in the UK. Unfortunately, it is hard to imagine what might drive an increase in adoption as it is difficult, if not impossible, for a healthcare provider to be reimbursed more for improved outcomes or for carrying out more complex procedures for which there is no tariff.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Virtual Worlds for Healthcare
The NHS Healthcare Innovation EXPO had an excellent demonstration of a Secondlife simulation- sort of the virtual world of healthcare helping to make the real world of healthcare better. Put together by Imperial College London, the Medical Media and Design Laboratory (MMDL) explores how to use digital media in healthcare. Although created to explore new models of care delivery in the widest sense it seems that the Secondlife simulation fulfils a fairly immediate training need.
Fantasmagorical Train Ride
There I was thinking "Here we go on another commute from Leeds to London", when the onboard WiFi opened my eyes to a whole world of possibilities. Suddenly we were on a magical mystery tour where "No map contains our current position". Just as I was holding out for our arrival at Narnia, The Garden of Eden or Atlantis, we pulled into Kings Cross. Disappointing.Thursday, June 18, 2009
No Shortage of help in NHS Innovation
We all know that the economic situation is going to make the public purse smaller (in absolute or real terms- depending on who you believe) over the coming years so it makes sense that the NHS looks to innovation to improve the value of healthcare service delivery. It should therefore be little surprise that healthcare is burgeoning with organisations and talented people to help those with good ideas bring them to fruition. I've spent much of today meeting with these organisations to understand what's hot and what's not in healthcare innovation and will be posting on them in due course.Many thanks to Brian Winn, Marie Maher and Dr Nigel Sansom of the NHS National Innovation Centre and Dr Peter Blenkinsop of NHS Innovations for taking the time to explain their organisations roles. They have some exciting projects going on. I'm not sure I have absolute clarity yet of how it all works because there are other organisations in play and, as you can imagine, there is much history in "idea generation" in the NHS which has created pockets of capability which is now being joined up. For example, on just one lap of the exhibition hall, you could see stands for NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, NHS National Innovation Centre, NHS Innovations, NHS National Institute for Health Research, NHS Improvement and NHS Technology Adoption Centre... and this excludes CfH, direct involvement from the Department of Health and occasional engagement with the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency. Perhaps a more consolidated structure would be more effective?
Posting from the NHS Healthcare Innovation EXPO
I'm typing this post from the very glamorous NHS Healthcare Innovation EXPO 2009 at ExCeL in London. I'm not sure why EXPO is all uppercase, but I am sure that it is by design because this is a slick looking event in terms of marketing, the presentation of the venue, the stands and the supporting materials. It's the beginning of the day, with a Director of NASA kicking things off right now and luminaries to follow such as Prof. Lord Darzi and Martha Lane-Fox (the Government's new Digital Champion). I can only hope that the content of the EXPO lives up to the quality of the event. The big question for me is whether what is clearly a substantial amount of taxpayer money being driven into healthcare innovation is delivering results? Let's hope I'm not disappointed.Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Sustainability is not just about being green
The evidence that our planet is undergoing major climate change is all around us, but whether or not you accept that is irrelevent (yes, and possibly parochial). Sustainability is a word often attached to the "green lobby" but actually, it has far wider connotations and there are few excuses to be cynical. I thought that this video about our changing world illustrates the point really well.
Watch the video and then consider how these trends, which are beyond any one of us to change or escape, will affect your business. This is also what sustainability is about. Further, all these extra babies will be needing energy and resources too. In fact sustainability is not just about how much pain can you tolerate, or how can you dodge the bullets- there is opportunity in change for the smart and agile.
Watch the video and then consider how these trends, which are beyond any one of us to change or escape, will affect your business. This is also what sustainability is about. Further, all these extra babies will be needing energy and resources too. In fact sustainability is not just about how much pain can you tolerate, or how can you dodge the bullets- there is opportunity in change for the smart and agile.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Will $2.5bn of Chinese Healthcare IT spend trickle through to innovation?
By most commentators' estimations, healthcare IT lags that of other sectors, in maturity terms, by a decade or more. This situation has been created by decades of underinvestment. More recent effort in England to inject £billions into healthcare IT procurement have simply reinforced the entrenched positions of the incumbent suppliers who wield monolithic architectures based on outmoded service models. In fact, most of the circumstantial evidence shows that the 'investment' in English healthcare IT has squeezed the very start-ups who were the new lifeblood.
The rearchitecting of IT is what the sector needs to enable the new models required to balance the rising expectations of consumers against the downward pressure on the public purse. More focus needs to be placed on interoperability of loosely coupled components and useability than on further bloating the feature sets of systems breeding their own information silos.
So, what difference will, by very conservative estimations, several billion USD from China make? Well, the early signs are promising with comments from IBM's Labs, who are one of the few major players who have made serious attempts to implement open standards at scale. However, there is still an overriding fear that the opportunity in China might be squandered if a procurement approach is taken which fails to ignite the marketplace. Those of us who want to buy our IT from a fertile, imaginative and interoperable marketplace have our fingers crossed.
The rearchitecting of IT is what the sector needs to enable the new models required to balance the rising expectations of consumers against the downward pressure on the public purse. More focus needs to be placed on interoperability of loosely coupled components and useability than on further bloating the feature sets of systems breeding their own information silos.
So, what difference will, by very conservative estimations, several billion USD from China make? Well, the early signs are promising with comments from IBM's Labs, who are one of the few major players who have made serious attempts to implement open standards at scale. However, there is still an overriding fear that the opportunity in China might be squandered if a procurement approach is taken which fails to ignite the marketplace. Those of us who want to buy our IT from a fertile, imaginative and interoperable marketplace have our fingers crossed.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Should we turn Corporate Hospitality on its head?
I'm sure many readers of this blog, like me, are in a "decision making*" position and therefore enjoy hospitality courtesy of suppliers and potential suppliers. Well, I'm wondering whether there is a role for customers rewarding suppliers with hospitality? Now before you say "Isn't payment incentive enough?", "Are you mad?" or, I day say "Shush, you're giving the game away!" please hear me out. Now, I work in information technology, and many IT companies, particularly the large systems integrators and outsourcers, feature corporate hospitality somewhere in their business development strategy. Perhaps it is more pervasive in IT than other supply chains (my observation looking round the tables of Twickenham, Silverstone and Cowes) because of the abstract nature of many of the goods/ services sold, the emotional attachment to large procurement and complexity of subject matter leading to a strong emphasis on brand trust? I digress...
However, my thought is that only in rare circumstances do the people who lead service delivery directly benefit from financial mechanisms between customers and suppliers designed to reward quality and high performance. Perhaps it would be effective to reward good service with some entertainment for individuals? You can imagine that across procurement budgets of £tens millions this could provide a great return in terms of achieving stretch from those responsible for delivery who are otherwise difficult to motivate from outside their line management.
Has anyone tried this approach? I'd be interested to know.
Maybe it's just too radical an idea. I fear being outed by the IT establishment as I type this... and my boss!
* I've long been amused when asked "are you the decision maker?". If only it were that simple.
However, my thought is that only in rare circumstances do the people who lead service delivery directly benefit from financial mechanisms between customers and suppliers designed to reward quality and high performance. Perhaps it would be effective to reward good service with some entertainment for individuals? You can imagine that across procurement budgets of £tens millions this could provide a great return in terms of achieving stretch from those responsible for delivery who are otherwise difficult to motivate from outside their line management.
Has anyone tried this approach? I'd be interested to know.
Maybe it's just too radical an idea. I fear being outed by the IT establishment as I type this... and my boss!
* I've long been amused when asked "are you the decision maker?". If only it were that simple.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Replies to "donotreply@..."
On reading an automated message confirming a flight last week, I starting musing on whether anyone ever, in a bored moment perhaps, reads the replies people send to "donotreply@" email addresses. I think there's a great stocking filler book in there somewhere! Just imagine... from the mundane queries to the most profound of outpourings. Reams of this material is sat on the world's email servers, unsighted by human eyes. We should begin a quest to explore this lost world.
Then an Internet search turned up the strangest of phenomenon. Many automated emails are sent with the reply having a "donotreply.com" domain address and someone actually owns that domain. Read more on The Consumerist about what he finds.
Then an Internet search turned up the strangest of phenomenon. Many automated emails are sent with the reply having a "donotreply.com" domain address and someone actually owns that domain. Read more on The Consumerist about what he finds.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
When is the Internet not the Internet?
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) of the UK has this week decided to ban Apple from showing an advert “in its current form” which claims that “all parts of the Internet are on the iPhone”. This is an interesting conclusion. Apple should have expected controversy, but by the same token, the ASA ruling was by no means a given and Steve Jobs’ merry-band have the right to feel more than a little aggrieved with the ruling.
A lack of support for Flash and Java were cited by the ASA as reasons why the claim is not reasonable, but the truth is that the Internet is complimented by a myriad of plug in technologies and I don’t think it is reasonable to assume that all of them, or a major subset of them, must be available to a browser for it to be considered capable of accessing the Internet in its full glory. I won’t get really pedantic and highlight the difference between the web and the Internet, and therefore what I consider to be the even greater folly of the ASA’s actions.
The custodians of the Internet, the W3C, define standards for distributing hyperlinked webpages. The iPhone can handle those standards. Proprietary add-ons are considered beyond the remit of the Internet standards and are subject to natural market adoption patterns. Therefore, I would say that it is reasonable to claim that the Internet, as defined by the W3C, is available for browsing on the iPhone. Otherwise, where does it stop? RealPlayer? PDF readers? XML/XSL? Who is the authority who decides if it is not the W3C?
The ASA have set what I consider to be a dangerous precedent. In assuming that Flash and Java are de facto technologies of the Internet, rather than optional, they are undermining efforts to make the web more accessible through the promotion and adoption of standards by web browsers.
Apple has so far been silent on the ruling, but don’t expect it necessarily to lie down and accept this without clarification. Perhaps it will see the irony and make counterclaims based on any browser which doesn’t support its video player technology, QuickTime?
A lack of support for Flash and Java were cited by the ASA as reasons why the claim is not reasonable, but the truth is that the Internet is complimented by a myriad of plug in technologies and I don’t think it is reasonable to assume that all of them, or a major subset of them, must be available to a browser for it to be considered capable of accessing the Internet in its full glory. I won’t get really pedantic and highlight the difference between the web and the Internet, and therefore what I consider to be the even greater folly of the ASA’s actions.
The custodians of the Internet, the W3C, define standards for distributing hyperlinked webpages. The iPhone can handle those standards. Proprietary add-ons are considered beyond the remit of the Internet standards and are subject to natural market adoption patterns. Therefore, I would say that it is reasonable to claim that the Internet, as defined by the W3C, is available for browsing on the iPhone. Otherwise, where does it stop? RealPlayer? PDF readers? XML/XSL? Who is the authority who decides if it is not the W3C?
The ASA have set what I consider to be a dangerous precedent. In assuming that Flash and Java are de facto technologies of the Internet, rather than optional, they are undermining efforts to make the web more accessible through the promotion and adoption of standards by web browsers.
Apple has so far been silent on the ruling, but don’t expect it necessarily to lie down and accept this without clarification. Perhaps it will see the irony and make counterclaims based on any browser which doesn’t support its video player technology, QuickTime?
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
What is Microsoft and Google's battle for Yahoo really about?
Some may wonder why the battle for Yahoo is rolling on and on... Yahoo's shareprice has rollercoasted from sub $20 in late January to about $30 on Valentine's day and then gradually withered as Mircosoft talks collapse and then risen again with rejuvinated talks. It just runs and runs. The reasoning behind the acquisition, we're told, is related to advertising synergies. However, is that the real game here? Sure, advertising technology synergies would justify the wholesome premium over the market capitalisation, but is there more going on?
I think so. I believe that this is about positioning for the next stage of the web. Web 2.0 has seen the enabling of user-generated content and the driving of our apps to the web. The next stage is shaping up as what is being called "The Cloud". Nothing less than a battle over where our bits are processed and stored is unfolding and Yahoo, Microsoft and Google are the major protagonists. This is an order of magnitude more valuable than an advertising play. This will be a bigger phenomenon than e-commerce.
All three companies are sat on immense infrastructure investments. According to Debra Chrapaty, Corporate Vice President of Global Foundation Services at Microsoft, their Live service is adding no less than 10,000 servers per month to its datacentre infrastructure. Microsoft is building datacentres hand over fist (6 at my last count) and if the Illinois one is any measure of the rest of them, then they are a $500m capital expenditure each. That is the kind of money it takes to carve out a significant portion of "The Cloud" market... and to do it without hesitation or shouting about it. Yahoo would at the least be a shortcut to a good chunk of that sort of infrastructure, not to mention a userbase of first movers already dabbling with data storage on The Cloud with the trusted consumer brand.
I think this is one huge game of poker to see who blinks first. Microsoft doesn't want to cite this huge latent value in Yahoo, otherwise they'll hardly get themselves a bargain. Yahoo directors are trying to force Microsoft's hand and bring this objective into the open to justify their steadfastness.
Google watches from the sidelines. Happy to push up the price Microsoft pays. Safe in the knowledge that it is less in need of such a consumer trusted brand- it has one already. Happy to pick over any remnants from the fall out.
Watch this space.
I think so. I believe that this is about positioning for the next stage of the web. Web 2.0 has seen the enabling of user-generated content and the driving of our apps to the web. The next stage is shaping up as what is being called "The Cloud". Nothing less than a battle over where our bits are processed and stored is unfolding and Yahoo, Microsoft and Google are the major protagonists. This is an order of magnitude more valuable than an advertising play. This will be a bigger phenomenon than e-commerce.
All three companies are sat on immense infrastructure investments. According to Debra Chrapaty, Corporate Vice President of Global Foundation Services at Microsoft, their Live service is adding no less than 10,000 servers per month to its datacentre infrastructure. Microsoft is building datacentres hand over fist (6 at my last count) and if the Illinois one is any measure of the rest of them, then they are a $500m capital expenditure each. That is the kind of money it takes to carve out a significant portion of "The Cloud" market... and to do it without hesitation or shouting about it. Yahoo would at the least be a shortcut to a good chunk of that sort of infrastructure, not to mention a userbase of first movers already dabbling with data storage on The Cloud with the trusted consumer brand.
I think this is one huge game of poker to see who blinks first. Microsoft doesn't want to cite this huge latent value in Yahoo, otherwise they'll hardly get themselves a bargain. Yahoo directors are trying to force Microsoft's hand and bring this objective into the open to justify their steadfastness.
Google watches from the sidelines. Happy to push up the price Microsoft pays. Safe in the knowledge that it is less in need of such a consumer trusted brand- it has one already. Happy to pick over any remnants from the fall out.
Watch this space.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Dear Jet2
Rather off topic for this blog, but I wanted to try and get a message to Jet2. Apologies to the usual readers who won't get their fill of technology enlightenment this time! Jet2 have neither a non-premium phone line nor email address, so I thought they might pick this posting up.
Dear Jet2,
I recently flew Leeds to Nice return with your airline. My baggage did not appear on the baggage belt in Nice so I suffered much inconvenience during my trip. I was surprised to be advised that even if my baggage were found, I would have to return to the airport to collect it and no effort would be made to have it delivered to my hotel.
The apology letter I was given in Nice was the most insincere and patronising piece of correspondance I've ever seen. It must have been at least a 3rd generation photocopy, the company logo was printed as "file not available", no phone or email address was provided for me to follow up with and, to give just one example of the tone, had the cheek to remind me my baggage should be "appropriately robust". You lost my bag. This was not the time or the place to be lecturing me on my obligations to you. Although my bag was in no way a 'designer' one, I was surprised to see that if it had been, I would not have been recompensed for it's loss in the event of it not being found.
On my return home to the UK, I was naturally keen to follow up with you at Jet2. Your website had no phone numbers charging less than a premium rate and there was no email address so I was forced to suffer the humiliation of paying 50p per minute to ask you where my bag was (during which time I was played a unnecessarily lengthy prerecorded message). The Baggage Claims Department took all my details (with the 50p per minute clock ticking) before arrogantly telling me that they don't look for bags until 3 days after the flight and that I would have to call back the next day where they would hear my case. This is terrible customer service.
Of course, I've now starting looking through the rest of your T&Cs to see what other indignities I might suffer later on in this process. My bag contains some valuable items so I wanted to see what compensation I might recieve if it were not found. I was extremely disappointed to see that "original purchase receipts (to evidence the age and value of the item)" would need to be provided in the event of a claim. This seems grossly misfair. I don't consider it reasonable to ask for these- who keeps receipts for clothes beyond a month or so?
I would very much like you to contact me to tell me what you are doing to find my bag; demonstrate some humbleness at the error of you and/or your agents and busines partners; and tell me either how you are going to reconnect my bag to me or recompense me for my loss. I shouldn't have to chase you, pay you for the pleasure or have to prove that the items in my bag were of any value as long as that is within a reasonable range above which you could rightly expect further evidence.
Yours faithfully,
Dear Jet2,
I recently flew Leeds to Nice return with your airline. My baggage did not appear on the baggage belt in Nice so I suffered much inconvenience during my trip. I was surprised to be advised that even if my baggage were found, I would have to return to the airport to collect it and no effort would be made to have it delivered to my hotel.
The apology letter I was given in Nice was the most insincere and patronising piece of correspondance I've ever seen. It must have been at least a 3rd generation photocopy, the company logo was printed as "file not available", no phone or email address was provided for me to follow up with and, to give just one example of the tone, had the cheek to remind me my baggage should be "appropriately robust". You lost my bag. This was not the time or the place to be lecturing me on my obligations to you. Although my bag was in no way a 'designer' one, I was surprised to see that if it had been, I would not have been recompensed for it's loss in the event of it not being found.
On my return home to the UK, I was naturally keen to follow up with you at Jet2. Your website had no phone numbers charging less than a premium rate and there was no email address so I was forced to suffer the humiliation of paying 50p per minute to ask you where my bag was (during which time I was played a unnecessarily lengthy prerecorded message). The Baggage Claims Department took all my details (with the 50p per minute clock ticking) before arrogantly telling me that they don't look for bags until 3 days after the flight and that I would have to call back the next day where they would hear my case. This is terrible customer service.
Of course, I've now starting looking through the rest of your T&Cs to see what other indignities I might suffer later on in this process. My bag contains some valuable items so I wanted to see what compensation I might recieve if it were not found. I was extremely disappointed to see that "original purchase receipts (to evidence the age and value of the item)" would need to be provided in the event of a claim. This seems grossly misfair. I don't consider it reasonable to ask for these- who keeps receipts for clothes beyond a month or so?
I would very much like you to contact me to tell me what you are doing to find my bag; demonstrate some humbleness at the error of you and/or your agents and busines partners; and tell me either how you are going to reconnect my bag to me or recompense me for my loss. I shouldn't have to chase you, pay you for the pleasure or have to prove that the items in my bag were of any value as long as that is within a reasonable range above which you could rightly expect further evidence.
Yours faithfully,
Monday, April 07, 2008
There's Low Power GPS in the Air
Anyone who has owned a mobile phone with built in GPS (e.g. Blackberry Curve, Nokia N95) will welcome the work of Air Semiconductors who have created a GPS solution which drains as little as 1% of the power of previous solutions. The prodigious battery munching capabilities of the GPS on N95 led this particular user to be something of an electricity junky.
Air Semiconductor, who are backed by Pond Venture Partners (they know a thing or two about semiconductors- the team include some of the brains behind ARM), also explain how their Airwave-1 chip eliminates time-to-first-fix and hence provides an instantaneous location. The combination of these two innovations means that not only mobile phones, but digital cameras, will be able to geotag images seamlessly... and enable a whole raft of other applications.
As the owner of 3 Nokia N95 chargers (kept in multiple locations in my life "just in case"), I'm really looking forward to this technology arriving in the consumer marketplace.
Air Semiconductor, who are backed by Pond Venture Partners (they know a thing or two about semiconductors- the team include some of the brains behind ARM), also explain how their Airwave-1 chip eliminates time-to-first-fix and hence provides an instantaneous location. The combination of these two innovations means that not only mobile phones, but digital cameras, will be able to geotag images seamlessly... and enable a whole raft of other applications.
As the owner of 3 Nokia N95 chargers (kept in multiple locations in my life "just in case"), I'm really looking forward to this technology arriving in the consumer marketplace.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Complex Event Processing in Healthcare
It is interesting how new ideas and technologies rise to meet the needs of one industry and then diffuse into other industries. Classic examples are the trickledown from aerospace into the motor industry, and the application of diagnostic imaging technology into airport security.
I've recently spotted the early stages of a technology which has risen in the investment banking sector now starting to find its feet in healthcare. The technology is known as complex event processing (CEP).
As recorded on Wikipedia, a complex event is "what one infers from simple events" and gives the example of a lady in a white dress, a man in a tuxedo and lots of rice flying through the air being a wedding. In banking, CEP is used to take on board very simple events (e.g. sell prices) and infer from them something richer (e.g. market trends) from which a decision can be made (e.g. go short on a specific portfolio stocks). A search on Google of "complex event processing healthcare" returns a relatively modest 193,000 results. I can see this exploding and look forward to checking in with Google Trends in due course to see the references rolling in.
One area of health care where I think this will hold great value is in post-operative recovery monitoring of vital signs. The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland recommends that during anaeasthesia and recovery a variety of monitors should supplement clinical observation. The challenge is that once outside of theatre the available clinical resources are limited and can only observe on a sampled basis. Also, the analysis of the monitor readings is trying to spot early onset of a complex range of problems such as hypoxemia, hypoventilation, hypotension, hypertension, hyperthermia, hypothermia and dysrhythmias.
In the event of deteriation, rapid response is a critical success factor in intervention. Different jurisdictions recommend different frequencies of monitoring (research for this article found a range from 5 mins to 30 mins for most vital signs) so you can't help but feel this is driven by the limiting factor of resources rather than clinical need. In fact, muscle relaxants (one possible intervention) are often chosen on the basis of an onset speed which is measured in minutes, not tens of minutes. CEP could be applied to spot problems on a real time basis, moving the limiting factor onto being the monitors' sample rates rather than the care pathway. I'd be very interested in talking to anyone who's working in applications in this area.
Like many other technologies in healthcare, no doubt we will see the rise of this technology met by the acronym being misinterpreted as clinical event processing. Look out for that!
I've recently spotted the early stages of a technology which has risen in the investment banking sector now starting to find its feet in healthcare. The technology is known as complex event processing (CEP).
As recorded on Wikipedia, a complex event is "what one infers from simple events" and gives the example of a lady in a white dress, a man in a tuxedo and lots of rice flying through the air being a wedding. In banking, CEP is used to take on board very simple events (e.g. sell prices) and infer from them something richer (e.g. market trends) from which a decision can be made (e.g. go short on a specific portfolio stocks). A search on Google of "complex event processing healthcare" returns a relatively modest 193,000 results. I can see this exploding and look forward to checking in with Google Trends in due course to see the references rolling in.
One area of health care where I think this will hold great value is in post-operative recovery monitoring of vital signs. The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland recommends that during anaeasthesia and recovery a variety of monitors should supplement clinical observation. The challenge is that once outside of theatre the available clinical resources are limited and can only observe on a sampled basis. Also, the analysis of the monitor readings is trying to spot early onset of a complex range of problems such as hypoxemia, hypoventilation, hypotension, hypertension, hyperthermia, hypothermia and dysrhythmias.
In the event of deteriation, rapid response is a critical success factor in intervention. Different jurisdictions recommend different frequencies of monitoring (research for this article found a range from 5 mins to 30 mins for most vital signs) so you can't help but feel this is driven by the limiting factor of resources rather than clinical need. In fact, muscle relaxants (one possible intervention) are often chosen on the basis of an onset speed which is measured in minutes, not tens of minutes. CEP could be applied to spot problems on a real time basis, moving the limiting factor onto being the monitors' sample rates rather than the care pathway. I'd be very interested in talking to anyone who's working in applications in this area.
Like many other technologies in healthcare, no doubt we will see the rise of this technology met by the acronym being misinterpreted as clinical event processing. Look out for that!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Unanswered Nokia N96 Questions
So, after Nokia's announcement about their new N96 being available soon, and the release of some spec information, the questions are starting to be asked that really matter. Most of these are from users of the Nokia N95, for which the N96 is the logical successor.
The official specs don't show whether the fantastic features which the N95 has will have a more punchy processor to chew through them on the N96; whether this processor and battery combo will extend the life of the phone between charges; or whether the slow initial connection to GPS will be resolved.
There's some speculation about the processor. Survivor82 seems to think (from a 'reliable source') that the TI processor of the N95 will be replaced by another ARM designed processor from STmicroelectronics. Aside from the clock speed between the ARM1136 at 330MHz (TI) and the ARM926EJ at 393MHz (ST), we need to wait and see on whether this is an improvement in real terms.
The official specs don't show whether the fantastic features which the N95 has will have a more punchy processor to chew through them on the N96; whether this processor and battery combo will extend the life of the phone between charges; or whether the slow initial connection to GPS will be resolved.
There's some speculation about the processor. Survivor82 seems to think (from a 'reliable source') that the TI processor of the N95 will be replaced by another ARM designed processor from STmicroelectronics. Aside from the clock speed between the ARM1136 at 330MHz (TI) and the ARM926EJ at 393MHz (ST), we need to wait and see on whether this is an improvement in real terms.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Today's Award for Stating the Bleedin' Obvious....
...goes to Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, who said:
"Five billion pounds represents a substantial sum."
I can see why he holds down that job, with such a tight grasp of quantitative analysis :) Actually, to be fair to Mr Shaw, I'm sure the quote was plucked from a longer answer to a hardcore question around the turmoil in today's financial markets (this sentence is the one to protect me from a defamation suit- can you tell?).
"Five billion pounds represents a substantial sum."
I can see why he holds down that job, with such a tight grasp of quantitative analysis :) Actually, to be fair to Mr Shaw, I'm sure the quote was plucked from a longer answer to a hardcore question around the turmoil in today's financial markets (this sentence is the one to protect me from a defamation suit- can you tell?).
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
CreativeCraving brings Cafepress-like service to UK
Way back in July 2006 I suggested that someone should set up a business like Cafepress but with a UK based operation- rather than from west coast US. This was partly out of guilt from buying a $5 mug from Cafepress and then paying nearly the same to post it back to the UK from San Fran. I still felt the price was reasonable, but just imagine the carbon footprint!
Anyway, someone from Creative Craving has contacted me... it's been done. And done well. I would normally feel envious that I'd spotted an opportunity and someone else has exploited it before me, but I sincerely don't begrudge the great job they've done. I hope to be a customer soon and see if the experience lives up to the anticipation.
Anyway, someone from Creative Craving has contacted me... it's been done. And done well. I would normally feel envious that I'd spotted an opportunity and someone else has exploited it before me, but I sincerely don't begrudge the great job they've done. I hope to be a customer soon and see if the experience lives up to the anticipation.
Apple Join New-Year dieting fad with MacBook Air
OK, so who saw the MacBook Air coming? Any mention at Consumer Electronics Show? No. The next expected step from Apple to be announced in the Steve Jobs keynote at Macworld 2008 was variously touted, but was broadly along the lines of exploiting the market position gained by the iPod Nano, iPhone and Apple TV. BUT NO. How's this for breaking the rule book... an ultrathin laptop! Or THE ultrathin laptop? Given the number of suppliers needing to cooperate around the launch of a innovative laptop, it is amazing that it was kept so well under wraps. The closest whiff we all had was the speculation around the FlashMac- technology which we see here in the solid state drive.
Actually, perhaps all that just shows how far my finger has strayed away from the pulse?
It is not yet known when true devotees will be able to dig deep into their pockets in the UK, but there are surely many waiting for the excuse. The common theme to all of Apple's product launches recently has surely been their ability to exceed expectations... and with each launch those expectations get higher.
Actually, despite this post following the attention grabbing headline announcement, I think the most impactful thing mentioned by St.Steve of Jobs is the hi-def Apple TV. The MacBook Air clearly has the wow factor and will be snapped up by niche buyers, but hi-def has far wider appeal and relevance. Surely Apple have to open up to having products like this being resold through high street consumer retailers? That's where people realise that hi-def is what they always wanted. Will Apple do it? This stuff is too good to sit in minimalist 'computer shops'.
Actually, perhaps all that just shows how far my finger has strayed away from the pulse?
It is not yet known when true devotees will be able to dig deep into their pockets in the UK, but there are surely many waiting for the excuse. The common theme to all of Apple's product launches recently has surely been their ability to exceed expectations... and with each launch those expectations get higher.
Actually, despite this post following the attention grabbing headline announcement, I think the most impactful thing mentioned by St.Steve of Jobs is the hi-def Apple TV. The MacBook Air clearly has the wow factor and will be snapped up by niche buyers, but hi-def has far wider appeal and relevance. Surely Apple have to open up to having products like this being resold through high street consumer retailers? That's where people realise that hi-def is what they always wanted. Will Apple do it? This stuff is too good to sit in minimalist 'computer shops'.
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