SCALE 3x will be held this weekend in Los Angeles at the LA Convention Center. Speakers include Kevin Foreman (Real Networks), Jon Hall (Linux International), Larry McVoy (CEO BitMover), Marc Hamilton (Sun) & 30 other sessions. In addtion to the talks there will be over 40 exhibitors including IBM & Novell. IBM will demo the new OpenPower 710. If you’re in LA drop by on 2/12-2/13. There will also be a dinner and GPG Key Signing party. For a free exhibit hall pass register with the promo code “FREE” or a discounted full access pass with “NEWSP”.

‘ Eight of the nation’s largest technology companies, including IBM, Microsoft and Oracle, have agreed to embrace open, nonproprietary technology standards as the software building blocks for a national health information network. According to this NYT/CNET article.

Office of the National Coordinator Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) was established on April 27, 2004 by Executive Order #13335 issued by President Bush. ONCHIT establishes the position of National Health Information Technology Coordinator within the Department of Health & Human Services. Click here to view the Executive Order.

“On November 15, the Office of the National Coordinator Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) released a Request for Information (RFI) that seeks public comment regarding how widespread interoperability of health information technologies and health information exchange can be achieved through a National Health Information Network (NHIN).

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The Southern California Linux Expo continues to sign distinguished speakers for SCALE 3x, the third annual So Cal Linux Expo. Here are the most recent additions:

*Kevin Bedell – LinuxWorld Magazine
*Jason Schultz – Electronic Frontier Foundation
*Marc Hamilton – Sun Microsystems
*Charles Coble – EMIC Networks
*Paul Von Stamwitz – 3ware
*Tim Jones – TOLIS Group

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The italian hospital Policlinico Umberto I di Roma Dipartimento Malattie infettive (department of infectious diseases) has started to use an open source HIS. The installation was done by the MFH company under the management of Marco Fiorletta.

For verifications , pls. contact:

Marco Fiorletta
Via di Campo Romano 30, 00173, Roma
+39-067230668 (r.a.)
[fiorletta at mfh.it]

Note exactly Free and Open Source but nonetheless interesting: As seen on Infoworld and referenced by Slashdot , the U.K. National Health Service is going to deploy 500 Java Desktop Systems (JDSs). This is a ‘tactical deployment’.

Continuity of Care guidelines go to a vote The balloting is set to begin Sept. 1 on a Continuity of Care implementation guide for the healthcare industry, which means the guidelines could be in place before the end of the year. Source: Healthcare IT News / Bernie Monegain The link to the whole story is here This is a very promising attempt to set a standard for the core data of a continuouity of care record. Which includes i.e. “summary of the patient�s health status (e.g., problems, medications, allergies) and basic information about insurance, advance directives, care documentation, and care plan recommendations”

President Bush has announced the goal of ubiquitous electronic medical records in 10 years: “On the research side, we’re the best — we’re coming up with more innovative ways to saves lives and to treat patients,” Bush said. “But when you think about the providers’ side, we’re kind of still in the buggy era.” The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) had this reply from AMIA president Charles Safran.

Healthcare Informatics has an article on forming a bank-like collaboration for Health IT: ‘More than 30 years ago, competing banks formed the VISA credit card collaborative and, together with the merchants, built a real-time, private financial information exchange at the point of service. Transactions are processed for less than one cent. Some people wonder, If the banking industry can do this, why can’t healthcare? Well, it can…’ Thanks to David Derauf for this link.

Healthcare Informatics has an article on Nine Tech Trends in healthcare, one of which is Open Source. Good to see that they are waking up to what Linux Medical News readers have known for almost four years. From the article ‘…Healthcare providers, notoriously slow to try emerging IT solutions, have begun to take notice of open source, and some have embarked on projects. “We’re in the embryonic stage now. Open source is just starting to get visibility,” says Tim Cook, president of Open Paradigms L.L.C., South Fulton, Tenn., and developer of Torch2, an open source electronic health record and practice management application. “This is a burgeoning movement that has been going on for quite a while and will continue to grow as more IT professionals learn about it.”