http://healthcare.zdnet.com/?p=2058
by Dana Blankenhorn
In practice, studies like this can easily be a political sop. They are easier to bury than your kids’ pet goldfish. Had the election turned out differently, that’s what likely would have happened, because the previous government was deeply attached to proprietary models.
http://fcw.com/articles/2009/03/27/dod-has-little-workforce-info.aspx
http://govhealthit.com/articles/2009/03/27/joint-lifetime-health-record.aspx
The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments have formed a working group to pursue a joint lifetime electronic heath and benefits record for service members, veterans, and their families. Rear Adm. Gregory Timberlake, director of the DOD/VA Interagency Program Office said yesterday the decision to form the group was made March 24 at a meeting of the Joint Executive Council, chaired by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.
If you didn’t see this article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on Electronic Health Records (EHR) then it is worth a look. Good baseline information but I can’t help but think – if we looked at computers this way in the 1970’s then…. well you know the rest……
I thought this was an interesting article on ZDnet – sounds like the iphone may be an interesting platform for some future medical applications. Sometimes I think we need to break our old ways of thinking that an applications or system needs to be the only way to look at medical systems. iPhone and twitter show interesting approaches to exposing platforms that let the world loose.
North Darfur camp hosting over 15,000 people uprooted by recent clashes – UN Source: United Nations News Service Date: 25 Feb 2009 Over 15,000 people have sought safety in the Zam Zam camp in North Darfur after fleeing the latest outburst of violence in the South Darfur region of Sudan, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today. OCHA is concerned that with more people arriving each day, the large influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is putting a strain on the provision of water to camp residents. The fighting which broke out last month around Muhajeria and Shearia in South Darfur between Government troops and other armed groups against the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) exposed tens of thousands of civilians to violence. Earlier this month, the two sides signed an agreement of “goodwill and confidence-building,” which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed as a “constructive step” in the ongoing efforts to negotiate a peaceful conclusion to their conflict. Meanwhile, the joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission to Darfur, known as UNAMID, reported that an additional 150 Senegalese peacekeepers arrived today in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur and the mission’s headquarters, bringing the total to 834 in the Senegalese infantry battalion. The main duties of the battalion, which is based in El Geneina, West Darfur, include conducting escorts for humanitarian convoys, and conducting patrols to enhance security for civilians in the area and encourage confidence within the local population. One year after taking on the task of suppressing the violence, UNAMID has some 12,753 blue helmets – of the 19,555 authorized by the Security Council – across Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million have been forced from their homes since fighting erupted in 2003
Israeli military operations and heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip continued into their eighth day.
VIOlENCE
As of 3 January, according to the Ministry of Health in
Gaza, 432 people have been killed and 2,200 persons have
been injured.
On 3 January, the IAF continued air and naval strikes in
all parts of the Gaza Strip, particularly North Gaza, Gaza
and the Middle area, with airstrikes focusing on moving
vehicles, residences, open areas, and former Israeli
settlements. In addition to the airstrikes, the IDF has
commenced shelling areas in Gaza up to and exceeding one
kilometer from the Israel-Gaza border. At the moment of
issuing this release, artillery shell fire has been
reported from the eastern border to open areas in North
Gaza, Gaza and the Middle Area.
Increasing numbers of warning leaflets are being dropped,
warning people to evacuate the targeted areas, exacerbating
confusion and panic among the civilian population.
The American School north of Gaza was directly hit and
almost completely destroyed, with one school guard killed.
In addition, at least three to five schools were damaged by
Israeli shelling of nearby targets.
Palestinian militants fired 20 rockets and mortars into
Israel injuring 3 Israelis.
HEAlTH
According to WHO, many medical supply donations have
entered the Strip in recent days, including through Rafah,
and more are in the pipeline. The main challenge for now is
how to catalogue and manage these supplies. WHO is
identifying which individual items may still be needed,
particularly in regards to medical equipment which is more
difficult to assess. Intensive care unit capacity in
hospitals is still limited and the lack of specialist
surgeons remains a problem. Blood units have entered Gaza,
bringing supplies to adequate levels.
In addition to the Ministry of Health’s current central
warehouse, UNRWA has identified a storage facility for
incoming MoH pharmaceuticals. A logistical team of
pharmacists and other staff are shifting supplies currently
held in small storage spaces throughout Gaza to the new
central warehouse for organization and inventory; all new
medicines arriving will also be stored in this new
warehouse. Three more storage facilities in the north,
central and south have been identified.
Since 27 December, 103 patients entered Egypt through Rafah
for external medical treatment. Of growing concern are the
700-1000 chronic medical patients who had been receiving
regular treatment in Israel and East Jerusalem each month.
The existing referral system through Erez for these
patients has been disrupted.
Without electricity from the Gaza Power Plant (GPP),
hospitals are operating on backup electric generators.
These generators cannot be relied on to provide constant
power to hospitals, and it is critical that fuel is
delivered to the power station in order for mains
electricity to be restored.
FOOD
Distribution of food assistance to the most vulnerable is
erratic due to the security situation. Since 27 December,
WFP (through implementing partners) has distributed only a
fraction of the 1350 metric tonnes available and the food
that is currently being distributed should have been
distributed in the October-December cycle. UNRWA resumed
its prior food distribution in seven distribution centres
on 1 January which it had suspended on 18 December;
distributions are continuing today.
WATER AND SANITATION
On 2 January, airstrikes in the Al Mughraga area damaged a
main drinking water pipe, cutting off water supplies to
30,000 people in Nuseirat Camp.
Beit Lahiya Sewage Lagoon: There is a particular emerging
concern, that current military operations could damage the
sand walls of the Beit Lahiya sewage lagoon causing a
massive sewage overflow. In addition to agricultural areas,
up to 15,000 people are directly at risk. Two years ago,
five people were killed and 2,000 displaced when the lagoon
overflowed.
SHELTER
Several hundred people have sought shelter at locations
provided by UNRWA. The Agency has 91 preidentified
locations throughout the Gaza Strip, primarily schools,
with a capacity for 40,000 persons, including non-refugee
displaced if necessary.
CROSSINGS
KEREM SHALOM: Closed today. A total of 75 truckloads
including 42 for humanitarian aid agencies were allowed
entry to Gaza through Kerem Shalom crossing yesterday, 2
January. These included 46 truckloads of food supplies
(including 21 trucks for UNRWA), five medical supplies (MoH
and WHO), 17 truckloads of animal feed, five power
generators for ICRC, and two trucks of other items.
RAFAH: Three truckloads of medical supplies (Qatari, Kuwait
and Egyptian donation) were allowed entry to Gaza through
Rafah crossing today. Five medical cases were allowed out.
EREZ: Closed today. 226 foreign nationals (Russians,
Ukrainians, Americans and Norwegians) were allowed out
through Erez yesterday. International staff of
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been prevented
from entering Gaza for the past two months, adversely
affecting program management and assessments.
PRIORITY IMPORTS NEEDED:
Power plant and electrical transformers: Industrial fuel is
needed to power the Gaza Power Plant, which has been shut
down since 30 December. Replacement of ten transformers
which were completely damaged is also urgently needed to
restore electricity supply to 250,000 people in central and
northern Gaza. All water, sanitation and other utilities,
which provide basic services to the population, as well as
hospitals and the general population are affected by the
outages; some areas have now experienced power outages for
up to 48 hours. Hospitals are increasingly reverting to
generators to support intensive care and operating room
functions.
Wheat grain: Essential to provide flour for local bakeries
and humanitarian food distribution to the population of
Gaza. There are long lines at bakeries and bread rationing
has been implemented by the Gaza authorities.
Cash: Has still not entered the Gaza Strip and is urgently
needed, including for the UNRWA cash distribution program
to some 94,000 dependent beneficiaries, as well as its
“cash for work” program.
Continued violence, including a suicide bombing in the capital, Colombo, has left dozens dead across Sri Lanka. On Sunday (December 28), a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber killed seven security troops and a civilian at a base in a suburb of Colombo. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the suicide bomber barged into a base of the Civil Defense Force (CDF) near a market in Wattala and detonated explosives he was carrying, an unidentified police official said. “The suicide bomber managed to get through the first checkpoint and stage the bombing inside the CDF detachment. An officer and four men were killed on the spot,” AFP quoted the police official as saying. According to AFP, at least 17 others were taken to the hospital. Military spokesperson Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said military reinforcements were sent to the area to beef up security and help investigate the bombing. Police also said that security in the capital was increased following the attack. A similar incident occurred in early October, when a suspected rebel killed two civilians in an attack on a government minister. The attack comes as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) remain under siege from government forces in Sri Lanka’s north. Military officials said that two bombing raids were carried out by the air force on LTTE positions near the rebel’s de facto capital of Kilinochchi on Sunday morning, following similar raids on Saturday (December 27). According to AFP, there was no comment from the LTTE about the suicide attack in Colombo, but the pro-rebel Web site Tamilnet.com quoted LTTE officials as saying that the rebels had killed at least 65 soldiers and wounded another 120 in fighting on Saturday. The LTTE said that 50 soldiers were killed at Alampil, while another 15 were killed at Uduppukulam in Mullaitivu district. The Web site also said that a woman was killed and 10 other civilians were wounded in the air strikes Saturday, according to AFP. Military spokesperson Nanayakkara said that the military continued attacks against the LTTE and seized control of a key road between Puliyankulam and Nedunkerni. In another incident, the navy reported that it sank a LTTE boat carrying arms and other supplies and killed four rebel sailors near Point Pedro off of the country’s northern coast on Sunday. The LTTE has been fighting for a separate state since 1983 and over 70,000 have been killed in the conflict.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jpg2IfiorYV1ez5ja69S0x_qg7SA
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7801724.stm
The following documents are currently featured as Headlines on the ReliefWeb Home Page. If you do not have Web access and wish to receive the full Headline documents via Email, simply reply to this email and paste into the body the reference to a document you wish to retrieve (including the link). Note that only one document can be retrieved at a time.
Hope and disappointment four years on from Asian tsunami Source : Agence France-Presse Date : 25 Dec 2008 URL :
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MYAI-7MNAZR?OpenDocument
**************************************************************************
Sudan: Pakistani doctors arrive in Darfur to set up hospital for civilians Source : UN News Service Date : 25 Dec 2008 URL :
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/VDUX-7MMT77?OpenDocument
**************************************************************************
Ivorian leaders sign deal to integrate rebels into new army Source : Agence France-Presse Date : 24 Dec 2008 URL :
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/YSAR-7MMT6Z?OpenDocument
**************************************************************************
Zimbabwe: Cholera outbreak continues to expand geographically and in numbers Source : UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Date : 24 Dec 2008 URL :
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EDIS-7MMSD2?OpenDocument
**************************************************************************
Guinée : les putschistes ont instauré un couvre-feu, la situation reste en suspens Source : Integrated Regional Information Networks Date : 24 Dec 2008 URL :
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/VDUX-7MMM6R?OpenDocument
**************************************************************************
OPT: Gaza closed crossing caused shortages of essential supplies Source : UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Date : 25 Dec 2008 URL :
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EDIS-7MMLJZ?OpenDocument
**************************************************************************
Philippines: Mindanao IDPs complain of neglect Source : Integrated Regional Information Networks Date : 24 Dec 2008 URL :
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/JBRN-7MMJ5Y?OpenDocument
Jun 1 2007 11:48AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (8) |
Blog This! using: Blogger.com | LiveJournal |
Digg This | Slashdot This | add to Del.icio.us
One of the monumental health projects of our time has to be the effort to bring vaccines into remote, rural regions of the world. Vaccines must be kept cool, and in remote rural regions where it’s too darn hot to begin with, a reliable source of electricity is usually not a feature.
A Finnish company, NAPS Systems, addressed this need in the 1980’s with this mobile camel-solar-powered refrigerator. This version evolved into a more boring, but presumably more universal system, today’s CFS49IS.
The CFS49IS comprises a 49 liter refrigerator/Ice pack freezer, 4 50W solar panels, and 2 100 A-hour 12V lead-acid batteries. The whole thing weighs about 300kg. And yes, the CFS stands for Camel Fridge System.
Promed Mail Google Maps of Emergency Services
