Hey guys -- how's your e-Health?

Partly as a result of all that moisture we've been having, the view from my office window is inspiring -- there's a huge park directly ahead that's been manicured for the local soccer teams, the trees all around are green and majestic, gracefully camouflaging the houses and their beautiful gardens.

Everything looks so wonderfully healthy -- until I glance down! Winter's not been kind in the fitness department -- seems like the pounds have a way of sneaking up on you when you're otherwise engaged!

If you're like me, you probably wish there was a way to constantly/automatically monitor your health so that you'd be aware of what's going on -- that way, surprises come Spring/Summer or during a health check-up are kept to a minimum; heck, even if you're super-fit, knowledge can still be a powerful tool!

Well, wish no longer -- things are a-changing in the e-Health arena as we speak; remember in one of my earlier articles I mentioned Personal Health Records (PHRs)? From my perspective, this could be the next big wave in health care.

Let's set the scene; notice how you hardly have time these days to ask your doctor "how's the wife/husband and kids" before they leave the exam room for the next "patient"? Well, get used to it -- business pressures are going to make the image of your doctor even more of a blur as they dash from room to room.

So this means your health is gonna become much more of your responsibility -- understand that I'm advocating prevention rather than intervention here.

Pedometers, blood pressure/glucose monitors are just a few examples of devices that will allow you to upload measurements to a "Health Portal" such as Microsoft's HealthVault (http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/05/06/tech-telus-health-space-microsoft-electronic-health-records.html) or Google's Google Health (http://www.google.com/intl/en-US/health/about/index.html).

Basically these web sites allow you to securely store your health data (meds, measurements etc.), offer you the option of sharing the latter and come with various built-in health management tools.

Also, stay tuned for upcoming offerings from Wal Mart!

OK, so say you're hypertensive and your doctor has you on the appropriate meds; you've had an epiphany and decide once and for all you're gonna beat this weight thing and at a minimum, have the medication reduced.

You're also computer literate (and moved past the security issues), so you decide to try Telus' HealthVault; you buy a pedometer and a blood pressure monitor, walk/pump weights on alternate days then upload your exercise/blood pressure/weight data to the 'Vault.

On a daily/weekly basis, you use one of the tools to show you a picture of what's going on and soon you notice your blood pressure/weight are steadily decreasing.

Next doctor's visit, he's so impressed that he's considering reducing the meds and promising you to start working on that paunch he's developing!

Picture the functionality of a PHR system as somewhat similar to an Excel spreadsheet -- a picture is worth...

You spend your hard-earned dollars on so many things these days that you can't really appreciate where the money's going until you press the "graph" key and notice that you're spending way, way too much on shoes, or if you're like me, on chocolate-covered almonds!

To wrap up, all I'm saying is that with the ever-increasing cost pressures on health care, our quality of life will soon become directly related to the effort we put into maintaining it.

Now, as I promised, I'm starting a "where-am-I" contest; if you can guess where the above picture (double-click it if you need a better resolution) was taken, I will arrange to send you something I hope you'll like -- this month, it's the book "No matter what" by Lisa Nichols.

A hint and the month the blog pertains to is provided below.

The rules are simple, namely:

1> you were not at the location when the picture was taken

2> you must reply in a comment to the blog -- first correct or most accurate (e.g. Toronto as opposed to Ontario) wins

3> you were not a previous winner in the past 6 months

4> contest closes at 23:59 (EST/EDT) on the last day of the month of the blog's publication

4> prize(s) is(are) carried forward if there was no winner for the month -- the result will also be announced as a comment to the blog

5> ...and of course, Management reserves the right to make the final decision

Hint: not in Canada

Month: June

Good luck and remember to go boldly forth looking after your health and beautifying your neighborhood!

Ernest A. James

President/CEO

Regal Informatics Inc.

e-Health security -- it depends on you too!

Hello everyone,

This month's topic is such a meaty one, I'm gonna bypass the formalities and just jump right in, concentrating on the unauthorized access to medical files; we'll cover the so-called "acts of God" at another time.

Firstly, a couple of questions: do you use Internet banking? Do you interact with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for such purposes as "Netfiling" your taxes?

Well, before you answer, I'd like to comment that if you're like the general population, these tools are lifesavers -- just imagine you now have the option/capability to file your taxes dressed in your jammies with your favorite cup of brew at 23:30 on April 29th/30th -- no pressure!
Or, you're on vacation in St. Kitts (West Indies) and there's a bill you forgot to pay before you left home; if you're like me and hate paying interest unless absolutely necessary, you'll soon be making your way to an Internet kiosk...

Many people I've spoken to with regards to e-Health security express a concern that hackers may be able to access their medical files; personally, if someone is able to see that I have a million dollars in my bank account, that wouldn't bother me much since knowing doesn't make him/her a better/richer person; similarly, if someone was to get access to my health file and learn that I had a serious itch that required monthly prescription renewals, the same would apply.

What would keep me up at nights would be learning that hackers had the capability to dip into my money, or alter my prescriptions to the detriment of my health.

However, I can appreciate that privacy is everything to some, but in reality, is the current paper file methodology we use today any more secure? I would argue not!

Let's explore this:

say for example, Dr. X has a very busy practise; it's summer time and a couple of med students or other appropriate part-timers are hired on to help.
What's to prevent the latter from occasionally taking a peek at your file? How would you know if they did? Suppose they knew you personally?

Fast forward to e-Health -- Dr. X has implemented an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system and as part of their employment contract, staff are required to access patients' files on a "need-to-know" basis only; with the proper controls in place, an auditor should be able to produce a report showing who did what and when (remember when the IRS fired employees for snooping? =>: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/05/five-irs-employ/) -- try that with paper records!

In reality, nothing's 100% secure, however, laws are in place that can serve to punish those who circumvent the privacy of others for their own selfish purposes. The problem with our current paper system is that it's virtually impossible to police these laws!

As I've stated previously, if our EMR/EHR systems are implemented with the same type of rock-solid security that we see in our banking and the various Government web sites, we should be well on our way towards a much more efficient health system.

Well, that's it for now; next month we'll be discussing the ways that EMR/EHR systems are becoming personalized (Personal Health Record -- PHR) -- you'll be amazed at what's in store!
Also, to perk things up a bit, I'll be introducing a "where-am-I" picture campaign; if you can correctly guess where the blog picture was taken, I'll send you a prize.

So until then, go boldly forth, remembering to stay aware of your surroundings.

Ernest A. James

President/CEO
Regal Informatics Inc.