Published:Sunday | December 1, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
Most medical office management systems include online patient scheduling, and with the increasing number of telemedicine platforms, soon this will become a preferred choice for patients. Traditionally, appointments are booked either by walking into...
Published:Sunday | November 10, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
Implantable devices are not a new concept in healthcare. For decades, people have been kept alive by devices like pacemakers that assist the heart to function, for example, and orthopaedic devices that assist in fusing bones and joints displaced...
Published:Sunday | October 20, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
The world over is dealing with the issue of ageing populations where the number of persons over 55 is steadily increasing while the number of children born to families reduces. More persons are deciding to have one child or, maximum, two. Jamaica’...
Published:Sunday | October 6, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
Biomarkers have long been used in healthcare as a diagnostic and treatment aid. In addition, biomarkers such as those used to determine the probability of disease presence or development based on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) have been used as a...
Published:Sunday | September 22, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
In the past few years, a number of telemedicine vendors have entered the local market. This is a good indication that we are moving forward and evolving to incorporate digital health into the healthcare ecosystem. We still have a little way to go...
Published:Sunday | September 8, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
The electronic health record (EHR) offers a plethora of opportunities for digitised healthcare management. Imagine if there was a system where a doctor can get an alert to warn that a patient may be close to a life-threatening condition, giving him...
Published:Sunday | August 11, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
Healthcare is becoming more and more focused on data analysis to assist with, among other things, patient care. Apart from cost saving and efficiency gains, continuity of care and prevention initiatives have been cited as important reasons for...
Published:Sunday | July 28, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
I was once on site doing an initial tour of one of our prospective information technology (IT) implementations. We had just signed the contract and so decided to do a walk-through to have a more complete view of what to expect once we got started....
Published:Sunday | July 14, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
The opportunities for the development and use of technology in healthcare are vast. Knowing how to apply the technology to make hospitals a consumer-friendly and viable business is important. We are generally a population that is ‘technology...
Published:Sunday | June 30, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
A s people become more health conscious, there is a need to increase promotion of their involvement in their own care and give them the means by which to participate. The world has been steadily changing for the last three decades, becoming...
Published:Sunday | June 16, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
June 1 marked the beginning of the hurricane season, which means we can be sure that preparations are being made behind the scenes led by the Ministry of Health. There are management plans and protocols in place to respond to disasters. Although...
Published:Sunday | June 2, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
There is no doubt that the best way to reduce overall healthcare costs is to invest heavily in preventive care. We do seem to understand this, evident in the Government’s ongoing approach of fostering increased physical activity, educating the...
Published:Sunday | May 19, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
The minister of health and wellness is forging ahead with legislation for a National Health Insurance Plan (NHIP). The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) recently hosted a public forum to engage citizens on the matter. The event...
Published:Sunday | May 5, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
Jamaica has an excellent cadre of skilled professionals in emergency and general medical care. However, over the years, we continue to face significant problems with attaining an acceptable transportation system for emergency and non-emergency...
Published:Sunday | April 28, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
Despite the very commendable effort of the Ministry of Health to reduce waiting time at public hospitals, it is still a major issue. A staff member at my company related to me that she took her grandmother to Kingston Public Hospital from 7 a.m. on...
Published:Sunday | April 7, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
Technology improves overall management of healthcare. This is why we have seen an increase in digitisation efforts with respect to healthcare management. The University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) is already deep into its process of...
Published:Sunday | March 24, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
With the direction in which health and technology are going, it would be prudent for the issue of ownership and access to medical records to be worked out once and for all. With pertinent restrictions of course, access to medical records needs to...
Published:Sunday | February 10, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
The number of preventable deaths each year is staggering. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 7.8 million people die of hypertension, 5.4 million die from smoking tobacco, 3.8 million from malnutrition, 3 million from STDs, 2.5...
Published:Sunday | January 27, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
Interoperability is what makes an electronic system, well a system. Connectivity is critical in any healthcare environment. Health technology increases the rate of connectivity and access generally, but within that there also needs to be further...
Published:Thursday | January 10, 2019 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
There are myriad things that we have yet to explore to uncover the benefits of technology in health.One of them is how we can achieve an interconnected and efficient multiagency disaster and crisis preparation and response mechanism.Health is...
Published:Friday | December 28, 2018 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
Jamaica has long been engaged in strategies to manage population health. From the establishment of the Extended Programme on Immunisation in 1977 to the 1978 Alma Ata declaration which focused on the need to shore up the primary healthcare system....
Published:Wednesday | December 12, 2018 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
Earlier this year, I wrote an article about computer vision and how it can positively impact healthcare.This kind of artificial intelligence (AI) is already a feature of health technology and is used to...
Published:Thursday | November 29, 2018 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
Important strides have been made in health sectors worldwide to move forward with achieving a complete digital ecosystem with electronic medical records (EMR) central to this.Jamaicans are highly suspicious of technology, especially those that...
Published:Thursday | November 15, 2018 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
I have had some experience implementing technology in entities that are completely new to it. This is not an easy process and can result in extended delays if not undertaken clinically...
Published:Wednesday | October 31, 2018 | 12:00 AMDoug Halsall
I have always been a proponent of telemedicine and its immense benefits to the healthcare system. It is a great way for rural communities to gain access to high quality health care.I, therefore, welcomed the recent announcement from Minister of...
