Downloading eBooks to the iPhone Using Google Books and Stanza Software

I am doing the final preparation for a Writing for Publication workshop this week.  I discovered that I can download some free eBooks, such as Florence Nightingale's Notes on Nursing and Isabel Hampton Robb's Nursing.  What wonderful resources for courses such as Introduction to Nursing!! 

I wanted to see ways that faculty and students could take an advantage of the eBooks, using a desktop, laptop, PDA, or Smartphone.  I had downloaded Stanza software for the desktop a few weeks ago.  I was able to save the e-book to may iPhone.  This particular feature makes Stanza software superior to Kindle (which can only access books on the Amazon web site) in my opinion.  Stanza software is able to use many file formats (See figure below).

Google books allowed me to save the Nightingale and Hampton Robb books as PDF and ePub file formats.  I chose ePub (Open eBook) for the download.  The steps for transferring the eBook from the computer to the iPhone are noted below.

1. 
   
   Opened Stanza desktop>File>Open menu and selected the eBook from where it is saved.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Go to Stanza Tools and make sure that Enable Sharing is selected.
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Connect the iPhone to the computer or make sure that it is connected to the same wireless network as the computer with Stanza desktop.
   
   
   
4. 
   
   Open Stanza on the iPhone.
   
   
   
5. 
   
   From the library menu, select Shared Books>Your computer's name.
   
   
   
6. 
   
   One the desktop computer, grant permission to share the book.
   
   
   
7. 
   
   Select the book you want to download.
   
   
   

The entire process took only a couple of minutes and was really easy to do.  The information on how to download eBooks from Stanza is on the software Frequently Asked Questions.

PS - Google Books does have information about copyright and how to avoid copyright infringement.

Telehealth and Stroke Management

I read an interesting news story this morning in Healthcare IT about how the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington uses telehealth to manage stroke care.  The story is at http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/physician-shortage-drives-telemedicine-market

The medical center connects to remote areas of the state of Washington to link stroke specialists with patients using GCI ConnectMD services (http://www.connectmd.com/ ).  The equipment allows remote facilities to transfer CTs of the head with HIPAA compliancy.  The patient outcome goal is to minimize neurologic damage from the stroke.

Podcasting and the Future of Digital Audio

A Forrester(R) research report (2005) projected that by next year (2010), 20.1 million households will use satellite radio and 12.3 million will listen to podcasts that they have synchronized to their MP3 players.  It will be interesting to discover the "real" numbers in just a couple of months. The Ruture of Digital Audio report is available from http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/0,7211,36428,00.html . Registration (free) is required access and download the report.

The availability of podcasts on the Internet is amazing.  Students in my NRSG 6121 class took an advantage of podcasts to address knowledge needs regarding how a computer works.  The students were all issued a iPod at the beginning of the semester with a microphone for recording audio and encouraged to create podcasts.  They shared findings from their searches in the iTunes store for medical and nursing educational podcasts.  Observing their excitement about the value of podcasts for eductational purposes has been wonderful!

Health Information Technology Automation of Quality Measurement: Quality Data Set and Data Flow

Tracy, who works in quality, shared the update from the Health Information Expert Panel: Health Information Technology Automation of Quality Measurement: Quality Data Set (QDS)  and Data Flow.  An executive summary of the report (22 pages) which is available as a PDF (Adobe Reader) download is at http://www.qualityforum.org/Publications/2009/11/Health_Information_Technology_Automation_of_Quality_Measurement__Quality_Data_Set_and_Data_Flow.aspx
The QDS provides common language for quality measure used in resources such as:

• Electronic health records (EHRs)
• Personal health records (PHRs)
• Registries
• Health information exchanges (HIEs)

Online and Mobile Tools that Empower the Chronically Ill to Manage Their Care

Linda shared a wonderful resource, Participatory Health: Online and Mobile Tools Help Chronically Ill Manage Care, that discusses the development of online and mobile tools that can help individuals manage their chronic conditions.  The 27-page PDF (Adobe Reader) file was developed by the California Healthcare Foundation and is available at http://www.chcf.org/documents/chronicdisease/ParticipatoryHealthTools.pdf

Included are examples of computer applications that have been successfully used in chronic care beginning on page 10. The tools were categorized as:

• Health video games
• Medication management
• The "other" medical home
• Diabetes care
• Weight management 
• Wellness

Examples are provided for each of the categories.  It is an interesting read.
(Added to Chapter 22 on the textbook  web site at  http://dlthede.net/Informatics/Informatics.html )


Sarasohn-Kahn, J. (2009, September). "Participatory Health: Online and Mobile Tools Help Chronically Ill Manage Care. Retrieved from http://www.chcf.org/documents/chronicdisease/ParticipatoryHealthTools.pdf

Health Data Privacy

Linda shared a web site that addresses issues associated with health data privacy.  The site is the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) at http://epic.org/privacy/medical/  The web site has comprehensive information on privacy policy issues.  Examples of policy issues include the Google Books, Facebook, and Cloud Computing. The URL was added to our textbook web site at http://dlthede.net/Informatics/Chap21EHRIssues/Chap21.html#Other

Creating a Combination Column & Line Chart

In healthcare we often want to compare data from different sources to see if there is any type of relationship; for example, comparing staffing with patient outcomes.  An activity for the Thede & Sewell Informatics and Nursing textbook, chapter 24, asks the learner to create a chart that compares the number of patient falls and pressure ulcers with staffing using the percentage of registered nurses. The mixed type of chart is not addressed in the textbook and may pose as a challenging task.  The task is easier than it might appear. It is a two step process.

If using Excel 2007

1. Highlight the entire chart and then select the Column Chart type.
2. Right-click on the Percentage of Registered Nurses column and select Change Series Chart Type from the menu - and select Line with Markers

The resulting chart should like like the graphic below.

A website at http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/charts/column_line.php may be helpful for earlier versions of Excel.