AATP Interactive

Computer versus Paper

Participants in a survey from the University of Washington’s Information School, in Seattle, reported that they were much more likely to misfile and lose track of paper information than information stored on a computer. More than half of survey participants admitted losing track of a paper document at least once a week—more than twice the number of people who reported losing electronic information. While more than 60 percent reported being satisfied with their ability to handle computerized records such as e-mails, electronic documents and Web bookmarks, only 31 percent were satisfied with their ability to organize their papers.

The study is part of an ongoing National Science Foundation-funded project called Keeping Found Things FoundTM, whose goal is to understand how to help people to manage their information better, regardless of its form or location.

Full story in the Advance for Health Information Executives NewsMagazine

Thanks to MedicalInformaticsWeblog for inspiring this.

Trading Privacy for Health

An article "Emerging Technology" in the December issue of Discover argues that digitizing patient records exposes you to prying eyes but could also save your life. It looks at the potential health benefits and privacy concerns associated with computerizing medical records and storing them in searchable electronic databases.

Recently the Mayo Clinic and IBM announced that they would collaborate to create the Mayo Clinical Life Sciences System, which is "not so much about digitizing records as it is about establishing new ways to get a big-picture view across thousands or millions of records."

Mayo has been using digital patient records for nearly 10 years, and they have more than 4.4 million on file. The IBM database would allow researchers to quickly conduct "horizontal analysis," which searches for statistically relevant patterns in a vast database of information. Previously, this type of research could take up to a year to complete. Another goal of the datbase would be to make a qualitative change in research, which would allow researchers to pursue more "hunches" and "wild cards," Discover reports. This will generate new knowledge, as opposed to being used to verify things that are already known.

The article argues that despite the potential to improve care, computerizing medical records could threaten patient privacy, as the information could be accessed by prospective employers and insurance companies. Although researchers and physicians would need special authorization to access the Mayo database and the project would conceal the identity of patients during horizontal searches, concerns need to be addressed.

Health IT World Article

Pew Internet Report on Instant Messaging

Recent Pew Internet & American Life surveys reveal that more than four in ten online Americans instant message (IM). About 11 million of them IM at work and they are becoming fond of its capacity to encourage productivity and interoffice cooperation. At the same time, IM usage varies widely across different age groups. Instant messengers utilize IM not only as a way to expand and remain connected their social circle, but also as a form of self-expression.

- 42% of internet users—more than 53 million American adults—report using instant messaging. There has been modest growth in the overall IM population since the Project first started tracking it in April 2000. At that point, about 41 million adults used IM, so the growth rate of the IM population is around 29%.

- On a typical day, 12% of internet users (or 29% of those who use IM) instant
message with others. That translates into just under 13 million people using IM on any given day and constitutes a growth rate of about 9% since April 2000.

It is interesting to note that although most internet users favor email over IM as a form of communication, nearly a quarter of IM users say they instant message more than they email.

- 24% of those 54 million IM users report using IM more frequently than email
- 6% of IM users say they use IM as much as they use email.
- 70% report using email more than instant messaging
- 36% of IM users say they use IM every day
- 63% say they use IM at least several times a week

The complete report (pdf) is available at the Pew Internet & American Life Project