UK Archives - InnoHEALTH magazine

First 3-D Printed Human Corneas

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 09:56:45 +0000

Cornea, the outermost layer of the eye helps in focusing vision. The statistics show that there is a significant shortage of corneas for transplant with nearly 10 mil people worldwide requiring eye surgery to prevent corneal blindness due to trachoma and almost 5 mil people suffer total blindness due to corneal scarring caused by lacerations, abrasions, burns or diseases. To tackle this issue, scientists at Newcastle University, UK have created the first-ever human corneas. The proof of- concept research, published in Experimental Eye Research, reports how stem cells (human corneal stromal cells) from a healthy donor cornea were mixed together with alginate and collagen to create a solution that could be printed, a ‘bio-ink’. Then the bio-ink was successfully extruded in concentric circles to form the shape of a human cornea which took less than 10 minutes to print using a simple 3-D printer. The stem cells were then shown to culture or grow. The gel which is a combination of alginate and collagen keeps the stem cells alive while producing a material which is stiff enough to hold its shape but soft enough to be squeezed out of the nozzle of a 3-D printer. The uniqueness of the product is that a cornea could be built as per a patient’s specifications. The dimensions of the printed tissue were originally taken from an actual cornea. By scanning a patient’s eye, they could use the data to rapidly print a cornea which matched the size and shape. These 3-D printed corneas will now have to undergo further testing and it will be several years before we could be in the position where we are using them for transplants. However, an endeavor has been made to show that it is feasible to print corneas using coordinates taken from a patient’s eye and that this approach has the potential to combat the worldwide shortage of corneal transplants.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180529223312.htm
Philips lighting research on eyesight

The post First 3-D Printed Human Corneas appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

Socioeconomic Inequalities in the UK

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 10:45:12 +0000

Since the post-war period, socioeconomic inequalities in children’s weight have reversed in the UK – with disadvantaged children originally being more likely to be thinner than more advantaged children, but now typically being more likely to be overweight or obese, according to an observational study.

Previously, studies of this kind have analyzed trends in body mass index (BMI), but not height and weight separately; this study is the first to disentangle the changes behind increasing BMI inequalities over time.

Between 1953 to 2015, the difference in children’s BMI levels between the most and the least disadvantaged children has expanded, however, the difference in children’s height has narrowed, and fewer disadvantaged children are now of short stature.

Authors of the study, published in the Lancet Public Health Journal, say that these trends highlight the powerful influence that the obesogenic environment has had on socioeconomically disadvantaged children, with and the failure of decades of previous policies to prevent obesity and related socioeconomic inequalities.

“Our findings illustrate a need for new effective policies to reduce obesity and its socioeconomic inequality in children in the UK – previous policies have not been adequate, and existing policies are unlikely to be either. Without effective interventions, childhood BMI inequalities are likely to widen further throughout adulthood, leading to decades of adverse health and economic consequences,” says the lead author Dr. David Bann, UCL, UK.

“Our results illustrate a need for strong additional legislative changes that focus on societal factors and the food industry, rather than individuals or families. Bold action is needed, such as creating further incentives for food manufacturers to reduce sugar and fat content in food and drinks, reduce the advertising of unhealthy foods to children and families, and incentivize the sale of healthier alternatives. The Soft Drinks Industrial Levy is a positive but likely very limited step in the right direction”

The study included data for children born in England, Scotland and Wales from four longitudinal birth cohort studies beginning in 1946, 1958, 1970 and 2001. In the paper, 22,500 children were assessed at the age of 7 years, 34,873 were assessed at the age of 11, and 26,128 were assessed at the age of 15.

Between the ages of 7, 11 and 15 years, the children’s height and weight were measured, and BMI was calculated. The child’s father’s occupation was used as a marker of their socioeconomic position, and the association between socioeconomic position and weight was also analyzed from childhood and adolescence.

On average, the 2001 cohort was taller, heavier and had a higher BMI than the earlier born cohorts.

In all cohorts, the most disadvantaged children tended to be shorter than the least disadvantaged children. However, the difference narrowed over time – with the most disadvantaged 7-year olds being 3.9cm shorter than the least disadvantaged children in the 1946 cohort, whereas the difference in children in the 2001 cohort was 1.2cm.

At the same time, differences in weight reversed, with the lower socioeconomic position being associated with lower childhood and adolescent weight in the 1946, 1958 and 1970 cohorts, but with higher weight in the 2001 cohort. For example, the most disadvantaged 11-year olds weighed 2kg less than the least disadvantaged children in the 1946 cohort, however in the 2001 cohort, the most disadvantaged 11-year olds weighed 2.1kg more than the least disadvantaged children.

As a result of the weight and height changes, BMI inequalities were larger and appeared earlier in childhood in the 2001 cohort than in the earlier-born cohorts. In the 2001 cohort, the most disadvantaged 7-year olds had a BMI that was 0.5 kg/m2 greater than the least disadvantaged children.

Inequalities generally widened with age. By the age of 15 years, BMI inequalities were present across all cohorts except the 1946 cohort and were largest in the 2001 cohort (1.4 kg/m2 difference between the most and least disadvantaged teenagers, compared with a difference of 0.4kg/ m2 and 0.6 kg/m2 for the 1958 and 1970 cohorts, respectively).

Explaining the differences in childhood height, weight and BMI since the post-war period, the authors point to the considerable changes to diets and physical activity levels in Britain.

These include the end of wartime rationing in 1954 when diets typically included higher consumption of vegetables, and lower consumption of sugar and soft drinks. Since that time, the food environment has become increasingly obesogenic, and society has become more unequal, which may have particularly impacted on the access to healthy foods among socially disadvantaged families, resulting in increased childhood BMI among these groups. In addition, inequalities in adult BMI emerged in the 1980s and may have contributed to childhood BMI changes, as parents’ and children’s BMI are associated.

The authors note some limitations, including that most children enrolled were white, so the findings cannot be generalized to all ethnic groups in Britain. They also note that dropout rates were higher in more disadvantaged children, which could result in BMI inequalities being under or overestimated.

As BMI does not account for the level of fat, it may be an inexact measure of obesity and could have led to healthy children being miscategorized as overweight or obese. Lastly, the father’s occupation is only one aspect of the socioeconomic position, although the results remained the same when repeated using the mother’s education level.

Informatively, this study was funded by Cohorts and Longitudinal Studies Enhancement Resources’ (CLOSER), a collaborative research programme funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council and based at the UCL Institute of Education and was additionally supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences/the Wellcome Trust. It was conducted by researchers from UCL and Loughborough University.

The post Socioeconomic Inequalities in the UK appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

Transforming healthcare through innovation

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 11:01:36 +0000

Executive opinion

At the outset, I wish all our innovator community best wishes and exciting New Year 2018. At our end, we continue to add value through our knowledge activities of InnovatioCuris (IC). An international conference will be organised on October 5 & 6 2018. We also continue to arrange webinars, training, IC club meetings, magazine publication and launch of new initiatives like security audit of healthcare facilities. We have already published two books in the U.S.A. First being “Innovations in Healthcare Management: Cost-Effective and Sustainable Solutions” in 2015 which has been adopted by Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and University in UK as a reference book. It has now special Indian edition as well. The second is “Planning and Designing Healthcare Facilities: A Lean, Innovative, and Evidence-Based Approach” published in October 2017. We bring global leaders to our platform and share experiences to benefit all. We thank our members for continuous support to take all initiatives to the next level. We have already partnered with many credible organisations to work together.

As developed economies enter a period of slower growth, emerging economies such as India have become prime examples of how more can be achieved with less. We need to share best global practices to optimise healthcare delivery cost and can reduce concerns of patients and yet keep high degree of quality. We impart knowledge through various medium and presents new concepts, methods and tools to achieve low cost, high volume solutions that improve access to patient care by better understanding of transforming healthcare through innovations. Our focus is grass root innovation to benefit have nots by organising resources and flow to achieve with available resources. It also covers non-traditional ecosystems of innovation outside of pure technology, such as social persuasion, rural health delivery, exploitation of economies of scale, prevention oriented primary care, medical education, and hospital design.

The ecosystem is very conducive for innovations right now, with growing number of start-ups and open mindset. We should take advantage of the new initiatives launched by the government like Startup India, Make in India, Standup India, Skill India and many more to take innovations to logical conclusion. The government has created enough funds to support. Innovators should take advantage of these schemes to fulfil their mission. To make members aware of funding opportunities, a workshop was conducted in the last club meeting by experts evaluating such proposals. We have very vibrant website; it has videos, webinars, conference and magazine articles. It would be worth visiting our website at www.innovatiocuris.com and magazine website is https://innohealthmagazine.com

We would be happy to get your views and feedback. The healthcare delivery is a holistic approach, which requires integrating all stakeholders of varied fields and discipline. It is a team work to develop and scale up new innovations and we are committed to bring best global resource under one roof to benefit the community.

Want to write for InnoHEALTH? send us your article at magazine@innovatiocuris.com

Read all the issues of InnoHEALTH magazine:
InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 1 (July to September 2016) – https://goo.gl/iWAwN2
InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 2 (October to December 2016) – https://goo.gl/4GGMJz
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 1 (January to March 2017) – https://goo.gl/DEyKnw
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 2 (April to June 2017) – https://goo.gl/Nv3eev
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 3 (July to September 2017) – https://goo.gl/MCVjd6
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 4 (October to December 2017) – http://amzn.to/2B2UMLw
InnoHEALTH Volume 3 Issue 1 (January to March 2018) – https://goo.gl/fksdQx
InnoHEALTH Volume 3 Issue 2 (April to June 2018) – https://goo.gl/grbtRo

Connect with InnovatioCuris on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/innovatiocuris
Twitter: https://twitter.com/innovatiocuris
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7043791
Stay updated about IC, visit: www.innovatiocuris.com

The post Transforming healthcare through innovation appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

Clove Dental launches dental health plan

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 08:38:02 +0000

Oral health is a window to your overall health. It is medically proven that prevention and looking after your teeth will save you from many medical problems such as heart disease, sleeping disorders, pre-term delivery, etc. So, clove dental has come up with a plan keeping in mind how preventive dentistry play a key role in maintaining your overall health.

Clove Dental, the largest dental chain in India promoted by Star Dental Centre Pvt. Ltd. recently launched the first of its kind ‘Platinum Dental Membership Plan’, pan India which is a complete annual dental health plan for the entire family that includes a complementary oral care kit, with required toothpaste, brushes, mouthwash, floss, etc., delivered to your doorstep every few months.

Members get Clove vouchers up to Rs. 5000 for any treatment in Clove clinics. Also included are many preventive treatments at no cost and discounts on all other treatments.

Platinum Dental Membership Plan is offered to individuals, couples and families of four. The plan offers Clove Vouchers, 4 complementary kits, biannual scaling and polishing, Dental X-rays, and fluoride treatment for a child of the family. The Platinum members can also avail 10 % discount on all treatments, 5% discount on Implants, and priority consultation with specialist doctors from Clove. This is one of its kind membership plan that no other dentist or dental chain offers. Another first from Clove Dental, which is India’s largest dental chain.

Preventive dentistry is the practice of caring for your teeth to keep them healthy to avoid cavities, gum disease, enamel wear, and other dental problems. Preventive dentistry includes regular dental care routine at home like brushing twice a day, flossing etc. Also, to maintain optimal oral health, the American Dental Association (ADA) recommends visits to the dentist at regular intervals determined by a dentist. These practices are designed to ensure that our teeth stay clean, strong, and white. Children should be taught proper oral hygiene at an early age to prevent tooth decay. Preventive dentistry can help avoid dental disease, protecting our smile and saving us from expensive dental procedures.

Clove Dental has set an ambitious target to launch 200 Clinics by the end of this year. For the next phase, they will launch 600 clinics over the next 3-4 years. The company has so far made an investment of $25M and plans to invest another $25-30M, till they reach the 600-clinic target.

Clove Dental is the only player in the Oral Care space in the country who holds a membership of the prestigious Royal Society of Medicine, UK. Backed by advanced technologies the Clove clinics offer International Standards of Dental Care to the patients. Clove has introduced transparent, ethical, patient friendly delivery with focus on Global standards of sterilization, treatment protocols across all disciplines of Dentistry. Clove Dental plans to build community awareness programs to improve appreciation towards Oral Hygiene and Preventive Oral Care to ensure other diseases linked to poor oral health like Diabetes, Heart ailments, Pre-term birth etc. are eliminated.

Want to write for InnoHEALTH? send us your article at magazine@innovatiocuris.com

The post Clove Dental launches dental health plan appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

Exercise in big parks can reduce depression

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 08:51:44 +0000

Those who exercise in large parks in cities are less prone to depression

Availability of large neighbourhood parks encourages people to increase their physical activity, and those suffering from chronic conditions who regularly exercise in these parks are less prone to major depression, a new study has found. Besides increasing physical activity, regular exposure to outdoor green spaces improves cognitive functioning and lowers mortality risks. This is significant for those with chronic conditions like arthritis, diabetes, asthma and heart diseases as they are the most vulnerable to depression.

The study was done in Delhi, which has several public parks in residential areas. “Large parks in Delhi have diverse landscapes and are more likely to receive regular and frequent visitors, providing an opportunity for regular socialization,” say researchers.

[vc_single_image image=”3664″ img_size=”500×300″ alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image”]

People who used large-sized neighbourhood parks walked for more than 150 minutes per week, the study found. For overall health, fitness and cognitive maintenance, the World Health Organization recommends adults to engage in 150 minutes of physical activity per week.

Dr. Debarati Mukherjee, lead author of the study says,” High levels of exercise encourage birth of new neurons which aid memory functions and learning.”

Researchers measured the association between park availability and major depression in 1208 adult park-users in Delhi. Major depression was measured using a structured clinical interview. Compared to residents exposed to large parks, major depression was 3.1 times higher among those exposed to small parks. They also showed that large-sized parks reduced stress and increased satisfaction with the immediate living environment.

“There are several mechanisms by which mental health is enhanced by physical activity. This is largely by increasing levels of endorphins in the brain” said Dr Dorairaj Prabhakaran of Public Health Foundation of India and one of the researchers. Endorphins are a group of chemicals that are natural mood elevators.

Dr. Mukherjee says that high levels of exercise encourage birth of new neurons which aid memory functions and learning. Physical activity is also thought to reverse cell and tissue damage as seen in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Researchers point out that negative impact of shrinking green spaces due to rapid socio-economic development in metropolitan cities has not been studied, stressing the need for more studies on the matter. In addition to health benefits, urban green spaces reduce air and noise pollution. They also function as an important habitat islands for urban wildlife.

Certain neighborhoods may enable behaviours that promote mental health, while other residents may find it more restrictive to follow a healthy and happy lifestyle.

[vc_empty_space]

Dr. Mukherjee says, “Our study provides the first empirical evidence of the benefits of availability of parks in the Indian context. It highlights the importance of having large parks near people’s living quarters”. The study could be a model for similar studies in other cities across the country.

[vc_single_image image=”3671″ img_size=”500×300″ alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image”]

The scientists also recommend inclusion of urban green spaces in city planning to increase overall health of people. Their findings come at an important time whena largescale development in major cities is being undertaken in the country. “This is an opportune moment given that development of sustainable cities is ongoing in 109 cities selected in the SMART Cities Mission. Allocating municipal land for large urban parks should have a high priority,” adds Dr. Prabhakaran.

Altogether, 11 scientists from India, America and United Kingdom contributed to this study. Participating institutions include Centre for Control of Chronic Conditions, Public Health Foundation of India, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Rollins School of Public Health USA, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine UK. The findings were recently published in journal Health and Place.

Want to write for InnoHEALTH? send us your article at magazine@innovatiocuris.com

The post Exercise in big parks can reduce depression appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

RANSOMWARE EPIDEMIC – WHO IS NEXT?

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 09:59:44 +0000

[vc_single_image image=”939″ alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image” qode_css_animation=””]

Nimisha Singh Verma is Healthcare IT consultant. She brings with her experience of various esteemed healthcare organizations Optum, Religare Technologies and tertiary care hospitals. Authored chapter on Indovation in Innovations in Healthcare Management: Cost Effective and Sustainable Solutions book published in US.

[vc_empty_space]

Ransomware epidemic is spreading in healthcare like wildfire due to its increasing digitalization which is and will attract more attention of hackers.

[vc_empty_space]

The healthcare industry has been a victim of various cyber attacks in the last few years. According to recent studies, healthcare has outnumbered financial services and become the most cyber attacked industry. The latest in cyber-attack is ransomware wherein the hacker encrypts the data and threatens to publish it until the ransom is paid in form of bitcoins. In US alone, healthcare industry was the victim of 88 per cent of all ransomware attacks across industries last year.

The recent case of WannaCry ransomware crippled the IT systems of NHS, UK. And after hitting NHS, it spread globally targeting more than 99 nations. The hackers demanded payment of £300 – £600 to unlock systems and have earned about £55,000 in ransom.

Ransomware has indeed become a lucrative revenue source for hackers due to which the number of attacks is predicted to quadruple by 2020. Medical records have 10-20 times more value than the credit card data in the internet black market. Ransomware epidemic is spreading in healthcare like wildfire due to its increasing digitalization which is and will attract more attention of hackers. Also, the vulnerability of the health data tends the organizations to pay the ransom to get the data back to maintain privacy and confidentiality of patient data.

Even after so many cases of cyber attacks compromising millions of electronic health records each year, the healthcare industry is inadequately prepared to prevent and resolve these attacks. Whether it is India or US, cyber security is always discussed in forums and budget is allocated for the same but is not put to proper use. Cyber attacks happen due to outdated security infrastructure or employee negligence.

Hospitals and insurance companies have been the main targets of hackers. But, a new vulnerability is catching everyone’s attention i.e. medical devices. The next nightmare in ransomware attacks could be hacking of medical devices such as insulin pumps, pacemakers, defibrillators, implants etc.

Disfunctioning of medical devices can be catastrophic. Just imagine, hackers take control of one’s pacemaker and ask for ransom or else they would manipulate the device which could be fatal. This kind of attack has been showcased in the very famous TV show Homeland wherein the Vice President dies due to hackers remotely disable his pacemaker.

Just like the serial, the former US Vice President Dick Cheney’s doctors disabled his pacemaker’s wireless functionality due to fear of possible assassination attempts as revealed by him during an interview in 2013. This clearly showcases that medical devices can be the next target for hackers.

Regulators such as FDA are increasingly getting concerned about medical device security and have issued warning. In 2015, for the first time FDA issued safety notice to hospitals which strongly discouraged hospitals to use an infusion pump which was found to be vulnerable to cyber attacks. But it has been observed that FDA did not force the company to fix the devices being used in the hospitals and didn’t investigate other insulin pump models. This shows that FDA needs to be more stringent towards medical device security. The vulnerability of infusion pump was pointed out by a white hat hacker Billy Rios during his hospital stay.

[vc_single_image image=”2367″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image” qode_css_animation=””]

[vc_empty_space]

Few of the medical device companies/providers have been proactive in strengthening their device security such as Johnson & Johnson in Oct 2016 warned 114,000 diabetic patients about a security lax that a hacker could exploit in one of its insulin pumps (J&J Animas OneTouch Ping). The hackers can disable or alter the dosage which could be fatal. J&J suggested ways to the patients for mitigating risk.

There have been no documented cases of medical device hacking till date but demonstrations have been conducted in research environment. One such example is of Barnaby Jack who succeeded in hacking an insulin pump and demonstrated giving off lethal dose of insulin without the pump alerting the user. Another example is that of St Jude Medical’s implantable devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators, and resynchronization devices. The radio frequency (RF) enabled St. Jude medical implantable cardiac device and corresponding Merlin@home Transmitter enables transmitting and receiving patient data stored on the device to the physician to monitor his health. But FDA reviewed the device and confirmed about cybersecurity vulnerabilities, if exploited, could be fatal.

Also, researchers at TrapX Security analysed three hospitals for medical device hacking. The deception technology was installed which utilized emulated medical devices in the hospitals. These emulated devices attract and trap hackers so that TrapX could trace the hackers activity. These fake medical devices such as Radiation Oncology system, LINAC , Fluoroscopy, PACS and Xray system appeared real to the hackers and TrapX could monitor hacker’s activity.

According to TrapX, these hospitals utilized older version of Windows that made it vulnerable and most medical devices did not have additional endpoint security software which made the attack undetectable. It was also noticed that the main goal of hackers was to steal medical records not to manipulate the device.

Another research at University of South Alabama showcased how they hacked pacemaker and killed a medical simulator called iStan. The $100,000 medical dummy comes equipped with robotics that mimic the human cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological systems. The researchers could speed the heart rate up or could slow it down. Not only pacemaker, researchers could manipulate an insulin pump or a number of things that would cause life-threatening injuries or death. This clearly illustrates why medical device security is important.

With the advent of IoT, where devices are connected via internet should focus on cyber security. Industrial experts are realizing that cyber security is prime priority for all the devices connected to the internet.

Devices such as wearables, smart bed, smart emergency system, etc. are all lagging behind in cyber security. Apart from medical devices, surgical robots are not being scrutinized for cyber security. Just imagine, surgical robots been hacked which could lead to life threatening situation of the patient. One such demonstration has been showcased by researchers at University of Washington in 2015. They hacked a tele-operated surgical robot, Raven II. The experiment demonstrated three types of attacks that made telesurgery vulnerable with this robot. The researchers demonstrated how they took complete control over the robot and disrupted the operation.

[vc_empty_space]

All of this sounds scary but it can be prevented if we are well prepared. It is important to understand that not only regulators like FDA need not address the challenge of cyber security but also the medical device vendors and providers should take shared responsibility. It has been observed that providers point the device manufacturers to be accountable for cyber security for responding to vulnerabilities and providing fixes for the same.

On the other hand, the device vendors hold providers responsible for their negligence and having outdated network protection. To be safe from such attacks, organisations should review their cyber defence strategies and budget. Also, employee training and awareness needs to be tackled to avoid falling for opening phishing mails and change passwords regularly.

[vc_single_image image=”2369″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image” qode_css_animation=””]

[vc_empty_space]

It has also been observed that providers such as middle scale hospitals, clinics or laboratories have often overlooked cyber security as priority as they believe not much data is present with them and only the big organisations are in trouble. Which is not true, as hackers are aware of the precious financial and patient data these clinics hold and are aiming at clinics or small hospitals also to get the data. So, they should also focus on medical device security.

The next big thing in helping fight against cybersecurity is artificial intelligence (AI). According to some analysts, the advantage of using AI is it can help predict cyber attack before it happens with the use of behaviour analysis. It alerts security team on any behaviour deviation or authentication failures while accessing records. AI not only helps in detecting threats quickly but it is also cost efficient compared to the money paid by companies in ransom. It does not replace security tools but acts as an additional layer of security. AI can also help in analysing employee behaviour for avoiding any internal security breach. AI can help in bridging the shortage of skilled cyber security professionals also. According to Centre for Cyber Safety and Education, there is a shortfall of 1.8 million cyber security professionals by 2022 worldwide. Companies such as IBM are already investing in AI system Watson for cyber security.

Also start-ups such as Cognetyx are providing cognitive cyber surveillance solution to healthcare organizations. Use of AI for cyber security in other areas has been showcased, for example, the Las Vegas city officials and UK government to monitor their Public Services Network and protect their records from security threats. Whereas, the successful implementation of AI in healthcare cyber security is yet to happen.

The next wave of medical device cyber attacks can be prevented by collaborative approach and commitment from all the stakeholders. Not only the healthcare organizations should make sure their security practices and strategies are updated but the government should also help in skill development of cyber security professionals and encourage more research on medical device security by providing medical device at low cost. Since medical devices are expensive and require license, it makes it difficult for researchers to explore this area. At the end, we should not forget that we have to stay a step ahead of hackers to be a hard target for them.

[vc_empty_space]

Want to write for InnoHEALTH? send us your article at magazine@innovatiocuris.com

Connect with InnovatioCuris on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/innovatiocuris
Twitter: https://twitter.com/innovatiocuris
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7043791
Stay update about IC by visiting: www.innovatiocuris.com

The post RANSOMWARE EPIDEMIC – WHO IS NEXT? appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.

TETE-TETE WITH A JOVIAL GP

InnoHEALTH Magazine — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 09:08:00 +0000

[vc_single_image image=”1990″ alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image” qode_css_animation=””]

Teaching and sharing information with his patients gives Dr David Kirkpatrick immense satisfaction

Time seemed to be flying, when I was in conversation with a very jovial person Dr David Kirkpatrick, a General Practitioner at Al Zahra (Pvt.) Medical Centre. His take on life is truly an admirable one and he makes you feel that life is all about exploring opportunities in the right way and with the right attitude it can be never too late to build on a dream and acquire it.

He came to UK when he was five years old, and completed his entire schooling there. For three months thereafter, he was clueless about the direction he would be taking in life. Medicine was not at all in the radar for him, not until he had worked in a hospital environment. Today, he has been a practising GP for about 30 years.

His mother one day remarked,“ You have gone through a very expensive education and you cannot stay like this Ð doing nothing”. He gave an interview for a job with the London Police and the Navy and finally found a job at Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford in U.K. where he worked for about a year as a potter in an X-ray dept.

Dr Kirkpatrick said, “When I went home returning from my job Ð one night, my mother said ‘Have you had any more thought about what you want to do?’ I replied, “You know mother, I wish I had done medicine, I really love that hospital environment.” Immediately his mother said that his grandfather had left some money in a trust and the trustees would be happy to know that he wanted to get back to school to study science.

Without wasting any more time, Dr Kirkpatrick decided to go to St. Edwards School in Oxford for 12 months to do ‘A’ levels in physics, chemistry and biology. He had done English, history and French. He joined the Middlesex Medical School and Hospital in London for further training and then went on with his further education in the field of medicine. By then he was already focused on becoming a General Practitioner.

He got married in 1976 and then they travelled to New Zealand, where his wife was offered a job. He says, “We had planned to stay in New Zealand for a year or two but we stayed there for 26 years. I had my own practice for 23 years in New Zealand but wanted a change from the same atmosphere. We had good friends, a nice lifestyle and house but when our boys left university and were independent, my wife wanted to travel again.”

[vc_empty_space]

[vc_single_image image=”1991″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”link_image” qode_css_animation=””]

[vc_empty_space]

“In May 2002, we stopped in UAE on our way back to England that time I gave a couple of interviews in a few hospitals in the UAE. On 2nd November 2002, we arrived in the UAE to settle here and I started my job with Al Zahra Hospital on 9th November 2002.”

He says, “It has been a good experience at Al Zahra, as I get to see an extraordinary range of cultures and nationalities walking into my room for consultation here in Dubai, which I did not see in New Zealand. I am happy to be working with nice people and in good surroundings.”

“Another good thing about being in Dubai is travel,” he says. “Travelling back home and visiting other places in the world from UAE is very convenient compared to New Zealand.” He has been to Africa, Morocco, Petra, Thailand etc…, but finds the Fiji Island the best travel destination. He wants to see the TajMahal and visit Bhutan and many other places across the globe.

He is also a passionate photographer, who likes to capture candid pictures of people and beautiful places on film. He has gathered thousands of photos in his computer. He states, “I disappear in my study area for hours to play around with my collection in Photoshop.” However, he admits it to be a very time consuming hobby.

He finds great delight in practicing his cooking skills on a regular basis. “I feel cooking is a great way to relax. When you get back home after a busy day at work, just put on an apron and get into the kitchen to try out some delicious recipes. It is a nice way to stay away from stress. I love playing golf, squash and tennis but don’t get much of a chance to play,” he discloses speaking about his pastime activities.

“I like to do some form of exercise every day. We have a gym and pool in our building; I manage to go for a workout 2-3 times a week. I feel exercising and walking helps me think better. I often find myself composing e-mails and narrating new ideas well while I am exercising.”

Talking about his philosophy as a doctor he reveals, “I feel that doctors should be teachers. When patients walk out of their room, they should have an idea of what is wrong with them. You have to set aside more time for each patient to explain to them what is going on with them. You have to simplify, a complicated matter to explain it to your patients.”

“I follow a simple rule, I limit myself to giving three bits of information to each patient and I repeat the information twice for my patient to understand it thoroughly and this works. The formula is simple distil down a complex matter into something that you can describe in a few minutes and hope your patient will absorb it and remember.”

“Another important thing to remember to be a good GP, is that it is important that you have to know what you do not know and you should be prepared to admit the same. In addition, you should have some idea of what is wrong with your patient and whom to refer to for further consultation.”

He concluded with his thoughts about being positive, “I feel good about what I do if a patient leaves my room happy and satisfied with my service. I am a positive person and I am positive about people and I think most people are good people.”

[vc_empty_space]

Want to write for InnoHEALTH? send us your article at magazine@innovatiocuris.com

[vc_empty_space]

Read all the issues of InnoHEALTH magazine:
InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 1 (July to September 2016) – https://goo.gl/iWAwN2
InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 2 (October to December 2016) – https://goo.gl/4GGMJz
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 1 (January to March 2017) – https://goo.gl/DEyKnw
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 2 (April to June 2017) – https://goo.gl/Nv3eev
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 3 (July to September 2017) – https://goo.gl/MCVjd6

[vc_separator type=”normal”]

Connect with InnoHEALTH 2017 on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/innohealth2017
Twitter: https://twitter.com/innhealth2017
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7043791
Stay update about the conference by visiting: www.innohealth.in

The post TETE-TETE WITH A JOVIAL GP appeared first on InnoHEALTH magazine.