Death from Health Related Administrative Errors is 10x Rate of Automobile Accidents

Administrative errors made when managing your health caused 10 times the death from car crashes in the US at 440K deaths per year. In fact, it’s the 3rd leading cause of death in the USA after heart disease and cancer (see Consumer Reports May 4, 2016). As a cancer graduate, this is near and dear to my heart.

I have personally experienced administrative errors in Canada and they are alive and well. In my particular circumstance, they had forgotten to tell me that I had been diagnosed with cancer.  For my surgery, I circled the part being operated on with a marker and got a “that’s a very good idea” from the attendant. When my son was in one of the top hospitals in Canada, we corrected at least 3 administrative errors since there were lag times between when the doctor entered notes into the computer system and when the nurse visited.

In the USA, Consumer Reports is asking Americans to send a letter to their representative in support of a National Patient Safety Board (similar to the National Transportation Safety Board & the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). Follow link here to find a suggested letter via article “Patient Safety Advocates Urge the Creation of a National Patient Safety Board to Fight Medical Errors”.

 

What can you do as a patient?

Try to bring to all your appointments a second pair of eyes and both of you take good notes, ask lots of questions and do your research. For the hospital, this person will be your advocate since there will be a lot of activity. If you don’t have such a person, you might want to think about hiring a nurse to help you out.  More important than a good doctor (a nice to have) is an administratively efficient medical team since even with a good doctor a small mistake by anyone on the team could kill you. Remember, they are human too and not infallible.

Ensure to follow-up with your doctor on all test results.  Never accept “we’ll contact you if there is anything to discuss once we get the results back.” That means getting the exact test results paperwork from a patient portal or a photocopy from your doctor (which means a follow-up visit). Consumer Reports on Health reported in their March 2018 issue “Test information sometimes slips through the cracks. Some offices receive tests results on paper, which can get lost, misfiled, or overlooked. And even electronic results may not always be followed up on appropriately. … [Test results themselves] can be hard to read or interpret correctly – even for healthcare professionals at times. … The bottom line: You should know and understand your results, and never take anything for granted.” Once you have those test results in your hands, try to make sense of what they say by doing your own research. It can generate good questions for discussion with your doctor.

Finally, make an attempt at asking your doctor and clinic to adopt a patient portal to open up access to your doctors notes. OpenNotes.org, an international movement, has a canned email letter to send them: https://www.opennotes.org/join/. OpenNotes.org is referenced by the Canadian Medical Association Journal: http://www.cmaj.ca/content/186/11/811.

The Oil & Gas industry needs to embrace new IP-based infrastructure for its fields

Brad Bechtold (@bradbechtold2) of Cisco via @CiscoCanada explains why the Oil & Gas industry needs to embrace new IP-based infrastructure not currently in oilfields. The concept he references is a “connected field” in which multiple IP communications technologies work together as a system. These technologies include UHF, VHF, LMRS, microwave, WiFi, fiber and satellite which are all today hotly debated as to “what works best” (answer: none, it depends on what you need to do).

http://canadablog.cisco.com/2015/02/12/why-the-canadian-oil-and-gas-industry-must-embrace-new-technologies/

Speaking in Calgary April 23, 2015 at the ISA Show

I am very excited to be speaking locally in Calgary at the Instrumentation, Systems & Automation (ISA) Calgary Show April 22-23, 2015. The presentation is entitled “Understanding the Remote Field Data Communications Challenge” and it scheduled for Thursday, April 23 @ 9:30am.

Hope to see folks there!

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Conference Schedule: http://isacalgary.com/conference-schedule/ (no longer published)

Session information: http://isacalgary.com/sessions/understanding-the-remote-field-data-communications-challenge/ (no longer published by the presentation can be accessed by clicking here)

Remote field data communications is challenging. There are often multiple teams and vendors involved and no-one seems to have the big picture! Automation systems require different wireless systems than traditional broadband internet systems further confusing what should be used. This talk by Trevor Textor will help unravel the complexities and highlight:

  • The differences between automation traffic and traditional broadband traffic and how that might change the radios installed based on the circumstances.
  • Understanding wireless frequencies and the reasons different wireless frequencies are not better/worse than the other.
  • How video changes traditional approaches to communications (telecom as a utility).
  • How traditional IT merging into the automation world necessitates a different model between IT and engineering.
  • Financial impacts of a digital oilfield and how a “connected field” can deliver the dream of “just turn it on anywhere”.
  • What is telecom passive infrastructure? Why should we care?
    • How telecom passive infrastructure engineering determines your bandwidth availability.
    • When should a business think about passive telecom infrastructure?
  • How much does rural data communications outages actually cost?

Trevor Textor is a rural data communications expert with over a decade of experience. Trevor has participated in wireless system design, control system segregation projects, radio equipment evaluations and facility drawing reviews (to name just a few).

Please note: Trevor adheres to the CTCA code of ethics, has no agency relationships with equipment vendors and will attempt to provide fact and generic experience based advice.

Library Rethink!

Lots of things are online now. At the Calgary Public Library (and probably most libraries in North America), you can get movies (hoopla), books (OverDrive) and music (Freegal), all without ever visiting a library. And now, a library card is free! (really, was $12/year such a burden? You park downtown once and you’ve paid for a library card 3 times over. Click here to learn more. My family loves our library!

Virgin / Branson – set to disrupt yet another industry – Satellites

Virgin / Branson – set to disrupt yet another industry; this time the satellite industry. The “Oneweb” low earth orbit (LEO) Satellite constellation consisting of up to 2400 satellites will be disruptive to data communications globally but especially the satellite industry. Expect consumers to benefit only after earth station technology improves as LEO services require the consumer to have an expensive tracking/motorized antenna.
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2871304/security0/virgin-galactic-wants-to-launch-2-400-comm-satellites-to-offer-ubiquitous-broadband.html

Winter Tires not just for Canadians

Winter tires are also recommended for Americans too says Consumer Reports with only 21% of Americans considering winter tires vs 58% in Canada. CR explains AWD is not a substitute; winter tires provide a minimum 20% benefit.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2015/01/are-you-driving-on-winter-tires/index.htm

Update Nov 21, 2019: AMA recommending studded tires for all winter tire purchases. For the next time you need new winter tires: “…technological advances have made today’s studded tires much quieter and far gentler on typical road surfaces.” Stopping distance is extra 5 meters over non-studded winter tires:  https://amainsider.com/why-studded-winter-tires/

Taking The Passion Out of Politics

When H.S. Dent explains that politics follows an 80 year cycle, it takes all the passion out of it. It’s no surprise that we have no control over large events and explaining that events occur in cycles re-iterates this. What Dent’s cycle says is that there is an 80 year four-season economic cycle and liberals are favored in the summer & fall seasons (good times, bubbles; e.g. Post great depression to the 1960s) while conservatives are favored in the winter and spring season (recessions, high inflation, lagging innovation; e.g. 1970s – current day).  This helps explain why waiting for the government to make a decision that affects personal situations is extreme folly since the political lean required may take decades to come about.

http://www.amazon.com/Harry-S.-Dent/e/B000APCXRS

How Far a Paycheck goes & how it feels (by city)

An interesting graph by NPR’s Planet Money.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/05/20/313131559/how-far-your-paycheck-goes-in-356-u-s-cities

I’ve heard that Alberta is similar to New York City but with the “Canada” premium (extra 30%). Alternately one might argue Denver is a better comparison… but the idea comes across. The steepness of the line shows that even if more income is generated it doesn’t feel like it goes very far.

 

Oil Companies don’t make that much money

Here you have it, straight from Forbes on the 5 facts everyone should know about Oil Exploration:

“Oil companies don’t really make that much money…. This is an incredibly capital-intensive industry….Frankly, it’s a miracle anyone wants to be in this business at all. I truly think the major oil companies are underpaid. The risk-adjusted returns are crap compared to most sectors.”

Sounds to me like an industry that could really leverage better real time communications to de-risk the business & access technical know-how anywhere it is in the world.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/04/03/what-are-the-top-five-facts-everyone-should-know-about-oil-exploration/