Pervasive health care

Wearable Devices and Wireless Networks Tools for Pervasive Health Care In-Life Testing... 

Smart dust Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed smart dust—tiny, intelligent wireless sensors that can communicate with each other, form autonomous networks, reprogram themselves, and monitor almost anything. They have already been tested for various military and nonmilitary applications, but their potential in providing pervasive health care is equally huge [15]. 

Limited research has been reported in the literature regarding secure communications in WBANs utilizing biometric information. Venkatasubramanian et al. provided an overview of security solutions in pervasive health care systems, where biomedical information was utihzed for securing data collected by medical sensors, and for controUing access to health information managed by pervasive health care systems. Cherukuri et al. proposed a biometrics-based key distribution scheme to secure the... 

Pervasive computing has numerous applications, but it offers particular potential to the pharmaceutical and health care industries by facilitating the transmission and collection of biological data on a real-time basis outside a clinical setting. That, in turn, means it can be used to monitor patients and manage their health to test new drugs in totally different ways and to deliver health care anywhere, anytime [13]. 

Over time, of course, such awareness has continued to grow, although so too has the realization that it should not be cost that drives macro or micro decision-making, but cost-effectiveness. That is, the health-care system needs to achieve a good balance between the resources it uses (the costs) and the outcomes it achieves (the effectiveness). More recent developments, such as the establishment of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, make abundantly clear both the enduring relevance of economic considerations when deciding how to use health service resources and the pervasive need to balance economic with clinical (and related) objectives. 

The USA has disposed of stockpiles of sulfur mustard at sea. Fisherman or boaters who come across discarded canisters, leaky from sitting in salt water, unknowingly have become exposed. In treating these exposures, if the vesicant is pervasive, it is important to decontaminate in a prehospital setting, and have health care providers wear appropriate personal care protection. Latex gloves are not sufficient - butyl rubber is needed. Health care workers do not need to fear the patient s blisters, since these do not contain the vesicating agent. 

Edmondson, A.C. 2004. Learning from failure in health care Frequent opportunities, pervasive barriers. Quality c Safety in Health Care, 13(Suppl. 2), ii3-ii9. 

Social isolation and stigmatization by peers are commonly experienced by children with special health care needs in schools (LaGreca, 1990). On a website for children with special health care needs, stigma is a pervasive theme in the children s writings (Fleitas, 1999). For example, an 8-year-old wrote I have cystic fibrosis and sometimes I cough a lot. Here s what happens when I get in line at school. The kids in front of me walk real fast, and the kids behind me walk real slow. So it s sort of like I m all alone. Sadly, teachers and other school staff often miss opportunities to reach out to these youth when they experience such isolation. 

According to census statistics, aging of the world s population is pervasive, profound, and enduring. The world s elderly population is projected to be almost two billion by the year 2050 [2]. The situation is most severe in developed countries and is accompanied by the prevalence of chronic diseases, which are becoming the leading causes of death and disability. In response to the current and foreseen burden on the healthcare system, there is growing interest in the use of mHealth for chronic and geriatric care. In a World Health... 

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