I'm sorry to be away from class tonight, so here is my snippette.

Given our discussion of the ethics around protecting identity and dealing with confidential information, I thought this joint project announcement was interesting. Further, the optimization of the US healthcare system via electronic data is a movement that I think we will hear a lot more about in the coming years. The article is from the Small Business Times.

Tosa company launches joint project with Sun Microsystems

Wauwatosa-based TeraMedica today announced it has formed a joint solution with Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun Microsystems Inc. to create a system that enables health caregivers to securely share patient-centric digital content, including medical images, electronically over a network.TeraMedica's Evercore solution, running on the Sun Java Composite Application Platform Suite, allows physicians to attach medical images such as X-rays and MRI scans, as well as other clinical digital content, to a patient's existing electronic health record (EHR) and then easily access them from the desktop. By providing caregivers with timely access to relevant patient information, the joint solution can ultimately help improve patient safety and care, increase efficiency and reduce costs.Customers currently using or testing the Evercore on Sun solution include the Mayo Clinic, ProHealth Care in Waukesha and the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin."A picture is worth a thousand words, and TeraMedica puts the picture into the patient view, creating a single point of access for all electronic health information, both data and images," said Wayne Owens, vice president of healthcare integration platforms at Sun Microsystems."TeraMedica's Evercore technology complements Sun's healthcare solutions by enabling access to medical images and other clinical digital content via a patient's existing electronic health record," said Jim Prekop, president and chief executive officer of TeraMedica, which is based at 10400 Innovation Drive. "By allowing caregivers to easily view and share medical data, together Sun and TeraMedica can help raise the standard of medical care."