Finance & Commerce just profiled an interesting Minnesota-based company called Access Genetics. They have a portal for medical labs. They host lab tools such as guides, worksheets and calculators. They perform online interpretation and reporting. So you send in your data, they report on it.
Here’s a quick blurb from the article:
“What’s unique about the way these results are reviewed by Access Genetics is that typically, all results are reviewed in a double-blind format initially by two medical technologists and then by a pathologist,” Hoedeman explained. “So having three sets of eyes on a set of analytical results provides a very high level of quality.”
If a lab wants to use TeleGene for single tests, cost range from $2 to $35 per test. And the time taken from the reviewers being alerted to the final result being transmitted back to the lab averages 90 minutes, Hoedeman said. (Traditionally, technical data is sent using paper-based systems, which may take several days and heightens the possibility of logistical errors.)
The Web portal also allows lab technicians running the physical test to know when supplies are running low. In other words, every time test data is entered, the software knows which enzymes, reagents, dyes and plastic tubes are being used and calculates when they will run out. Access Genetics can ship whatever is needed from its warehouse before inventory falls short.
So it seems as if the quality, speed and efficiency are all good. It’s nice vote for telemedicine as a direction for healthcare. The article also provides some business information on the company:
Hoedeman said the company has been profitable since 2004 and will have annual revenues of about $10 million this year. It has about 50 employees, most of whom are medical technologists, genetics counselors and pathologists.
So it’s also a vote for telemedicine as a desirable industry for Minnesota. Just another great use of broadband both in terms of improved healthcare and economics.
I missed the Unsummit in Minneapolis this weekend. I had penciled it in but found out before I headed out on Saturday that they had sold out! My hard luck is their good news.
I love his approach; he outlines top, cheap tools for small business owners (and others) to build a great online face with some virtual elbow grease and not much funds. It’s a valuable article for anyone looking for tips. I won’t recap but I’ll post my favorite quote:
I’ll assume you have a broadband Internet connection in your office, and you or any of your associates do at home if you’re completely a virtual company or startup.
Steve definitely follows broadband even to know that not everyone has it, which I think makes this comment more poignant. You need broadband to use these tools; these tools give you a huge edge in marketing and cost-savings, if you don’t have broadband you are at a deficit. That’s why companies who want to relocate choose areas with broadband. That’s why people who live in areas without broadband are at a disadvantage. And to bring it full circle – that’s what communities need broadband – and why communities in unserved areas need to do what they can to get it.
Here’s the new on public safety use of broadband from one of the vendors (Icomera) providing the service:
Maple Grove Fire Department in Minnesota has chosen the award-winning Moovbox M200 to provide real-time, secure communication services on emergency response vehicles at broadband speeds. The Fire Department will take advantage of the dual redundant high-speed cellular links available in the Moovbox M200 to connect vehicles to a central command facility in the event of nuclear emergencies. The system was designed and provisioned by Icomera US distributor SinglePoint Communications of Portland, OR and included specialist public safety grade antennas and amplifiers to maximize signal quality and data throughput to the vehicles.
I thought the tech details would be interesting to some; but the application interesting to most of us. Here’s more on the application from the product press release:
“We provide the field teams for both of the nuclear power plants in Minnesota, and it is critical that we have digital communications with the State Emergency Operations Center that we can rely on,” said Kurt Kramer, Deputy Fire Chief at Maple Grove FD. “Our teams are responsible for the detection and sampling of radioactive materials downwind of the release in the unlikely event of a problem at the plants. As a result, we require secure and reliable VPN connections for receiving current weather data and mapping information, and maintaining a real-time wireless broadband link with the Operations Center. During a recent drill the Moovbox M200 performed flawlessly, even in areas where previously we’d not been able to acquire a cellular connection. The Moovbox provides the most rock- solid performance we’ve seen; it is impressive and clearly fulfils our needs for emergency data communications.”
Delore provided guidance for rural community leaders about development trends and the steps communities must take to increase their investment attractiveness. I tried to take Twitter notes during the event #mnbb09 (those notes will change as I post more on the broadband conference and related events).
In a nutshell, he spoke about the importance of creating and promoting a story for your community’s future. Drawing from past strengths is a good place to start but recognize the changes in government, manufacturing and agriculture – three sectors that have dominated past growth in rural areas. As the global populations grow so will the importance of these sectors but as you draw from the past remember to focus on infrastructure and the network that drives growth today. Best exercise – brainstorm your ideas for future growth by thinking of newspaper headlines you’d like to see in your community.
Last night the Blandin Foundation spoke to the TISP Forum about their application for ARRA broadband stimulus funding. The presentation covered both the process of applying for funds and information on Blandin’s project.
In a nutshell, Blandin has applied for $4.8 million for broadband adoption funding. They partnered with a number of organizations and will work both on specific statewide projects and 10 demonstration communities where they will be encouraging broadband adoption, support and promotion in line with what the Intelligent Community Forum defines as smart community facets.
I took video of much of the presentation and have the PPT; so I’ll post those below with some notes.
Thanks to Nancy Hoffman, the Benton County Economic Development Director for the heads up on a great program in the local school. The Benton Broadband committee felt in order to get broadband to areas that do not have it, they should create demand. The Foley Superintendent and the Benton Telephone Cooperative decided to offer families a rebate if they would use their services. Below is a excerpt from the letter that went out to students’ families:
Learning has never stopped at the schoolhouse door at 3 pm and that is truer now than ever before with the on-line resources for your children and family available at your fingertips through Foley’s web page at www.foley.k12.mn.us.
But with dial up, you can be drumming your fingers waiting for these resources to appear on your computer screen. That is why Benton Cooperative Telephone has teamed up with Foley Schools to help your family enter the on-line world of broadband access. Benton Cooperative Telephone will rebate you up to $25 if you sign up for broadband access and your student(s) participate in an activity at Foley Public Schools including our Food Service Program. To claim the rebate, submit the coupon on page 8 with your receipt from Foley Public Schools which indicates you have paid an activity or food service fee.
I love this idea. It will be interesting to see how successful the plan is – but I know in our house a good way to effect change is with a letter from the school. Also, it’s a plan that would be easy to replicate in other areas – in case there are readers out there who are interested in boosting broadband demand in their areas.
Why should nonprofits care about broadband? Fellow Minnesotan (and friend) Sheldon Mains just wrote a nice article (Save the Internet, Save the World). He spells out the reasons nonprofits should care about broadband and Net Neutrality – especially if they care about their clients and community.
Sheldon has included a list of everyday tasks that require the Internet and increasingly require broadband. There was a time where broadband just made us all faster – but I recall talking to Jack Geller in March 2007 when a new report on rural Internet access had come out and he noted that this was the first year that people with broadband didn’t just do the same tasks faster – they did different things online that dialup users.
I hear from people who seem to think that broadband still just makes you faster. (Usually those people have broadband.) I think Sheldon’s best example is checking on status of anything with US Immigration and Naturalization Service; he says, “I challenge anyone to try to get through the INS process in one hour, the time limit many public libraries put on Internet use.” Right there is a reason to encourage broadband and encourage home access – I can tell you from experience that you don’t want to call the INS. (I’m a huge advocate for libraries and I love that they have access but they can’t keep up with the demand!)
When you use dialup (or even satellite or mobile broadband) you time out, you can’t view things, your response is too slow to be interactive, you would have a hard time publishing anything.
Developers used to create web sites based on an assumption that visitors have 56K connection. They don’t anymore. So while I could fill out a job application using dialup a few years ago – those applications have changed. It’s not that dialup users have gotten impatient – they really can’t access things!
So back to Sheldon – he’s done a great job speaking to nonprofit staff about broadband and Net Neutrality. If you have a friend who doesn’t get it – send him to Sheldon. (Good news for Net Neutrality supporters – Julius Genachowski, the FCC chairman, has been clear on the FCC’s support of Net Neutrality.)
Clearly this has been on my mind this week. The reason is a Facebook conversation I had with someone who just didn’t see why the government should get involved with broadband in rural areas. Comments on the blog have got me thinking too – thanks!
I think Sheldon had a good answer, “Simply put, in the last 15 years, the Internet has become a necessity for participating in our society — and in most cases, high speed Internet has become a necessity.” And the market is not serving the rural corners – the business case is tough to make – but we need to do it. Just as folks have pointed out we needed to get electricity to the rural corners.
I was tempted to say, “fiber saves live” but I thought someone might accuse me of hyperbole – however folks at Medical Arts Radiology in New York credit the move from T1 to fiber for allowing them to make a diagnosis more quickly.
“In our experience, you cannot perform modern radiology with a T1 line. You have to have fiber, and that’s why we chose Optimum Lightpath,” said Pradeep Albert, CIO of Medical Arts Radiology. “We can view images taken from any of our six offices and read it anywhere we can access a PC or laptop. Our business depends on Optimum Lightpath. We love the product – it’s changed the way we do things.”
At the beginning of the summer, there was a push in House to recognize telecommuting as a full-fledged transportation mode. Here’s the scoop from a recent article in New Geography:
One strategy these lawmakers proposed for encouraging telework was to condition federal grants to states and localities for transportation infrastructure on their creation of bold incentives for telework. Why impose this condition? Telework limits the wear and tear on new roads and rails, as well as the demand for further construction. Thus, it protects the federal investment in such infrastructure and mitigates future costs.
The article goes on to suggest…
Congress should insist that they provide telework tax incentives for both employees and employers; eliminate tax, zoning and other laws that are hostile to telework; and offer both public and private sector employers technical help in developing and implementing robust telework programs. The government grantees should be required to create such programs for their own employees. They should also be required to designate certain high traffic and high pollution days as telework days — days when employees are specifically urged to take the web to work — and to conduct public awareness campaigns about the benefits of telework.
I think all of this is great. The article goes on to spell out the financial and other benefits of telework – but it doesn’t really spell out how to pay for the broadband to facilitate telework – except to mention the stimulus funding.
Now maybe telework will be the killer app that drives demand to every dark corner of the state – or maybe telework will only be a tool that’s available to businesses and residents in areas served by broadband. Or maybe the government will look at reallocating money saved from the transportation budget to broadband. I hope it will be the killer app or I hope cost saving can be spent on broadband infrastructure – but I’m a little afraid it will be another way in which we’re “disqualifying an entire population because if net access”.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune has a nice article today on the green aspects of telecommuting. Apparently MNDOT held a symposium to encourage businesses and government agencies to promote telecommuting.
Carver County was quick to sign up. Scott County has promoted telecommuting for 10 years. Earlier this year I posted an article on Olmsted County’s telecommuting success.
MnDOT is working on an eWork program with a goal to sign up 2,700 participants in the next year. They say if they succeed workers were allowed to work one day a week from home that would mean 1000 fewer rush hour trips in the Twin Cities each day!
Never mind carbon footprint or money save or time – I think the saving on frustration of rush hour driving alone would make that change worth the effort.
Posted by Ann Treacy 
Posted by Ann Treacy 
Posted by Ann Treacy 
