SIIM Launches Mentoring Network at SIIM 2010 in Support of Imaging Informatics Research and Science

April 15, 2010 - Leesburg, VA - The Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) will announce its new Mentoring Network designed to encourage, support, and develop researchers in the field of imaging informatics at the 2010 SIIM Annual Meeting.  Mentors and mentees will have new opportunities to connect via the SIIM Mentoring Network.

The program design facilitates the mentoring process by bringing together experts in imaging informatics with those entering the discipline. Finding a mentor in this specific field is often challenging, as many clinical imaging departments do not have dedicated informatics programs. A mentee may wish to undertake a research project, but may not have an expert to connect with to pursue such work. Mentors are SIIM members who volunteer for participation in this program and qualify from being a part of an environment that fosters professional growth.  Anyone may join as a mentee, and gain valuable guidance from SIIM members with experience doing imaging informatics research. For details on the SIIM Mentoring Network, see www.siimweb.org/mentoring.

The SIIM 2010 Annual Meeting, June 3-6 in Minneapolis, provides excellent opportunities for learning, networking, and development. A Scientist/Physician networking reception will take place on June 5 at SIIM 2010 and provide the opportunity for mentors and mentees to meet each other face to face.  The "Writing a Grant or RFP - Key Steps for Success" learning lab on Sunday, June 6 provides another great opportunity for career advancement.

The scientific program includes promising research from informaticists around the globe, and includes New Investigator Travel Awards, the Roger Bauman Best Student Paper Award and scientific poster and demo prizes for talented young researchers. Scientific abstracts for presentations at SIIM 2010 are all available online for review.

SIIM encourages and supports research in the field of imaging informatics through its Annual Meeting scientific program and awards

(www.siimweb.org/awards) and through the Research & Education giving program (www.siimweb.org/donate). The Research & Education Fund supports the annual Dwyer Lectureship at the Annual Meeting, research programs such as Transforming the Radiological Interpretation Process (TRIP(tm)), and quality research of young scholars through the SIIM informatics Grant Program. SIIM Grant recipients will be presenting their work in the scientific session of learning tracks 4 and 8 at SIIM 2010.

More information about the SIIM 2010 Annual Meeting and SIIM's new Mentoring Network can be found at www.siim2010.org. Members of the press are invited to register for the meeting online at www.siim2010.org/press.

About SIIM

The Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) is proud to be the leading health care professional organization representing interests and goals of those who work with and whose work is affected by the rapidly changing world of information and imaging technologies. SIIM seeks to spearhead research, education, and discovery of innovative solutions, and to explore new technologies and applications to improve the delivery of medical imaging services and the quality and safety of patient care. For more information, visit www.siimweb.org.

Contact:

Caroline Wilson

Director, Publications & Media

Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) 703-723-0432, ext. 315 cwilson@siimweb.org www.siimweb.org

BRITISH COLUMBIA HEALTH SYSTEM SAVES $34M ON COMPUTING SERVICES

March 31, 2010

Ministry of Health Services

VICTORIA – British Columbia’s health-care system will save $34 million over the next six years on computer software and related services with a new contract between Microsoft and the BC Health Authority Shared Services Organization (SSO), said Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon.

“Even though we are increasing the budget for health care by approximately 15 per cent over the next three years, we still have challenges in the system,” said Falcon. “To date, through the Shared Services Organization, we have been able to save $115.5 million. By using this innovative purchasing model and leveraging our provincial buying power, we are able to put those savings directly back into the health-care system to go towards front-line patient care.”

The contract covers computer software and related services to support British Columbia’s six health authorities. The six-year term will run until 2016, and is replacing the previous contract, which was set to expire in 2012. In working with Microsoft, SSO has saved approximately $34 million over six years.

The contract includes all Microsoft products that are currently used by health authorities, or any that are expected to be used in the next six years. The new pricing is also now able to be extended to affiliated not-for-profit health-care organizations that are funded either in whole or in part by one of the Province’s health authorities.

In addition, SSO will now be able to move unused software licences between health authorities. Under the previous contract, if a health authority needed additional services, they would have had to purchase a new licence, even if one was available from a different health authority.

“SSO is just one example of the ways in which the health authorities are collaborating to reduce administration and purchasing costs, saving the health-care system valuable funds,” said Lynda Cranston, chair of the SSO board and president and CEO of the Provincial Health Services Authority.

“Microsoft is proud to partner with British Columbia, through the SSO, to create a platform to deliver innovative health-care solutions for B.C. residents,” said Eric Gales, president, Microsoft Canada. “Sustainability, accessibility and quality of care are cornerstones of good health-care delivery, and this partnership will enable and support the Province in all three areas, while delivering significant costs savings for today and the future.

The SSO Technology Services conducted appropriate due diligence, and determined that Microsoft was the only vendor able to provide the services needed in a cost-effective way. The proposed contract was reviewed and endorsed by the chief information officer for the Province of British Columbia.

Previously announced contracts negotiated by the SSO include providing home oxygen, cardiac, renal dialysis and operating room supplies to the health authorities. The total projected cumulative savings for SSO’s first five years of operation (until March 2014) will be $181 million, which surpasses the $150 million in savings initially identified by the SSO.

The SSO assumed accountability for supply-chain services for all six health authorities in February 2009. It combines the buying power of the Province’s health authorities by amalgamating several purchasing processes into contracts with larger volumes of standardized products. Key to its business approach are increased process efficiency, standardization, capital avoidance and combining the buying power of its members.

Media contact:	Bernadette Murphy Media Relations Manager Ministry of Health Services 250 952-1887 (media line)

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.

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