Furthermore, if you've tried accessing the Internet through the new computer, you'll notice that the 56 K V.90 modem is connecting at 28.8 kbps and actual download speeds are an abysmal, 1 to 1.5 kbps. A far cry from the theoretical maximum of 53 kbps. That's because of the extremely poor quality of the line we are using now. Things should improve dramatically when we get a direct line.
Apart from the 100 MB Zip drives in both the new and the old computers, we have also acquired a digital camera. The Zip drives now make it eminently easier to transfer large files between the home and the hospital computers. An absolute breeze. On the other hand, the digital camera is great for getting instantaneous images in digital form.
If you've got to prepare a presentation for lectures, seminars, conferences, etc. you'll really apreciate the availability of the digital camera for creating pictures virtually on the fly. Gone are the need to wait weeks or even months before sending the negatives for developing and then scanning the images into the computer (not easy if you're not used to it). Now, images are immediately available after you have taken the photos and they can be incorporated into your presentations (slides, overhead projector transparencises or direct from your computer), e-mail or web pages. No hassle. In fact you can see some of the results in the both this month's and last month's tip, in the new index page, and on this page itself!
Once I've sorted out the details, all members will be able to borrow the camera for their own projects.
Th problem with Haemaccel has been sorted out and we should see it on our shelves soon. Phantom admissions are no longer entertained as you would already know if you had attended the last Quarterly Medical Staff Meeting. Patients who need admission for insurance purposes shall be admitted and a bed will be allocated to them. Some of us have had patients listed for surgery in the morning lists being admitted between 9 and 10 a.m. giving us little chance to assess the patients pre-operatively. This was apparently particualrly rampant with Caesarean patients. The matter was brought up to the MAB and Dr. Husain has now issued a memorandum to all consultants reminding them of the requirement in the Bylaws that all such cases should be admitted before 6 p.m. on the evening before the surgery. Believe it or not, Ms. Betty Teh, the Director of Nursing, did not receive the letter concerning the above matter and so patients were still coming for Caesar with Hb's done 4 to 6 months before surgery. Doreen has been informed and will be taking the necessary steps to ensure that Betty receives a copy of the letter. Meanwhile, I have personally informed the labour ward Acting Nurse Manager of the need for the Hb test and she has duly informed her staff. I certainly hope I don't see this topic again While Dr. Jacob Thomas is trying to reduce the charge to $50, members at the Quarterly Medical Staff Meeting were of the opinion that the charge should be restricted to the cost of the card itself. The figure quoted was $5 to $10. An anaesthetist had raised the question of whether he could charge about $250 if he had been called up to do a case in the middle of the night and the surgeon, after reviewing the case, had decided to cancel the ooperation. The MAB advised that as such incidents were rather infrequent, the doctor should refrain from imposing such a high fee as such acts could result in a bad name for the hospital.The result, as is well known by now, is that the following 7 members have been elected to the next MAB:-
Most of the other matters raised at the QMS Meeting have already been
revealed to you all in earlier postings on GASLine.