BOSTON, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Endovascular Forum (EVF), an IC Sciences company, and its partner, Controversies in Dialysis Access (CiDA), announced a collaboration to launch a Web-based collective intelligence instrument for advanced clinical skills development in endovascular dialysis access. The program serves the partners' shared commitment to developing more potent ways for physicians to learn from peer experiences and in so doing improve their treatment decisions and practices.
Collective intelligence instruments are a class of medical informatics instruments that apply scientific design principles to effectively engage groups of clinicians or patients in exchanging information, observations, and viewpoints to advance the community's "collective intelligence." Techniques employed for high-impact collective intelligence instruments include narrative tools, user-generated tagging, and meta-data collection.
The Endovascular Forum's online, global clinician network provides an experientially diverse community ideal for collective intelligence engagement around dialysis access. End stage renal disease and renal failure requiring dialysis is a growing global problem, affecting more than 340,000 patients in America alone in 2005. Dr. Bart Dolmatch, CiDA Co-Course Director, explained the clinical value of the instrument, "In a field as rapidly evolving and complex as endovascular dialysis access interventions, new instruments are needed to quickly interpret and disseminate clinical case observations and thus provide a kind of expertise liquidity. We believe that with EVF as a foundation, and CiDA case narratives as content, a powerful collective intelligence instrument can be built that can do just that."
The collective intelligence instrument class has theoretical foundations residing in complexity science models that show the emergence of new learning patterns through the integration of varied views. The EVF-CiDA collective intelligence instruments also derive potency from narrative science applications. Dr. Eleanor Herriman, Executive Director of the Division of Medical Information Sciences, Executive Vice President and Chief Science Officer of IC Sciences, explained, "Physician experts such as Trisha Greenhalgh have found that clinical narrative anecdotes are likely the underlying form in which medical knowledge is accumulated." The strength of the collective intelligence instrument is evident in the analysis of clinician interpretations of these narratives.
About the EVF
Founded in 1996, the Endovascular Forum is the world's longest standing medical forum dedicated to endovascular specialists. The EVF is an international case study and discussion forum developed and hosted by IC Sciences Corporation (http://www.ICSciences.com). The EVF NGHI (next generation health Internet) community comes together to share clinical observations, findings, and cases that all serve to accelerate the awareness and adoption of the most innovative and sometimes controversial procedures among physicians in the minimally invasive medical community. To learn more about the Endovascular Forum, visit http://www.Endovascular.org or call 866- 804-6296.
About CiDA
CiDA focuses on approaches, techniques, and devices related to the placement and management of dialysis access that are constantly evolving. Through the sharing of information and by discussing both successes and complications, practitioners can further their understanding and their skills. Controversies in Dialysis Access, now in its fifth year, offers a solid sounding board for debate on a variety of pertinent, sometimes controversial, topics. Internationally recognized experts with years of experience will emphasize new developments and current trends, and attendees will be encouraged to actively contribute to dialogue on questions of greatest concern. The Course is co-directed by Dr. Bart Dolmatch and Dr. Ingemar Davidson. This year's conference will be held in Washington DC on October 20-21, 2008. For more information, visit http://www.ccmcme.com/dialysis.
About IC Sciences Corporation
IC Sciences Corporation is a closely held, private organization pioneering in the medical information sciences and informed clinical technology markets. The company's core business involves designing, developing, delivering, and advancing a series of informatics instrument classes, including care delivery, cognitive profiling, collective intelligence, therapeutic support, and performance evaluation. For more information, visit http://www.ICSciences.com
CONTACT: IC Sciences Corporation, +1-800-603-1420,
publicrelations@icsciences.com
Web site: http://www.ICSciences.com/
http://www.ccmcme.com/dialysis/
http://www.Endovascular.org/
