Informatics

The students trickle in, some drifting, most bustling. There are men in business suits and women in blazers and skirts. But many are wearing lab coats with their names in stitched script. One rushes in in surgical scrubs.At the back of the amphitheater-style lecture hall in the Johns Hopkins medical school complex is a table with pretzels and cut-up fresh vegetables, pots of coffee, cans of Coke. The students help themselves as they settle in. Class begins. A pager sounds, and one of the lab-coated students rushes out to a phone.

Dr. George William Moore, who had practiced pathology in Baltimore since 1976 and was a pioneer in the field of medical informatics, died April 4 after a long illness. He was 65. During his career, Dr. Moore published hundreds of articles on pathology and computational medicine. His work in the closely related fields of medical informatics and pathology informatics, both of which emerged in the 1970s, was groundbreaking. Medical informatics covers the broad field of hospital computerization, while pathology informatics deals with the organization, retrieval and analysis of clinical laboratory data collected in medical centers.

JOE COWAN HAS been in the trucking business most of his life, yet he didn't take the wheel of a big rig until a couple of years ago at a Volvo training school in Sweden. His load: 40,000 pounds of logs on a flatbed. "Fortunately, nothing happened. I didn't have to back it up," said Cowan, president and CEO of Cowan Systems LLC in Baltimore. "If I had to ... I would have been dead." If nothing else, Cowan gained an even greater appreciation for what his 1,100 truckers do for a living.

A statewide health information exchange that would give doctors computerized access to patients' medical histories got a $10 million funding boost Wednesday. The Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission, the state agency that sets rates that hospitals can charge, approved the startup funding to build the system that's been studied for several years. The funding comes from a surcharge of a few pennies on hospital bills, which are mostly footed by insurance companies. "This will give health care providers the right information at the point of care so that they can make the best diagnosis and treatment decision, while in a framework that protects patient privacy," said David Horrocks, president of Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients.

Federal Contracts Report is a weekly summary of selected contracts recently awarded by the federal government to companies and other vendors throughout the Baltimore-Washington area.* Maxima Corp. of Lanham won a $1,377,750 contract from the Department of Labor to provide public disclosure support services.* Informatics Inc. of Greenbelt won a $1,348,082 contract from the Goddard Space Flight Center to provide architectural and engineering services.* Metraplex Corp. of Frederick won a $783,456 contract from the Navy to provide instruments and laboratory equipment.

When Mimi Hassett, Anne Arundel Medical Center Home Health nurse, decided to travel "down under" in April, she made the trip work for herpersonnally and professionally.She attended an international conference in Melbourne, Australia, as part of her studies for a master's degree in the new field of nursing informatics. She also took an opportunity to explore New Zealand for a week.Nursing informatics is the study of computers in the practice of nursing. The computer has become the tool to store, manipulate and retrieve information.

`Informatics' event to be held March 2 The Anne Arundel Tech Council will hold an "informatics" breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. March 2 at Northrop Grumman Historical Electronics Museum, 1745 Nursery Road in Linthicum. Michael Dunn, dean of the school of informatics at Indiana University, will provide an in-depth look at the informatics industry and how it affects businesses in the Baltimore-Washington area. The cost is $30 for council members and $45 for nonmembers and walk-ins.

Owen Carlson, a retired computer engineer who lived in Baltimore for more than 50 years, died of Alzheimer's disease Wednesday at a veterans hospital in Columbia, S.C. He was 82.Born in Calumet, Mich., Mr. Carlson earned an associate's degree at Michigan Technical College before working in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He was a first lieutenant in the Army, serving in World War II and Korea.Mr. Carlson moved to Baltimore after World War II and worked for many years for what was then the Glenn L. Martin Co. He then was a computer engineer at Informatics Inc. in College Park for more than 15 years.

Rachel Kempson, 92, the matriarch of the Redgrave acting clan and one of the clarion voices of British stage and screen, died Saturday at her home in Millbrook, N.Y. The cause of death was not released. Ms. Kempson was perhaps the least known of the Redgraves in the United States. But in Britain, her performances in large and small roles in Shakespeare's plays were greatly admired, as were her appearances in other treasured British classics, including Richard Sheridan's 1777 comedy, The School for Scandal, in which she appeared over the years both as Maria and, earlier, as Lady Teazle.

A statewide health information exchange that would give doctors computerized access to patients' medical histories got a $10 million funding boost Wednesday. The Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission, the state agency that sets rates that hospitals can charge, approved the startup funding to build the system that's been studied for several years. The funding comes from a surcharge of a few pennies on hospital bills, which are mostly footed by insurance companies. "This will give health care providers the right information at the point of care so that they can make the best diagnosis and treatment decision, while in a framework that protects patient privacy," said David Horrocks, president of Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients.

`Informatics' set for discussion The Baltimore-Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a breakfast discussion of "Informatics" - gathering, analysis, processing and management of information in natural and artificial systems - and its potential impact on the regional economy. The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Jan. 25 at the University of Maryland, University College, Dorsey Station, 6865 Deerpath Road, Elkridge. Presenters are to include Steve Walker, chair of the Informatics Coalition, an initiative of the Technology Leadership Consortium; David Bliden, executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties; and Brad Spittel of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.

The round table in Dr. Christoph Lehmann's office is piled high with papers. In the back, another physician taps at a keyboard, crunching numbers for a scholarly article on their most recent study in informatics -- the application of computer science to medicine. With his short sleeves, rimless glasses and restlessly observant eyes, Lehmann is at home in this cramped academic setting -- fitting for a man who has spent his career working in disciplines as diverse as skin disease, neonatal medicine and computer programming.

JOE COWAN HAS been in the trucking business most of his life, yet he didn't take the wheel of a big rig until a couple of years ago at a Volvo training school in Sweden. His load: 40,000 pounds of logs on a flatbed. "Fortunately, nothing happened. I didn't have to back it up," said Cowan, president and CEO of Cowan Systems LLC in Baltimore. "If I had to ... I would have been dead." If nothing else, Cowan gained an even greater appreciation for what his 1,100 truckers do for a living.

Rachel Kempson, 92, the matriarch of the Redgrave acting clan and one of the clarion voices of British stage and screen, died Saturday at her home in Millbrook, N.Y. The cause of death was not released. Ms. Kempson was perhaps the least known of the Redgraves in the United States. But in Britain, her performances in large and small roles in Shakespeare's plays were greatly admired, as were her appearances in other treasured British classics, including Richard Sheridan's 1777 comedy, The School for Scandal, in which she appeared over the years both as Maria and, earlier, as Lady Teazle.

Owen Carlson, a retired computer engineer who lived in Baltimore for more than 50 years, died of Alzheimer's disease Wednesday at a veterans hospital in Columbia, S.C. He was 82.Born in Calumet, Mich., Mr. Carlson earned an associate's degree at Michigan Technical College before working in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He was a first lieutenant in the Army, serving in World War II and Korea.Mr. Carlson moved to Baltimore after World War II and worked for many years for what was then the Glenn L. Martin Co. He then was a computer engineer at Informatics Inc. in College Park for more than 15 years.

The students trickle in, some drifting, most bustling. There are men in business suits and women in blazers and skirts. But many are wearing lab coats with their names in stitched script. One rushes in in surgical scrubs.At the back of the amphitheater-style lecture hall in the Johns Hopkins medical school complex is a table with pretzels and cut-up fresh vegetables, pots of coffee, cans of Coke. The students help themselves as they settle in. Class begins. A pager sounds, and one of the lab-coated students rushes out to a phone.

The round table in Dr. Christoph Lehmann's office is piled high with papers. In the back, another physician taps at a keyboard, crunching numbers for a scholarly article on their most recent study in informatics -- the application of computer science to medicine. With his short sleeves, rimless glasses and restlessly observant eyes, Lehmann is at home in this cramped academic setting -- fitting for a man who has spent his career working in disciplines as diverse as skin disease, neonatal medicine and computer programming.