[Communication through electronic media in pediatrics. Use recommendations]. / Comunicación a través de medios electrónicos en pediatría. Recomendaciones de uso.

New information and communication technologies have had an impact on our lives in general, as well as in our health care and pediatric practice. Given this fact, it is essential to establish an initial framework for this type of interactions between physicians and patients in order to provide the necessary security tools to all the involved parties. The existing legislative gap to date has not been an impediment to the use of these technologies in medical communication, but it is necessary to establish what the responsibilities, obligations and rights of each party are, arising from their use. This document briefly describes the available electronic communication channels, with their advantages and disadvantages, and suggests recommendations for the responsible and safe use. Our aim is to frame this new modality of interaction between doctors and their patients, in order to highlight its value and evaluate its limitations.

Las nuevas tecnologías de información y comunicación, como parte de la revolución digital, han impactado en nuestras vidas en general y han atravesado la práctica pediátrica. Consideramos esencial establecer un primer encuadre para este tipo de interacciones entre médicos y pacientes a los fines de brindar la seguridad necesaria a todas las partes involucradas. El vacío legislativo, hasta la fecha, no es un impedimento para la utilización de estas tecnologías en la comunicación médica, pero es necesario establecer cuáles son las responsabilidades, obligaciones y derechos de cada parte, emergentes de su utilización. Este documento describe brevemente los distintos canales de comunicación electrónica disponibles con sus respectivas ventajas y desventajas, y se generan recomendaciones para el uso responsable y seguro de cada herramienta. Su objetivo es enmarcar esta nueva modalidad de interacción médico-paciente, resaltar su valor y, a su vez, reconocer sus limitaciones.

Hearing Aid Compatibility Standards. Final rule; announcement of effective date.

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection associated with rules adopted in the Commission's document Access to Telecommunication Equipment and Services by Persons with Disabilities; Amendment of the Commission's Rules Governing Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets et. al., Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration (Order). This document is consistent with the Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those rules.

A Brief Report on the Ethical and Legal Guides For Technology Use in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Marriage and family therapists (MFTs) use ethical codes and state licensure laws/rules as guidelines for best clinical practice. It is important that professional codes reflect the potential exponential use of technology in therapy. However, current standards regarding technology use lack clarity. To explore this gap, a summative content analysis was conducted on state licensure laws/rules and professional ethical codes to find themes and subthemes among the many aspects of therapy in which technology can be utilized. Findings from the content analysis indicated that while there have been efforts by both state and professional organizations to incorporate guidance for technology use in therapy, a clear and comprehensive "roadmap" is still missing. Future scholarship is needed that develops clearer guidelines for therapists.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines. Final rule.

We, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board or Board), are revising and updating, in a single rulemaking, our standards for electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by Federal agencies covered by section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as well as our guidelines for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment covered by Section 255 of the Communications Act of 1934. The revisions and updates to the section 508-based standards and section 255-based guidelines are intended to ensure that information and communication technology covered by the respective statutes is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Section 105, Relay Services for Deaf-Blind Individuals. Final rule.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopts rules to convert the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) from a pilot program to a permanent program. The NDBEDP supports the distribution of communications devices to low-income individuals who are deaf-blind.

How Effective Is Telecommuting? Assessing the Status of Our Scientific Findings.

Telecommuting has become an increasingly popular work mode that has generated significant interest from scholars and practitioners alike. With recent advances in technology that enable mobile connections at ever-affordable rates, working away from the office as a telecommuter has become increasingly available to many workers around the world. Since the term telecommuting was first coined in the 1970s, scholars and practitioners have debated the merits of working away from the office, as it represents a fundamental shift in how organizations have historically done business. Complicating efforts to truly understand the implications of telecommuting have been the widely varying definitions and conceptualizations of telecommuting and the diverse fields in which research has taken place.Our objective in this article is to review existing research on telecommuting in an effort to better understand what we as a scientific community know about telecommuting and its implications. In so doing, we aim to bring to the surface some of the intricacies associated with telecommuting research so that we may shed insights into the debate regarding telecommuting's benefits and drawbacks. We attempt to sift through the divergent and at times conflicting literature to develop an overall sense of the status of our scientific findings, in an effort to identify not only what we know and what we think we know about telecommuting, but also what we must yet learn to fully understand this increasingly important work mode.After a brief review of the history of telecommuting and its prevalence, we begin by discussing the definitional challenges inherent within existing literature and offer a comprehensive definition of telecommuting rooted in existing research. Our review starts by highlighting the need to interpret existing findings with an understanding of how the extent of telecommuting practiced by participants in a study is likely to alter conclusions that may be drawn. We then review telecommuting's implications for employees' work-family issues, attitudes, and work outcomes, including job satisfaction, organizational commitment and identification, stress, performance, wages, withdrawal behaviors, and firm-level metrics. Our article continues by discussing research findings concerning salient contextual issues that might influence or alter the impact of telecommuting, including the nature of the work performed while telecommuting, interpersonal processes such as knowledge sharing and innovation, and additional considerations that include motives for telecommuting such as family responsibilities. We also cover organizational culture and support that may shape the telecommuting experience, after which we discuss the community and societal effects of telecommuting, including its effects on traffic and emissions, business continuity, and work opportunities, as well as the potential impact on societal ties. Selected examples of telecommuting legislation and policies are also provided in an effort to inform readers regarding the status of the national debate and its legislative implications. Our synthesis concludes by offering recommendations for telecommuting research and practice that aim to improve the quality of data on telecommuting as well as identify areas of research in need of development.

Considerations for use of dental photography and electronic media in dental education and clinical practice.

Photography and electronic media are indispensable tools for dental education and clinical practice. Although previous research has focused on privacy issues and general strategies to protect patient privacy when sharing clinical photographs for educational purposes, there are no published recommendations for developing a functional, privacy-compliant institutional framework for the capture, storage, transfer, and use of clinical photographs and other electronic media. The aims of this study were to research patient rights relating to electronic media and propose a framework for the use of patient media in education and clinical care. After a review of the relevant literature and consultation with the University of Washington's director of privacy and compliance and assistant attorney general, the researchers developed a privacy-compliant framework to ensure appropriate capture, storage, transfer, and use of clinical photography and electronic media. A four-part framework was created to guide the use of patient media that reflects considerations of patient autonomy and privacy, informed consent, capture and storage of media, and its transfer, use, and display. The best practices proposed for capture, storage, transfer, and use of clinical photographs and electronic media adhere to the health care code of ethics (based on patient autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, and veracity), which is most effectively upheld by a practical framework designed to protect patients and limit institutional liability. Educators have the opportunity and duty to convey these principles to students who will become the next generation of dentists, researchers, and educators.

Changes to scheduling and appearing at hearings. Final rules.

These final rules explain how a claimant may object to appearing at a hearing via video teleconferencing, or to the time and place of a hearing. These final rules adopt, with further clarification regarding our good cause exception, the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that we published in the Federal Register on June 27, 2013. We expect that these final rules will have a minimal impact on the public, help ensure the integrity of our programs, and allow us to administer our programs more efficiently.

Structure and practices of the video relay service program; telecommunications relay services and speech-to-speech services for individuals with hearing and speech disabilities. Final rule.

In this document, the Commission adopts further measures to improve the structure, efficiency, and quality of the video relay service (VRS) program, reducing the inefficiencies in the program, as well as reducing the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensuring that the program makes full use of advances in commercially-available technology. These measures involve a fundamental restructuring of the program to support innovation and competition, drive down ratepayer and provider costs, eliminate incentives for waste that have burdened the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) Fund in the past, and further protect consumers. The Commission adopts several measures in order to: ensure that VRS users can easily select their provider of choice by promoting the development of interoperability and portability standards; enable consumers to use off-the-shelf devices and deploying a VRS application to work with these devices; create a centralized TRS User Registration Database to ensure VRS user eligibility; encourage competition and innovation in VRS call handling services; spur research and development on VRS services by entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Science Foundation; and pilot a National Outreach Program to educate the general public about relay services. In this document, the Commission also adopts new VRS compensation rates that move these rates toward actual costs over the next four years which will better approximate the actual, reasonable costs of providing VRS, and will reduce the costs of operating the program. The Commission takes these steps to ensure the integrity of the TRS Fund while providing stability and certainty to providers.

Human exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. Final rule.

This document resolves several issues regarding compliance with the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) regulations for conducting environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as they relate to the guidelines for human exposure to RF electromagnetic fields. More specifically, the Commission clarifies evaluation procedures and references to determine compliance with its limits, including specific absorption rate (SAR) as a primary metric for compliance, consideration of the pinna (outer ear) as an extremity, and measurement of medical implant exposure. The Commission also elaborates on mitigation procedures to ensure compliances with its limits, including labeling and other requirements for occupational exposure classification, clarification of compliance responsibility at multiple transmitter sites, and labeling of fixed consumer transmitters.

Final priority; National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research--Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program--Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers. Final priority.

The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services announces a priority for a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Universal Interfaces and Information Technology Access under the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program administered by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The Assistant Secretary may use this priority for a competition in fiscal year (FY) 2013 and later years. We take this action to focus research attention on areas of national need. We intend to use this priority to improve outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Rules on determining hearing appearances. Final rule.

This final rule is another step in our continual efforts to handle workloads more effectively and efficiently. We are publishing final rules for portions of the rules we proposed in October 2007 that relate to persons, other than the claimant or any other party to the hearing, appearing by telephone. We are also clarifying that the administrative law judge (ALJ) will allow the claimant or any other party to a hearing to appear by telephone under certain circumstances when the claimant or other party requests to make his or her appearance in that manner. We expect that these final rules will make the hearings process more efficient and help us continue to reduce the hearings backlog. In addition, we made some minor editorial changes to our regulations that do not have any effect on the rights of claimants or any other parties.

Rural health care support mechanism. Final rule.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission reforms its universal service support program for health care, transitioning its existing Internet Access and Rural Health Care Pilot programs into a new, efficient Healthcare Connect Fund. This Fund will expand health care provider access to broadband, especially in rural areas, and encourage the creation of state and regional broadband health care networks. Access to broadband for medical providers saves lives while lowering health care costs and improving patient experiences.

An enterprise look at mHealth.

The theme of this year's annual American Society for Healthcare Risk Management conference is Getting to Zero™: the Power of One™. The widespread use of mHealth exemplifies the power of one. The power of one user to apply technology to change the way healthcare is delivered at the bedside, in the provider's office, and in the patient's home. The power of one organization to provide technology that ensures provider access to clinical information to improve decision making, facilitate access to clinical information, and provide new ways to partner with patients - wherever they may be. This article provides an overview of the current status of mHealth and describes risk management strategies appropriate for organizations of all sizes and complexities.