I am back. Some anitbiotics for my son's ear infection and a little sleep and everybody is happy and ready to take our little slices of the world.

I read an interesting post from Medical Informatics Insider, which directed me to a news item in Telemedicine Information Exchange where a pilot project has been launched investigating better ways for wound-care specialists to examine and treate more home health patients with leg wounds.

Visiting nurses take pictures of the leg wounds using a Motorola MPX220 Smartphone and the pictures are automatically uploaded to the Web for a specialist to view and develop a treatement plan. Prior to using the picture cell phones, visiting nurses took digital photos and mailed them. Later the nurse and doctor would discuss the treatment options.

The old process took 2 1/2 days, where as the pilot program takes 20 minutes allowing patients to start the proper treatement quicker. However, there are still questions regarding the quality of the images on the cell phone. The usage of a 2 plus megapixel phone is being planned (an upgrade over their current 1.3 megapixel phone), and project developers believe, "in five years they'll (phones) be as powerful as computers."