Dr Nahum Kovalski z"l

Dr. Nahum Kovalski z”l was an incredible person to know – on the one hand so knowledgeable and on the other hand, modest and easy going. He was always with a smile and his enthusiasm was catchy, especially when it came to the latest advances in medicine and healthcare.

Dr. Kovalski was the  author of the first posts and industry briefs on JLM-Biocity. He dedicated his  life to melding a bridge  between medicine and  technology for the betterment  of patient care.

Dr Kovalski often found  himself in situations where  medical and technology teams  were standing on either side  of a chasm, unable to  understand each other. Dr  Kovalski endeavored to find  ways to bring them together.  He was a physician who  designed multiple interdisciplinary projects that he himself has  used. His biggest project to  date was designing from  scratch and continuing the  development of an electronic  medical record (EMR) called  PARPAR, over an 11 year period at TEREM  Emergency Medical Services. This EMR system was way ahead of its times in Israel. The latest and most  powerful features included  clinical assist tools and analytics, which assisted the doctor in targeting problems. All patients could, immediately on being released access their medical data from Terem digitally and their latest medical  data immediately updated the medical databases wither at their medical sick funds (kupat holim) and/or hospitals, all according to the Israeli law.  Dr Kovalski had an extensive  background in computer  programming, project planning,  clinical medical practice  and medical management.

In recent years,  he brought  a unique perspective to the  table via his private  consultation in Medicine and  Technology, the “Medical  Futurist”. Dr Kovalski would  say,”The answer to every  technology question is “yes”.  The issues are time, money  and desire.” He believed that  we need to understand a  doctor’s viewpoint, as well  as the technical  possibilities and limitations  of today’s technologies. He  was concerned with the  upcoming needs of a medical  service.

The JLM-BioCity Briefs began  with Dr Kovalski’s contribution of his recent collected bio medical newsbriefs. He believed that  disseminating medical  information is so important,  especially in this age of  faster and faster progress.  He said, “We are living in a  time that requires personal “ upgrades” in knowledge base and toolset.” And, he was  doing his bit to help. “When  you have a perspective that  is unique, it creates an  opportunity to help others  succeed and to do it faster.”

The articles posted in the blog were originally published in The Times of Israel, who graciously gave permission to republish them here. For the original articles, see: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/nahum-kovalski/

The JLM-BioCity community is  greatful to Dr Kovalski for  helping us kickstart our  resource collection on this  site. We will endeavor to  continue in the spirit of  what he started. We mourn his  passing.

Dr Kovalski had the foresight  not many have. He envisioned  the digital health world many  years before it became a  reality. Dr Kovalski was one  of the most knowledgeable  people we have known and his  purpose in life was to help,  not for credit, just to help, help make this world a better  place.