April 22, 2008

Remote medical monitoring to direct telemedicine's future
The decreasing cost and increasing power of information and communications technologies will revolutionize telemedicine in future years, according to a report by researchers at the University of Virginia. According to "Remote Medical Monitoring," machines are almost at the point where they "sense, calculate and act on our behalf, either with or without human interaction, as best fits the circumstances." Body network sensors, now becoming prominent in the telehealth market, are a key component of this change, according to the report. In general, it won't be long before remote medical monitoring becomes the method used to treat many health problems. "As this technology matures and gains acceptance, remote medical monitoring will become the standard procedure for managing certain conditions, including heart disease and diabetes," the researchers predict.
For details, visit http://www.computer.org/portal/site/...

Demand for e-health in Europe will grow at public's whim
E-health and telemedicine have huge market potential in Europe, provided that the public sector gets on board and drives demand, according to participants at a recent European Policy Centre (EPC) debate in Belgium. Europe's aging population makes it ideal for telemedicine's emergence, but there currently is no European e-health market. That will change, according to the EPC's Commission on eHealth. The commission believes the e-health market will more than double from its current $31.6 billion [USD] to $79 billion by 2010, while the telemedicine market is expected to grow by 19 percent per year, from $7.4 billion now to $17.7 billion by 2012. "Eventually, healthcare will become a market like any other service market, because otherwise it is not sustainable," attendees noted.
For details, visit http://www.euractiv.com/en/health/public...

U.S. healthcare short 40,000 IT professionals
At least 40,000 more health information technology (HIT) professionals will be needed if the U.S. healthcare system moves toward wider adoption of advanced IT technology to control costs and reduce errors - about 40 percent more than U.S. hospitals now employ, according to a report from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR. The report, presented to the Steering Committee on Telehealth and Healthcare Informatics in Washington, D.C., represents a 30,000 increase in the number of specialists up for training in a proposed bill by U.S. Rep. David Wu (D-OR). H.R. 1467, The 10,000 Trained by 2010 Act, was passed by the House in June 2007 and awaits consideration by the Senate. "The need for IT professionals in (HIT) settings is large and will increase as more advanced systems are implemented," report co-authors William Hersh M.D. and co-author Adam Wright noted.
For details, visit http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/... and http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/...

New business models needed to drive European telemedicine
New financial and business models - rather than many "unsustainable" projects - are needed to make telemedicine part of mainstream healthcare in Europe, according to experts at a Luxembourg-based conference on the future of telemedicine. According to Mark Lange, president of the European Health Telematics Association, the question is not whether companies know what to do to make telemedicine a sustainable market in Europe. "It's started," he said, "but it's not enough yet." Further problems identified by the panel included the fact that the benefits of telemedicine are often diffuse and outside the organization that provides the service. And health professionals remain wary of the entire process. "Health professionals still tend to lack trust and confidence in IT," Continua Health Alliance executive Petra Wilson said.
For details, visit http://www.ehealtheurope.net/news/...

GPs in Britain give thumbs-down to information quality
More than 40 percent of practices in Britain's health system still rate the quality of information they receive for practice-based commissioning (PBC) as "very poor," according to a new survey from the nation's Department of Health. The survey of nearly 2,000 general practice (GP) physicians, conducted during the first quarter of this year, shows a two percent rise in the number of unsatisfied practices compared to the survey from fourth quarter of 2007. National Health Service Alliance Chairperson Dr. Michael Dixon claims PBC is being sabotaged by the failure to provide GPs with accurate and meaningful data. "Whatever the difficulty is, firm action must now be taken to put it right," he said.
For details, visit http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/... and http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/...

Montana Health Data Exchange awarded $540,000 grant
The Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded a three-year, $540,000 grant to Cut Bank, MT-based Glacier Community Health Center and its partner, the Health Information Exchange of Montana Inc. (HIEM), to improve access to healthcare for Montanans through health information technology. The funds can be used to develop formal health information networks among health care providers who offer broad ranges of primary and acute care services across rural Montana. The service area spans five counties, more than 13,000 square miles and serves the needs of nearly 150,000 Montanans. Rugged terrain and long distances historically make travel throughout this region uneconomical and sometimes dangerous.
For details, visit http://www.goldentrianglenews.com/articles...

Mobile medical units to launch soon in Southwest India
Mobile medical units for examining people with disabilities (PWDs) and issuing them disability certificates will soon be in place in all districts of Kerala, India. According to N. Ahamed Pillai, state commissioner for PWDs, district medical officers have been asked to set up mobile disability medical boards consisting of five specialists - an orthopedic, an ENT, an ophthalmologist, a psychiatrist and a physician. The mobile board would travel to remote areas to examine those who are unable to access its services, or to the doorstep of the bedridden disabled person at least once in a month. After examining the PWDs, the mobile board would issue a disability certificate to those who are at least 40 percent disabled, Pillai said. The disability certificate would entitle them to free services and concessions from the government.
For details, visit http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/127266/1/6684

CDC recommends market research to promote PHRs
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is recommending use of market research as the best way to promote personal health records (PHRs). The recommendation, made to the American Health Information Community (AHIC)'s Consumer Empowerment work group, noted that the most effective promotion method consists of engaging consumers online through virtual communities, podcasts and other Internet activities. Such promotion efforts should also consider the current level of satisfaction, ways to gather quantitative data through user testing, and the level of mobility in PHRs. AHIC co-chairperson Anne-Marie Robertson noted that the group is ultimately responsible for PHR adoption, but is not sure that the group should conduct its own market research.
For details, visit http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/...

Use of IT is minimal in Missouri nursing homes
Missouri nursing homes use a minimal level of information technology compared to other parts of the nation, according to a report from a University of Missouri researcher. The report by MU Sinclair School of Nursing Professor Greg Alexander cites recent studies, including one by the Institute of Medicine, outlining the level of diversity and maturity of technology expected in nursing homes by 2010. "We found many different types of technology being used in nursing homes," Alexander said. "While some homes have advanced systems that aid nurses in making treatment decisions, wireless technology to assist in the delivery of care, and systems that support administrative and financial matters and inpatient self-management, the majority of Missouri nursing homes have minimal levels of technology in place."
For details, visit http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2008/...

Telemedicine still faces tough road in India
India is still struggling to make headway into the world of telemedicine due to foreign data processing laws and difficulties in certification of Indian telemedicine providers. According to a report by the New Delhi Planning Commission, rising costs and a medical personnel shortage have public healthcare providers in developed countries considering electronic delivery of services across their borders. This means a lucrative opportunity for Indian physicians to supply telemedicine services such as diagnostics, dermatology, ophthalmology and psychiatry. But the effort has not taken off, except to the U.S. and Singapore. Some jurisdictions, such as the European Union, have difficult data protection laws and malpractice policies. A large variation in quality of medical professionals with graduate and post-graduate qualifications produced by India institutions is another major constraint, according to the commission.
For details, visit http://www.thestatesman.net/...

WellPoint to launch new drug risk-monitoring system
In response to increasing public demand to more effectively and rapidly monitor safety of pharmaceuticals and other medical therapies after U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, Indianapolis-based health insurer WellPoint Inc. is creating a system that will use its 35-million member database to identify increases in health problems among members taking a given drug. Launching in mid-2009 through WellPoint's HealthCore Inc. subsidiary, the Safety Sentinel System™ is being developed in collaboration with the FDA, and government and academic institutions. "To rapidly and successfully identify emerging safety problems, we need to bring all health care stakeholders to the table," said Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. WellPoint is the nation's largest health insurer by membership.
For details, visit http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix...

More providers consider participating in HIEs
An increasing number of health care providers are participating in or considering joining health information exchanges (HIEs), according to new data released by health care research firm IDC-Health Industry Insights. Nearly 1 in 4 participants in a February 2008 survey of community hospital physicians said their healthcare system participates in an HIE, while slightly less than 1 in 5 said they were not participating but expected to do so within a year. In the 2007 survey, better than 1 in 6 of those surveyed were participating in an HIE and one-third of respondents planned to participate within a year. Despite the increased interest, HIE participation will be slower than expected in coming years unless there is more government participation and funding, according to HII Program Director Marc Holland.
For details, visit http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/...