April 29, 2008

CMS awards $50 million in IT grants to aid Medicaid access
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services has awarded $50 million in information technology grants to 20 U.S. states to help them improve medical care access for Medicaid recipients. Created by the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, the grants will allow states to fund local and rural initiatives that can provide alternative healthcare settings for individuals with non-emergency needs, according to CMS. Twenty-nine programs will share $26 million in funding during 2008, with the remainder allocated to the programs in 2009. Recipients will use the awards to establish new community health centers, extend the hours of operation at existing clinics, educate beneficiaries about new services, and create health information exchanges between facilities. Recipient states are Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.
For details, visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp... and http://www.cms.hhs.gov/GrantsAlternaNonEmergServ/

Healthcare data exchanges underway in most U.S. states
Three-fourths of all states are now working on some type of health data exchange, according to a report by the State Level Health Information Exchange Consensus Project. In addition, some of the exchanges have "reached the point where they are nearly ready to begin exchanging health information," according HIECP director Lynn Dierker. But work remains: The report recommends that Medicare and Medicaid strengthen and clarify their roles in building health information exchanges. And the relationship between state health date exchanges and the planned Nationwide Health Information Network still needs to be defined.
For details, visit http://www.govhealthit.com/online/news/350325-1.html

Web use, e-data storage high among European doctors
Eighty-seven percent of European doctors use a computer at work, and 48 percent use one with a broadband connection, according to an e-health survey by the European Commission. "Benchmarking ICT use among General Practitioners in Europe" also found that 70 percent of European doctors use the Internet and 66 percent use computers for consultations. Eighty percent of general practices store administrative patient data electronically, with 92 percent of these also electronically storing medical data on diagnosis and medication. Denmark has the highest broadband penetration among general practitioners - about 91 percent - while Romania has the lowest at 5 percent. The survey also showed that some e-health technologies are not being widely deployed: electronic prescriptions, for example, are being used by only 6 percent of European GPs.
For details, visit http://www.welcomeurope.com/... and http://ec.europa.eu/information...

Wireless networking is top cost-cutter for healthcare providers
Wireless networking is the platform of choice among healthcare providers when they look for technology to help them reduce the cost of care, according to a report from Cambridge, England-based analysts Wireless Healthcare. "Wireless Healthcare 2008" also notes that consumer electronics companies are heading into the healthcare market as they attempt to cope with an economic downturn. And, the healthcare market needs to prepare for a slowdown caused by declining real estate values. "Senior citizens, regarded as a key driver in the medical device market, sometimes fund their healthcare by withdrawing equity from their homes," Wireless Healthcare Analyst Peter Kruger said. "This is something they will be unable to do when property values fall." Despite this, the report predicts continued growth in the fitness and well-being devices market.
For details, visit www.wirelesshealthcare.co.uk

Creation of health IT standards speeds up
The process for defining and creating standards for interoperable health information technology systems is becoming easier and faster. According to John Halamka, chairperson of the Healthcare IT Standards Panel (HITSP), developing IT standards will be quicker now that other standards for bio surveillance, consumer empowerment and exchange of lab data have been defined. Standards underway by HITSP include ones for consultations and transfers of care, patient-provider secure messaging, personalized healthcare, public health case reporting and remote monitoring. HITSP also plans to launch an educational campaign and a new Web site promoting use of one universal standard.
For details, visit http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/...

Next stage of healthcare will come from cyberspace
Digital health must be the next stage in healthcare, with a greater emphasis placed on people taking more responsibility for their own well being, according to speakers at a recent symposium in Moray, Scotland. The 70-plus healthcare industry attendees also noted that e-health will complement but not replace traditional healthcare. "The focus on e-health is necessary as we switch from treatment of disease to prevention," said attendee Dr. Grant Cumming, consultant obstetrician at Dr. Gray's Hospital in Elgin, Scotland. "We have more old folks with increasing demands on healthcare, a doctor shortage and changing patients' expectations." For e-health to be successful in Scotland, 70 percent to 80 percent of people must switch to self-care, leaving hospitals for those with complex needs, attendees noted.
For details, visit http://www.northern-scot.co.uk/news/...

Medical Internet rises in popularity among Kenyans
The Web is becoming an increasingly useful tool for patients in Kenya who wish to find health information or research a diagnosis, according to medical experts at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi. And while the Internet helps Kenyans become more interested in their health, they've also become more difficult to treat, according to area physicians. "Patients fail to understand that symptoms can be similar, but the underlying problem may be totally different," said Salim Juma, a physician with a private clinic in Nairobi. But the Internet has benefited doctors, too: physicians have begun taking online courses to stay informed because patients appear to know more than they do.
For details, visit http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?...

Hypertension, diabetes rampant in Indian state
Forty-nine percent of residents in the state of Himachal, India, suffer from hypertension and 32 percent from diabetes, according to a report from a New Delhi-based nephrologist. Dr. Devendra Rana, head of nephrology at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said the worrisome situation "calls for a serious thought for incorporation of nephrology treatment facilities in the basic health infrastructure at all levels, and at affordable cost." Rana communicates regularly via broadband with colleague Prof. Vidya Acharya, who noted the same concerns. Acharya, another world-renowned nephrologist, also observed that residents of Himachal - 6 million total - were less prone to but not immune from, a number of "big city" ailments.
For details, visit http://www.himvani.com/news/2008/...

AHIC 2.0 faces uncertain post-Bush future
Health information technology efforts need to continue after President Bush leaves office, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said recently during an American Health Information Community (AHIC) meeting. Leavitt said the IT advancement effort has "too much momentum to be lost" with the arrival of a new administration next year. Transition from the current federally run AHIC to public-private AHIC 2.0 is scheduled to occur by year's end, but Leavitt said the new version will not be released until it is completely ready.
For details, visit http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9097

Telepsychiatry unit to aid disaster victims in Philippines
Manila's National Telehealth Center (NTC) and the University of the Philippines Department of Psychiatry plan to establish a telepsychiatry unit at the CM Recto District Hospital in the Quezon Province. The department is being created to help victims of major landslides - which cause millions of dollars of damage and claimed hundreds of lives - recover from the shock of the ordeal, according to a report from NTC at the University of the Philippines. "Psychiatric cases in the region have increased, but such cannot be addressed with the absence of psychiatrists in the area," according to NTC. The proposed unit would visit the Quezon Province on a monthly basis via teleconference to provide consultations and prescriptions for roughly 50 patients.
For details, visit http://telehealth-ph.blogspot.com/2008/...

Norwegian Centre hosts 2008 Telemedicine and eHealth Conference
The Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine (NCT) will host the 2008 Telemedicine and eHealth Conference from June 9-11 in TromsØ, Norway. Based on this year's theme "Innovation in eHealth," the conference will be a forum for innovation brainstorming, research and exchange of ideas, combined with an experience of the wild and beautiful nature north of the Arctic Circle. NCT invites research communities, business and others to submit their vision of the world of possibilities in health. "We will draw pictures of the possible," NCT Director Sture Pettersen said. "The emergence of widespread new diseases calls for new initiatives from the public health service. In particular, we will devote our attention to innovative solutions for people with chronic and lifestyle-related illnesses." For further information, visit www.telemed.no/ttec2008.
For details, visit http://www.ehealthnews.eu/... and http://www.telemed.no/index.php?id=542870

Apollo Hospitals, Mantri Developers ink telemedicine deal
Apollo Hospitals Ltd., Asia's largest healthcare group, is partnering with Mantri Developers Pvt. Ltd., based in Bangalore, India, to provide 24-hour healthcare services to housing owners at Mantri residential projects in Bangalore. The hospital corporation's Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation (ATNF) will set up a telemedicine unit in each complex to enable doctors to virtually examine patients when needed, according to Mantri Developers chief executive Sushil Mantri. Although ATNF is an old hand at telemedicine networks - the foundation has 103 peripheral units in India and has overseen more than 36,000 teleconsultations since 2001 - the Mantri project marks the first time it has taken the network into residential homes, according to Mantri.
For details, visit http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/200804/market22.shtml