Telemedicine and e-Health News

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August 5, 2008

Full implementation of national EHR system could cost $150 billion
Complete implementation of a national e-health records (EHR) network in doctors offices and hospitals could cost as much as $150 billion over eight years — but that amount should be "manageable" because it amounts to less than a 1 percent increase per year in the nation's total healthcare spending. Robert Miller, a professor of health economics at the University of California at San Francisco, said hospitals are further along toward implementing clinical information systems, partly because they get some boosts in revenues when they install EHRs. Although the estimate is right in line with other studies conducted by The Rand Corp. and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the grand total could be as low as $100 billion if increases in medical revenues and other issues are factored in. http://www.govhealthit.com/online/news/350496-1.html

Lawmakers call for legislation to promote adoption of health IT
Four noted current and former U.S. lawmakers are using the congressional recess to encourage establishment and support of health information technology measures. In separate opinion pieces in local and regional newspapers, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), and former Reps. Charles Bass (R-NH) and Nancy Johnson (R-CT) stressed the urgency in Congress adopting legislation on electronic prescribing and electronic data records use. They were joined by John Hill, a professor of accounting at Bloomington, IN-based Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, who argued in an editorial that any such network must overcome "a patchwork of state and federal patient-privacy laws, flaws in federal physician anti-kickback and anti-self-referral statutes, prohibitions against practicing medicine across state lines, and concerns about medical malpractice in an electronic health-care environment." http://www.mercurynews.com/... and http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/... and http://www.projo.com/opinion/...

Looming telemedicine access to outer islands of Ireland still up in the air
Officials in Mayo, Ireland want to bring telemedicine to the nation's remote island communities. The question is how to best go about doing it. Under the national Health Act of 2004, telemedicine technology was to eventually be brought to the islands to help medical practitioners and specialist consultants access Ireland's most distant regions. The expected implementation is by the end of this year, but it's not clear how the system will be integrated into everyday medical care, according to Michael Ring, spokesperson for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. "Island inhabitants find it extremely difficult and expensive to get to and from their homes for hospital appointments," Ring said. "This regularly involves overnight stays on the mainland, thereby adding significantly to the cost of attending consultations." Health Minister Mary Harney said her department is still studying the matter. http://www.mayoadvertiser.com/index.php?aid=6773

Web software firm hopes to void docs' expense issue of EMR implementation
As companies continue efforts to implement electronic medical record (EMR) systems for their doctors and patients, a San Francisco-based EMR software firm has begun to offer the service for free to physicians and their medical practices. According to Practice Fusion Chief Executive Officer Ryan Howard, the Web-based software can be offered at no charge to all U.S. physicians thanks to its ad-supported business model. The result is one less thing doctors have to worry about: how to cope with the expense of converting to EMR use. "We're empowering physician practices in a way that has never been possible before," Howard said. "The product eliminates all of the risks and expense." Howard added that he expects the company to be one of the nation's fastest-growing professional medical communities. More information can be found at www.practicefusion.com. http://www.practicefusion.com/pradobe.htm

British NHS launches first-ever online maternity guide
England's National Health Service (NHS) has gone online with its first Web-based maternity guide, providing users with free information on pregnancy and birth. The new Pregnancy Care Planner at www.nhs.uk/pregnancy gives the latest and most comprehensive advice on all aspects of pregnancy, including getting pregnant, early pregnancy, the scans, the birth, and the most up-to-date comparative guides on what is available at local maternity units. According to Gwyneth Lewis, clinical lead of the Department of Health's maternity division, health is the most researched subject on the Internet, and pregnancy is the most researched health subject. "This new service offers mums-to-be vital information, helping mother and baby to be healthy, before, during and after the birth," Lewis said. http://www.ehealthnews.eu/content/view/1265/27/ and http://www.nhs.uk/planners/...

New Mexico Department of Health implements statewide EMRs
The New Mexico Department of Health has implemented electronic medical records (EMRs) in all 49 of its clinical service public health offices. The hope is that the health department can serve as a role model in helping the entire state to one day convert to EMR use, according to Gov. Bill Richardson. "New Mexico is well on its way to having providers in both the public and private sector using this rapidly emerging technology," Richardson said. "By advancing this important strategy, the Department of Health is putting new tools in the hands of our providers across the state and enabling the sharing of clinical data for better patient care." New Mexico public health professionals have treated nearly 20,000 patients and logged more than 120,000 procedures with the EMR technology since September 2007, the Governor noted. http://www.health.state.nm.us/documents/electronicmedicalrecords7-23-08.pdf

Minnesota Governor plans statewide EHR access for residents by 2011
Minnesota residents will have access to electronic health records (EHRs) by 2011, according to a new plan unveiled by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. As a start, the Governor has directed the Department of Finance and Employee Relations to seek proposals for "secure and portable" EHRs for the state's 50,000 employees by 2009. He also directed the Minnesota Department of Health to gather input from state residents on the healthcare system and how residents can be more involved in healthcare decision making. "Right now the consumer is the only person in the system without access to their healthcare information," Governor Pawlenty said. "We need to turn that around and allow the consumer to build their own healthcare portfolio, control who has access to it, and take it with them wherever they go for the rest of their lives." http://www.governor.state.mn.us/mediacenter/pressreleases/PROD009045.html

Functional telemedicine and e-health structure a must for African nations
African nations should make an effort towards efficient and sustainable healthcare through greater use of a telemedical and e-health infrastructure, according to Nigerian telemedicine advocate and pioneer Dr. Francis Ohanyido. Ohanyido, who is also president of the International Public Health Forum and a key member of the Nigerian Medical Association, notes that although significant progress has been made over the past 20 years by the world of informatics in developing a systematic approach to health information technology, "several nations may be missing out on some unique opportunities for redistributing health care resources; for providing ready access to health information, health support and technical expertise; and for expanding the reach of individuals (both clients and providers) beyond their geographic and time constraints." Ohanyido plans to speak more on the subject during the Pan-African Conference on Telemedicine and eHealth in Abuja, Nigeria, on Sept. 18-19. http://www.prnewsnow.com/Blog/... and http://sftehin.org/index.php...

Technology-heavy hospitals continue to have happier patients
For a fifth consecutive year, the more wired a hospital is, the happier patients tend to be, according to the 2008 survey of 100 Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems. The 10th annual survey, which included 556 hospitals and health systems representing 1,327 hospitals, notes that patients at top technology hospitals have a better overall assessment of their stay and are more satisfied with the manner in which tests and treatments are handled. "Health IT has shown incredible promise in helping us improve the quality and safety of the care hospitals deliver every day," notes Rich Umbdenstock, president and chief executive officer of the American Hospital Association. "The results of the Most Wired Survey confirm that today's patient also understands the benefits of IT in improving care and improving the overall hospital experience." http://www.hhnmag.com/hhnmag_app/gateFold/pages/JULY08.jsp

eHealth Global unveils external patient record access software
Rochester, NY-based medical record service provider eHealth Global Technologies has launched an online request service that allows institutions to retrieve outside patient medical records for referral patients. eHealthConnect automatically generates appropriate HIPAA release of information forms to allow institutional access of the records, according to eHealth Global Technologies President Ken Rosenfeld. The software also creates a provider list and remembers user preferences. The new service "brings outside medical records to the clinician's desktop for use in patient evaluation, treatment decision-making or to help render diagnosis at the point of care," Rosenfeld said. "By making this process completely electronic and customized, we can help our customers become more efficient in the collection of external patient records, saving them time and expense." http://www.ehealthglobaltech.com/ehealth_press_release_08-01-08.html

New physician-oriented blogging site launched at medpolitics.com
A new blogging Web site offering U.S. physicians a place to share opinions on healthcare, public health, politics of medicine and the state of the medical profession has been launched at http://medpolitics.com. The goal, according to site operators, is to "get some of the quiet voices out." The site includes a blog editor, drag-and-drop picture uploading, event announcements and polls creation. http://medpolitics.com/

Clarification: EHR availability is key factor in helping med students choose future practice
In the Aug. 1 edition of News Alert, Epocrates Inc. was erroneously identified as a medical research analyst firm. The San Mateo, CA-based company develops medical reference software, and invites its subscribers to opt-in to the Epocrates Honors market research panel to participate in the surveys, such as the annual "Future Physicians of America" survey. We regret this misunderstanding.

In the Current Issue of the peer reviewed publication Telemedicine and e-Health

The Value of Provider-to-Provider Telehealth
Eric Pan, Caitlin Cusack, Julie Hook, Adam Vincent, David C. Kaelber, David W. Bates, Blackford Middleton
Telemedicine and e-Health. June 2008, 14(5): 446-453.
The Center for Information Technology examined the value of providers with the patient and a distance site using three models of telehealth: store-and-forward, real-time video, and hybrid systems. A detailed literature review was conducted to elucidate where value had been reported. The data was evaluated by a computer simulation, which calculated the national value of provider-to-provider telehealth. Overall, the potential benefits of telehealth far outweigh the implementation costs, especially in emergency departments. Full Article

Published 10 times a year in print and online, Telemedicine and e-health covers all aspects of clinical telemedicine practice, technical advances, enabling technologies, education, health policy and regulation and biomedical and health services research dealing with clinical effectiveness, efficacy and safety of telemedicine and its effects on quality, cost and accessibility of care, medical records and transmission of same.

Telemedicine and e-Health is the Official journal of the American Telemedicine Association.
To learn more, click here.

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