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December 2, 2008

Year-long effort to link EHR databases proclaimed success by DoD, VA
The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have linked their respective electronic health record (EHR) systems and are setting an example of what record sharing should be for the rest of the nation, according to government officials. During a press conference last week, Dr. Gerald Cross, the Veterans Health Administration's principal deputy under secretary for health, said the two agencies now share virtually all electronically available health information. The joint effort is "a testament to the power of collaboration and proof of the great things that VA and DoD can accomplish when we work together on behalf of America's heroes," Cross said. The interagency collaboration, launched last January, is also well ahead of any information sharing capabilities in the private sector in both scope and scale, according to Dr. Stephen Jones, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52071

EHRs could decrease paid malpractice claims for physicians, Harvard study notes
Use of electronic health records (EHRs) may reduce paid malpractice settlements for physicians, according to a new study by Harvard Medical School researchers. The study, conducted at the school's Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, compared the presence or absence of malpractice claims among 1,140 Massachusetts physicians with and without EHRs. It included only claims that had been settled and paid during 2005. Overall, 6.1 percent of physicians with EHRs and 10.8 percent of physicians without them had paid malpractice settlements in the preceding 10 years. Investigators speculate that EHRs may decrease paid malpractice claims for several reasons, such as easier access to patients' history, which may result in fewer diagnostic errors. In addition, the clearly documented care allowed by EHRs can bolster legal defenses if a malpractice claim is filed. http://www.dacp.org/news112508.html

GE Healthcare to lead $5.3 million telecare services project for Hungarian elderly
GE Healthcare and the government of Hungary plan to collaborate on a $5.3 million [USD] effort to improve home healthcare monitoring of elderly in the Eastern European nation. Under the three-year program, the Hungarian government will contribute $4.2 million to help GE research new methods of remote telemonitoring. GE Healthcare will invest an additional $1.1 million. "The rapidly aging population of Europe, including that of Hungary, requires new research to enable elderly citizens to stay in their own homes for as long as possible, as this is a really cost-efficient form of delivering healthcare," said Dr. Károly Molnar, Hungary's Minister without Portfolio for Research, Science and Innovation. More than 30 percent of Hungary's population is expected to be over age 65 by 2050, he said. http://pressroom.gehealthcare.com/proom/...

Britain to replace paper sick notes with electronic 'fit notes' in 2010
British health officials plan to begin using an electronic "fit note" in place of the paper sick note in an effort to get more people back to work and cut the nation's estimated $153.8 billion [USD] annual cost of sick leave. Under the new directive, set to start in 2010, general practitioners will stop issuing paper-based sick notes following a first-ever review of the health of Britain's working age population. The new type of certificate has been piloted on more than 500 GPs nationwide, according to Dame Carol Black, national director for health and work. The switch is also designed to make it easier for GPs to audit their clinical practice based on medical certification, and encourage more people to stay in work rather than drift into extended sick leave, she said. http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/4358/...

People who consult Web over live MDs for self-diagnosis often conclude the worst
A new study by Microsoft researchers suggests that persons who consult the Internet for self-diagnosis of medical conditions typically end up with the wrong conclusions. The report is the first to take a systematic look at "cyberchondria," the practice of leaping to dire conclusions while researching health matters online, according to Eric Horvitz, an artificial intelligence researcher at Microsoft. Many people, he said, treat search engines as if they can answer questions like a human expert. Microsoft researchers note that they did not intend to send the message that people should completely ignore medical symptoms. But they do need to consider lesser illnesses as well as more deadly ones if they search online. "People tend to look at just the first couple results," Horvitz said. "If they find 'brain tumor' or 'A.L.S.,' that's their launching point." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/technology/... and ftp://ftp.research.microsoft.com/pub/tr/TR-2008-178.pdf

Indonesia considers legislation to implant microchips in HIV/AIDS-infected patients
Lawmakers in Indonesia's remote province of Papua favor a controversial bill requiring some HIV/AIDS patients to be implanted with microchips to help monitor the disease. The plan would place authorities in a better position to identify, track and ultimately punish person who deliberately infect others with up to six months in jail or a $5,000 fine, according to legislator John Manangsang. Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country and has one of Asia's fastest-growing HIV rates. Papua, the country's poorest province with a population of about 2 million, has a case rate of almost 61 per 100,000, about 15 times the national average. If proposed legislation gets the expected majority vote, it will be enacted in December, Manangsang said. Local health workers and AIDS activists call the plan "abhorrent." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081124/ap_on_re_as/...

Social Security Administration seeks input, ideas on EHR claims processing system
The Social Security Administration (SSA) wants to develop a system that automatically pulls information from electronic health records (EHRs) to help the agency more easily deal with the more than 2.5 million disability claims it receives each year. The agency currently obtains paper copies of claimants' medical records to verify that the individuals involved are disabled. Getting those records from healthcare providers can take months and costs SSA more than $500 million a year, according to SSA officials. The agency is inviting EHR and personal health record vendors to suggest how such a process could be set up. Input should be e-mailed to Valerie.Jones@ssa.gov at SSA by Dec. 11. http://www.govhealthit.com/online/news/350688-1.html and https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity...

iB Solutions wins $762,000 contract with Irish Medical Council for online database
IBA Health Group Ltd.'s subsidiary iB Solutions has won a $762,000 [USD] contract with the Medical Council of Ireland in Dublin to develop a system for the country's 17,000 doctors to register membership online. The five-year program will replace paper-based methods and allow applications to be entered online along with online payments and requests for a Certificate of Good Standing, which doctors need to continue practicing, according to Eamonn Morris, Managing Director of iB Solutions. The Web-enabled development will support registration, retention, register maintenance, and online payments processing, and feature a "my page" facility for individual doctors, Morris said. http://www.ehealthnews.eu/content/view/1406/26/

User-edited Wikipedia is second to peer-reviewed drug reference site Medscape
Consumers who rely on the user-edited Web resource Wikipedia for information on medications risk potentially harmful drug interactions and adverse effects, according to research from Nova Southeastern University in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Researchers compared Wikipedia to Medscape Drug Reference (MDR), a peer-reviewed, free site, by looking for answers to 80 different questions covering eight categories of drug information, such as adverse drug events, dosages, and mechanism of action. While MDR provided answers to 82.5 percent of the questions, Wikipedia could only answer 40 percent, according to Dr. Kevin A. Clauson, lead author of the study. In addition, although an evaluation of Wikipedia entries on 80 drugs found few factual errors, many of the entries were often missing important information. "These errors of omission can be just as dangerous as inaccuracies," Clauson said. http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/i...

PC smartcard sharing becoming an unwelcome routine among British physicians
One in six general practitioners in Britain's National Health Service (NHS) claim that staff have shared smartcards and granted physicians unauthorized access to PCs, according to an NHS poll. The poll also noted that 1 in 20 GPs admitted sharing their own smartcard. Reasons given included the time taken to log-on to systems or to access data at multiple terminals, and losing cards or leaving them at home. Smartcard sharing is "unacceptable and a serious disciplinary offense," according to the poll. The smartcard takes seconds to authenticate the user - not much longer than conventional logging on - but uses a higher security standard. http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/...

BCBS Tennessee to give free PHR access to seniors starting in January '09
Beginning in January, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will offer free personal health records software and similar services to 20,000 Medicare Advantage members. Members will have access to relevant data from medical and pharmacy claims, as well as prescription refill reminders, care guides, health risk assessments, printable wallet-sized emergency room information, and drug interaction and symptom checkers, according to Robert Slattery, Vice President and General Manager for Medicare Advantage at BlueCross. "With this system, BlueCross can better help our beneficiaries as they find themselves faced with increasing health care needs," Slattery said. "We believe that this tool will allow our members to better navigate through their healthcare experiences and hopefully be more satisfied as a result." Members may use the tool at www.bcbst.com. http://www.bcbst.com/about/news/releases/...

Health Level Seven releases four free global healthcare standards guides
Health Level Seven Inc. (HL7), an Ann Arbor, MI-based developer of global healthcare standards, has announced the launch of four new implementation guides with its Clinical Document Architecture (CDA). The four guides address basic documentation requirements for diagnostic imaging, consultations, quality reporting and home health monitoring. The guides are available for free download at www.hl7.org. "Getting healthcare standards to market quickly has been a longstanding issue, while the sheer propagation of standards and the resulting lack of interoperability is a growing concern," said Bob Dolin, MD, chair-elect for HL7 and co-chair of the HL7 Structured Documents Work Group (SDWG). "We have found, however, that CDA can be quickly and easily tailored for a broad number of use cases." http://www.ehealtheurope.net/news/4360/hl7...

• Home Telehealth & Remote Patient Monitoring for Hospitals & Health Systems Forum
  January 21-23, 2009 - Philadelphia, PA
  Home Telehealth & Remote Patient Monitoring for Hospitals & Health Systems is a three-day industry forum highlighting the latest trends, best case studies, hands-on experiences, and innovative strategies from America's top telehealth hospitals, facilities and other prestigious organizations.
  A special discount is being offered to the first 15 people who register early; mention the code MLP when registering. To learn more, contact Gia Bosch at (414) 221-1700, ext. 130, or gbosch@acius.net.
  
  
• The World Health Care Congress 2nd Annual Leadership Summit on Consumer Connectivity
  February 23-24, 2009 - The Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa
  This Summit will offer compelling strategies for providers, insurers and employers to revolutionize health care through the integration and adoption of eHealth applications and personal health management tools.
  
  
• ATA 2009 - Focus on Hot Topics and Outcomes
  April 26-28, 2009 - Las Vegas, NV
  Recognized throughout the world as the primary forum for the telemedicine industry, ATA's peer-reviewed oral and poster presentations and certificate courses set the standard for medical education on the topics of telemedicine and telehealth. The ATA Expo offers over 100,000 square feet of the latest in telemedicine products and services.

To showcase your event here, please email us at events@telemedicinealerts.com

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

Medication Compliance—Helping Patients Through Technology: Modern "Smart" Pillboxes Keep Memory-Short Patients on Their Medical Regimen
Alan Naditz
Telemedicine and e-Health. November 2008, 14(9): 875-880.
See if you recognize this all-too-common scenario: An elderly person has a variety of pills, tablets, and capsules to take every day for one or more medical conditions, and they can not keep track of which medications to take when. Or worse, they forget that they have taken the pills and take them again. Or they simply do not want to take them because they are "not that sick" or can not afford to refill prescriptions as often as they should. 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.

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