JANUARY 29, 2008

Major gain in IT use expected among health providers
Health care providers will increasingly favor use of clinical technology during the coming year, according to a new study from Concord, MA-based consulting firm The Gantry Group. "Provider Clinical Technology Expenditures 2007" projects that by the end of 2008, more than 80 percent of provider facilities will invest resources in digital medical imaging, e-prescriptions, electronic health record systems, and computerized physician order entry, among other things. Providers will also increasingly and rapidly adopt on-premise vendor solutions. "In general, providers will move away from custom in-house solutions and hosted vendor solutions, and drastically decrease their commitments to outsourcers," the report notes.
For details, visit http://www.gantrygroup.com/news/...

Pelosi calls for EHRs in 2008 health policy proposals
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called electronic health records a key to "coordination of personalized care" and a vital way to reduce errors in the health care system, during her appearance at last week's Families USA Health Action conference in Washington, D.C. Funding for biomedical research, the elimination of health care disparities, greater access to personalized care and better mental health services cannot be realized unless connected by a "common record" based on IT, according to Pelosi. Congress should do everything to ensure the necessary technology exists to protect patient confidentiality, she added. "If we have the technology or if we don't, we must [ask] for the technology to make that possible," she said.
For details, visit http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/...

AHA urges FCC to create health information network
The American Hospital Association has thrown its weight behind creation of a single standard for health information capture and exchange, and deployment of broadband and wireless networks in rural areas. AHA last week urged the Federal Communications Commission to "produce a roadmap" for a nationwide wireless network, one designed to address four "critical areas" in emergency medical and public health care providers' communication abilities. These include a modern information exchange network, including one for a rural infrastructure, with adequate support for technology, and coordinated creation of an electronic health record system. AHA has nearly 5,000 member hospitals and 37,000 individual members.
For details, visit http://www.ahanews.com/ahanews_app/...

Better ID verification could boost PHR growth
The key to stimulating growth of personal health record (PHR) systems is better identity verification, according to a new report by Washington, D.C.-based Connecting for Health, a public-private collaborative group operated by the Markle Foundation. "Connecting Americans to Their Health Care: Consumer Authentication for Networked Personal Health" encourages use of "knowledge-based authentication," methods that can confirm an identity through an electronic dialogue of facts known only to the user. The report also notes that a mix of existing and emerging validation techniques are needed for best success. "No solution is fool-proof, but we are calling on the government to take a more vigorous leadership role in measuring the accuracy of identity-proofing methods," said Janlori Goldman, director of the Health Privacy Project, and research faculty at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.
For details, visit http://www.connectingforhealth.org/commonframework/...

UHG/PacifiCare awards $6 million in TM-tech grants
Fifteen California nonprofits will share $6 million in health care technology grants from UnitedHealth Group/PacifiCare, the company announced. The grants, ranging from $100,000 to $740,000 and to be awarded in periods of one to three years, are designed to help facilities improve health care services through enhanced health care technology opportunities. Recipients include $740,000 to Planned Parenthood in Mar Monte/Fresno to establish a 27-county IP telephony center; $705,184 to the Vista Community Clinic to implement an EMR system; and $664,688 to Glendale Adventist Medical Center for creation of a rural telepharmacy project. The awards are part of $25 million in medical care-related grants to be handed out by UnitedHealth Group/PacifiCare this year.
For details, visit http://www.uhc.com/newsroom/newsreleases/...

EHR adoption hindered by doctors' lack of money
Lack of capital is the biggest barrier to electronic health record (EHR) adoption, and financial support would be the biggest incentive for physicians' adoption of an EHR system, according to preliminary survey results presented last week to the American Health Information Community. Two-thirds of respondents without an EHR said lack of capital was the biggest reason they wouldn't have an EHR, while 36 percent of respondents with a functional EHR cited lack of capital. Eighty percent of respondents said financial incentives would impact their decision to adopt EHRs, while 82 percent said additional payments would help. The survey confirms results of earlier studies that also identified lack of money as the biggest hindrance to EHR adoption. In 2006, the Medical Group Management Association identified lack of capital as one of the EHR's top five barriers; in 2004 a paper published by the American Medical Informatics Association drew a similar conclusion.
For details, visit http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/...

Standards underway for ultra-broadband network
Today's high-speed broadband access could soon be tomorrow's dial-up, in terms of speed. European research project Omega, a consortium of 20 European industry and academia partners, last week began developing a global standard for ultra-broadband home networks that enable transmission speeds of one gigabit per second - without installing any new wires in the home. According to the consortium, many devices on current home networks are limited to wireless transmission rates of 54 megabits per second, or require troublesome wiring to achieve higher rates. Emerging Internet services that require high bandwidth and high transmission speeds include telepresence, 3D gaming, virtual reality, high-definition video, and e-health applications and services for exchange of user-generated business or multimedia content. Omega's vision is to make access to such bandwidth-hungry services "as normal and convenient as getting water from the tap," according to Omega project coordinator Jean-Philippe Javaudin.
For details, visit http://www.ict-omega.eu/news.asp

Electronic filing a must for Minnesota HC providers by '09
Minnesota has become the first state in the nation to require "eligibility inquiry and response" transactions between health care providers and insurance companies and other payers to be exchanged electronically, beginning in 2009. The goal is to improve service and reduce costs of a common activity occurring "millions of times each year" during most interactions between patients and their health care providers, according to Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Sanne Magnan. By Jan. 15, 2009, insurers and providers must electronically verify eligibility and benefits using a standard format modeled after Medicare standards. The state is expected to publish additional rules for an electronic billing standard on July 15 of this year.
For details, visit http://www.health.state.mn.us/news/pressrel/uniform012308.html

Breastfeeding subject of VC pilot in Scotland
A pilot project in Moray - one of Scotland's most prominent breastfeeding cities - will use videoconferencing to allow a health professional at Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin to guide mostly rural new moms through the techniques involved in breastfeeding. Split-screen technology will also enable moms to go through relevant pages on a Web site at www.breastfeedingmatters.co.uk. It will cut down on the inconvenience of traveling to and from Elgin, particularly for moms who may rely on public transport, and allow more women to be seen. Research has shown that the first two to six weeks after birth of a baby determine whether the mom continues with breastfeeding. The pilot project will be monitored by the Scottish Centre for Telehealth.
For details, visit http://www.northern-scot.co.uk/news/...

German pharmacies test pharma record program
Customers of DocMorris pharmacies in Cologne, Germany's Venloer Straße and Severinstraße districts can now access and print out their personal medical data at special customer terminals. The drugs listed are then checked by DocMorris pharmacist Tobias Luckner, the owner of both pharmacies and his team, for pharmacological interaction with drugs acquired at the pharmacy - an important contribution to more safety in pharmaceutical therapy. Almost 400 doctors from Cologne are participating in the network and are already profiting from the advantages of the Koblenz-based e-health company's electronic patient file. DocMorris customers can now store important medical results, X-ray images or medical prescriptions.
For details, visit http://www.hospitaliteurope.com/...

iSoft re-enters Swiss distribution market
Oxfordshire, UK-based telehealth products provider iSoft has moved back into the Swiss market 18 months after leaving it. The company has entered a distribution agreement with Axon Lab AG, a Germany-based service provider for diagnostics and molecular biology systems. In June 2006 iSoft sold its operations in Switzerland to Nexus, a local provider of healthcare IT solutions, for $1.4 million Euros (approximately $2.1 million U.S.). As a result of the agreement, iSOFT is the market leader in laboratory information systems with more than 270 installations in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Russia. Axon Lab AG has been a recognized name in diagnostics and molecular biology since 1989. The deal "continues our expansion in Europe," according to Gary Cohen, executive chairman and chief executive officer of IBA Health Group, iSoft's parent. "Further markets in Europe will follow soon."
For details, visit http://www.isoftplc.com/corporate/...

BodyTel and FourMed sign distribution agreement
BodyTel Scientific, a Jacksonville, FL-based developer of wireless telemedical devices, has entered into an international distribution agreement with FourMed Medical Supplies, a distributor of medical supplies in the Middle East. Beginning in the first quarter of 2008, FourMed Medical Supplies will begin offering BodyTel's telemedical blood glucose monitoring and diabetes management system, GlucoTel, as well as the PressureTel blood pressure device and the WeightTel weight scale in the United Arab Emirates. FourMed will have exclusive distribution rights for one year, according to BodyTel Sales Director Michael Berrendorf. FourMed has "excellent know-how" in the targeted markets, as well as extensive experience in selling diabetes products, Berrendorf said.
For details, visit http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/...