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July 29, 2008

Second health IT incentive bill could be unveiled in House this week
House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairperson Pete Stark (D-CA) plans to introduce his own health information technology bill following passage of similar legislation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week. But unlike H.R. 6357, which provides more than $560 million in grants and loans to help healthcare providers adopt electronic medical records (EMRs) and other health IT systems, Stark's bill will offer "whatever it takes to get providers to participate," he said. The bill may also have a wider degree of incentives, including tax credits, as well as privacy protection provisions that "ensure that the federal government continues to promote development of a comprehensive, fully interoperable EMR system," Stark said. The Representative added that the bill could be introduced as early as this week. http://www.govhealthit.com/online/news/350477-1.html and http://www.house.gov/stark/news/110th/...

Days could be numbered for military's AHLTA EHR system
Military officials are actively considering alternatives to its existing electronic health record system, the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA), including merging the system with the Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA). The action comes after health providers in June posted more than 150 mostly negative comments about AHLTA on a Military Health System (MHS) online discussion board. "There is a strong feeling here and at the VA that the best approach is a convergent evolution of the two systems," said Stephen Jones, principal deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for health affairs. "This approach optimizes the strengths of both systems while creating interoperability that will drive more universal information exchange." Jones added that MHS "looks forward to examining these issues with our leadership, consultants and congress in the coming days, months and years." http://www.govhealthit.com/online/news/350473-1.html

British children's e-prescription pilot wins award of excellence
The Evelina Children's Hospital information prescription project, a pilot effort under Britain's National Health Service (NHS) program, has been awarded the 2008 Ask About Medicines Award for "Excellence in Improving Communication Between Healthcare Professionals and Patients or Medicine Users." The project allowed parents to request information about their child's condition, support groups available, the medicine's action, adverse effects, what to do if a child misses a dose, and what to do if the condition deteriorates. Requests were faxed or e-mailed to NHS Direct, which then compiled information against the request and delivered it to parents via e-mail or post within 24 to 48 hours. "The project demonstrated an easy way for pharmacists to provide a personalized information prescription in the format of choice for parents caring for young children," NHS Direct Associate Director of Pharmacy Anne Joshua said. The system could one day be used nationally, Joshua added. http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/...

Telecommunications companies to earn sizeable revenue from telemedicine by 2013
The market for telemedicine devices and services will top $1.8 billion by 2013, with mobile services companies making up a sizeable portion of that revenue, according to a report by Silver Spring, MD-based research firm Pike & Fischer. In addition, telecommunications companies with wireless and landline capabilities will have the best chance for dominance in the telemedicine market, according to "Mobile Medical Applications and U.S. Telemedicine: Opportunities, Analysis and Insight." Companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Sprint will be the market's leaders, while smaller firms will quickly find themselves targeted for acquisition, the report predicts. Market growth will be driven by the need to control costs and the development of larger, faster wireless broadband networks, Smartphones, and data compression solutions. http://fibresystems.org/cws/article/yournews/35121

Web-ready developing countries should become e-Health road map for others
Technologically developing nations in southern Africa must act as an e-Health road map for the rest of the continent, according to an official with the Rockefeller Foundation during its ongoing eHealth Conference in Bellagio, Italy. Karl Brown, Rockefeller's associate director of applied technology, notes that nations that have already introduced online technology need to set an example to other African nations that Internet-enabled technologies can improve public healthcare. "The time is now, because we feel that healthcare systems are undergoing a process of enormous change," Brown said. "There's been a change in the burden of disease in many countries. There are increasing numbers of patients entering the health care system. There's more money being spent on health care in developing countries." The conference, which features discussions ranging from national health information systems to the interoperability of software applications, continues through Aug. 8. http://allafrica.com/stories/200807240417.html

Engineering giant Bosch joins European med-tech group COCIR
German engineering group Bosch, which last year expanded into the U.S. telemedicine market, is bringing its newfound telehealth influence to Europe's largest medical technology association. The Stuttgart-based company has joined the Brussels, Belgium-based European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical and Healthcare IT Industry (COCIR), according to COCIR Secretary General Nicole Denjoy. In 2007, Bosch acquired Palo Alto, CA-based Health Hero Network, maker of the Health Buddy® patient monitoring system. "Like COCIR, [Bosch] moves with the times," Denjoy said. "We are pleased to have such expertise as part of the COCIR family." Other COCIR members include AGFA Healthcare, GE Healthcare, Healthvision, iSoft, Intel, Philips Healthcare and Siemens Healthcare. http://www.cocir.org/content.php...

Open eHealth Foundation begins operations, defines priorities
The Waldorf, Germany-based nonprofit Open eHealth Foundation (OeHF), an open source initiative for the efficient exchange of medical information based on existing standards, has begun operations. The association, created earlier this year by Agfa HealthCare, InterComponentWare and Sun Microsystems, plans to use existing Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) profiles as a guideline for its development activities, according to new President and Chief Business Development Officer Alexander Ihis. Compatibility of components will be a key priority for OeHF, with such items usable in national specifications from Canada to Germany. The association is looking for additional members; more information can be found at www.openehealth.org. http://www.openehealth.wikispaces.net/

Imprivata gains new secure medical records client: the Swiss Red Cross
The Swiss Red Cross (SRC) has selected Lexington, MA-based access management firm Imprivata Inc. to create a secure - but simpler - electronic records system for its 550 employees. The SRC, Switzerland's largest relief organization, previously faced several "severe operational challenges" in an effort to conform to government security regulations, according to Benno Stucki, director of the SRC IT department. A typical example: employees now use one-time password tokens to gain access into critical employee and patient data, compared to needing to remember several for different applications. Employees would typically forget one or more of the passwords, increasing time wasted by staff and the IT department on password retrieval or reset. Stucki doesn't doubt that other companies with secure records systems face a similar dilemma. But he doesn't miss such days at SRC. http://www.imprivata.com/content16364

Maine expands telehealth program to cut hospital readmissions
Saco, ME-based HomeHealth Visiting Nurses (HHVN), Southern Maine's largest nonprofit provider of home healthcare, received a $25,000 award from the Davis Family Foundation to help update its telehealth program. The money will be used to install telehealth units in the homes of chronic disease patients who are at high risk of re-hospitalization after discharge or disease flare-ups, according to Mia Millefoglie, HHVN vice president of development and marketing. Using the new equipment, patients can search an electronic library for information about their illness; transmit data to nurses, such as vital signs and confirmation that they have taken medication; reply to text questions from nurses; and transmit messages to tell nurses how they are feeling. The Davis Family Foundation is a Falmouth, ME-headquartered public charitable foundation established in 1986 to support educational, medical and cultural/arts organizations primarily in Maine. http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/...

Finnish government fined for breach of confidential employee records
In a case that could set a legal precedent linking data security and human rights, the European Court of Human Rights has fined the government of Finland $53,400 [USD] for failure to protect a citizen's private data by not adequately securing and protecting a patient's confidential record. The Court made its ruling based on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees every citizen "the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence." Confidentiality of medical records is considered a vital component of private life, according to the Court. The case involved a nurse with HIV, who regularly visited a hospital infectious disease clinic, whose contract was not renewed after colleagues accessed her patient records and spread word to other employees. The nurse will receive $22,000 [USD] in damages and $31,400 [USD] in costs. http://www.ehealtheurope.net/news/...

More U.S. doctors use EHRs, but America still behind rest of world
Electronic health record (EHR) use in the U.S. increased from 17 percent in 2001 to 28 percent in 2006, but the nation is still way behind other nations in EHR adoption, according to a report by New York City-based research and health policy reform firm The Commonwealth Fund. Ninety-eight percent of physicians in the Netherlands use EHRs, as do 92 percent of New Zealand doctors and 89 percent of those in the United Kingdom. "Despite some encouraging pockets of improvement, the country as a whole has failed to keep pace with levels of performance attained by leading nations, delivery systems, state, and regions," the study notes. At its current rate, it will take more than 30 years before all U.S. physicians use EHRs, according to the report. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/... and http://www.commonwealthfund.org/...

Chapter proposals sought for "Grid" telemedicine services book
Chapter proposals are sought for "Grid Technologies for eHealth: Applications for Telemedicine Services and Delivery," an overview of how "Grid" computing is being used in medicine. Built on pervasive Internet standards, Grid computing enables organizations to share computing and information resources across department and organizational boundaries in a secure, highly efficient manner. "The main advantage of the application of Grid technology for eHealth is the new and effective opportunity for establishment and creation of eHealth networks, as well as of implementation of clinical information systems and databases," said publication editor Dr. Ekaterina Kldiashvili of the Georgian Telemedicine Union in Georgia, Eastern Europe. Submission deadline for a 2- to 3-page proposal chapter is Oct. 31; authors of accepted proposals will be notified by Nov. 30. Full chapters are due by Feb. 28, 2009. More details can be found at www.gridtechnologiesfore-health.blogspot.com. http://www.dgroups.org/groups/telemedicine/...

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

Roundtable Discussion Venture Capital and Telemedicine
Bernard Harris, M.D., M.B.A., Charles R. Doarn, M.B.A., Robert Ulrich, Ph.D., Mark VanderWerf, and Tony Thomas, M.B.A.
Over the past several decades, more and more companies are entering the telemedicine space offering technologies and services across the globe. But what if you want to have someone invest in your idea(s), services, or products? Friends and family, personal savings, and angel funding all help, but one really needs venture capital to move a concept to market. A group of telemedicine experts and venture capitalists got together for a roundtable discussion on key issues such as: What does the landscape look like for venture capital for telemedicine, what areas are a priority, what is the return on investment (ROI) expected, what is the market size to make it interesting for the venture firm to invest, and what is the impact of various factors on investments? These questions were designed to spark discussion. Dr. Bernard Harris and Mr. Charles Doarn assembled this small group and moderated the discussion. 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.
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