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July 8, 2008

Pharmacy giants SureScripts, RxHub merge e-prescription networks
Two longtime competing retail pharmacy and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) plan to merge their respective electronic prescription networks and create a giant health information system. RxHub, founded in 2001 by the nation's three largest PBMs, and SureScripts, formed that same year by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association, will become "SureScripts-RxHub" and handle more than 100 million e-prescriptions this year, according to Medco President of New Markets John Driscoll. "This merger sets aside historic economic and political differences to do what is necessary to advance paperless prescribing and the secure exchange of critical information between providers - instantly elevating the quality of care," Driscoll said. The new network will represent 70 percent of community pharmacies and 30 percent of independent pharmacies in the U.S., according to SureScripts acting Chief Executive Officer Rick Ratliff. http://www.surescripts.com/pressrelease-detail.aspx?id=137&ptype=surescripts

PHR vendors now taking business approach with product
In an effort to expand adoption of personal health records (PHRs) - and increase chances of their companies' survival - vendors are taking a business-to-business approach in marketing their product after several years of striking out with consumers. According to a study by Cambridge, MA-based analyst Chilmark Research, only 40 percent of the 200-plus PHRs on the market are "thriving," while another 35 percent are "treading water." The remaining 25 percent are "walking zombies - not quite dead, but not very alive either," according to study author John Moore. Outside of those with a chronic disease, few consumers have shown interest in the product. But employers and health plans are beginning to see the potential for PHRs to reduce healthcare costs, leading to the shift in marketing focus, according to the study.
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/07/07/bisc0707.htm and http://chilmarkresearch.com/

EU unveils plan for cross-border EHR compatibility
The European Union has launched an initiative designed to ensure compatibility of electronic health records from nation to nation, and improve safety and quality of care for those traveling or living abroad. The S.O.S. Project is a first step in addressing problems faced by doctors with patients who seek health treatment when overseas, according to Viviane Reding, the EU's media commissioner. These problems include renewing prescriptions, communicating medical situations to foreign language doctors, diagnosing illness and prescribing proper medication with little knowledge of patient history. The new project will allow health professionals to electronically access the data of a patient from another country, in their own language, using various technologies and systems. SOS will receive more than $34.4 million [USD] in funding over the next three years. http://www.euractiv.com/en/health/... and http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/...

Americans strongly agree electronic PHRs could improve their health
Nearly 8 of 10 Americans believe electronic personal health records (PHRs) could improve their health, and almost 9 of 10 say privacy is the key issue in their decision on whether to sign up for one, according to a new report by the Markle Foundation, a New York City-based research firm. The survey, conducted among 1,580 American adults, is the first to explore consumer perceptions about PHRs and gauge the importance of privacy practices toward the public's adoption of such services, according to survey author Alan Westin. In addition to the overwhelming belief in the importance of PHRs, almost half - about 106 million adults - say they would be interested in using an online PHR. Those not interested cite concerns about privacy and confidentiality as reasons for their reluctance. http://www.connectingforhealth.org/resources/...

University of Queensland introduces telemedicine service for baby care
The University of Queensland's telepediatric service has turned to "Tiny Tom" to help care for sick babies in North Queensland, Australia. The new service links clinicians at Mackay Base Hospital in North Brisbane by video to the neonatal intensive care hospital at The Townsville Hospital in North Queensland by performing virtual ward rounds, according to Dr. Anthony Smith, deputy director of the University of Queensland's Centre for Online Health. Tiny Tom is wheeled up to an infant's beside to enable a direct videoconference consultation between the specialists in Townsville and the care team in Mackay so that they can discuss the progress of the patient. The service will also allow the university to investigate the potential economic and clinical benefits of using telemedicine in neonatal intensive care, Smith said. http://www.uq.edu.au/news/...

Cigna to test-run virtual healthcare community in U.S., UK
Health plan provider Cigna is developing a pilot virtual healthcare community designed to encourage healthcare dialogue among users. The computer-simulated world is located in Second Life, a three-dimensional world where participants can take part in seminars, interactive displays, educational games and virtual health consultations that "help foster real and sustainable behavior changes that improves health," according to Peter Mills, chief medical officer of Cigna's Vielife Division. The pilot is being conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom. "The program is not replacing anything [that Cigna currently offers]," Mills said. "It's just that some people might find it a more preferable medium to engage in conversations about healthcare." http://newsroom.cigna.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=925

New health informatics laboratory opens in Wales
Informing Healthcare, the Welsh National Health Service Information Technology agency, has opened a new health informatics facility at the Swansea University School of Medicine to help find innovative ways of treating patients. Welsh Health Minister Edwina Hart said the facility is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom to simulate a range of healthcare settings experienced by patients in Wales. The new health informatics research laboratory will create a "healthcare community in a room" that simulates a variety of healthcare settings, Hart said. The lab is also a series of pods that represent a patient's home, a general practitioner's practice, the out-of-hours GPs' service and a hospital outpatients' clinic. http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/...

Scotland's e-health strategy for 2010-11 includes SCI consolidation
Scotland's new e-health strategy for 2008-11 calls for further consolidation of its Scottish Care Information (SCI) Gateway and SCI Store, and enhancement of its Emergency Care Summary Service. The strategy lays out the national health service's approach to "electronic patient records and electronic communication becoming the primary means to manage healthcare information within the health system." No specific budgetary commitment has been made, but the government notes that it plans to boost the national e-health budget from the $62.7 million [USD] spent in 2005-06 to $219.7 million [USD] by 2010-11. "The e-health strategy is setting a course which focuses on improved healthcare more than technology," Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said. "It also seeks to build on the significant progress we have already made to move to progressively stronger and more integrated support for the provision of care." http://ehealtheurope.net/news/3904/... and http://www.ehealth.scot.nhs.uk/

VA to open 44 new telehealth-capable clinics by fall 2009
Forty-four new community-based Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics will open over the next 15 months in an effort to bring healthcare closer to home for veterans in 41 states. The new clinics will increase the VA's network of such sites to 782 nationwide and will mean an increase of more than 100 since 2003, according to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. In addition to on-site primary care staff, the modern outpatient clinics frequently feature state-of-the-art telehealth systems permitting veterans to maintain regular contact with doctors in specialties from cardiac care to mental health at regional VA hospitals linked for video consultations, coupled with telemetry of health data or images. http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1522

British government may widen access to NHS care records
Britain's department of health is considering making electronic patient records available to a wider segment of groups involved in healthcare, including social care bodies, voluntary and private sector organizations, and pharmacy, dental and optical services. The government's report, "Our Vision for Primary and Community Care," notes that the goal is to "ensure that patients can be quickly given vital information in any care settings...both within and outside of the National Health Service (NHS)." The report also offers details on the role NHS will play over the next decade, including creation of a secure Web-based system called "HealthSpace," which will allow people to access their personal health record and update it with information about their condition. http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/...

Number of doctors communicating with patients online grows again
Thirty-six percent of U.S. physicians now communicate with patients online, up from 31 percent in 2007 and on the rise for a fifth straight year, according to a report from New York City-based Manhattan Research. In addition, nearly all U.S. doctors go online for professional information, and 5 of every 6 say the Internet is essential to their practice, the report notes. And physicians are more likely to use the Internet than the average consumer, with 83 percent of doctors going online to watch video clips compared to 34 percent of all U.S. adults. Still, medical care specialists who communicate with patients are in the minority, with the primary reason being concerns about liability, according to the report. http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006368&src=article...

CompuGroup to acquire All for One, enter German rehab care field
Koblenz, Germany-based eHealth provider CompuGroup Holding AG announced that it will buy a 90 percent stake in All for One, a specialist provider of software for rehabilitation centers and social care units. Financial terms were not disclosed. Based in Oberessendorf, All for One, maker of the LifeCure information system, has been one of the industry's leading rehab software developers since its formation in 1978, according to Frank Breucher, chief executive officer of systema Deutschland, a CompuGroup subsidiary. All for One President Holger Rostek will continue to manage the company under the new management, and the company will retain its name. Breucher said the acquisition marks CompuGroup's debut into a very fragmented German rehabilitation and social care field. http://www.compugroup.com/Englisch/eKonzern/...

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

Mobile Health Clinics and Telemedicine
Kevin D. Blanchet
Think of mobile health clinic and what comes to mind? Depending on where you live, it might mean Tommy the Tooth van dispensing free brushes and toothpaste to the community. Maybe a loved one received a mammogram in their small town or received diabetes education. The Lions Club may have sponsored a mobile vision clinic where senior citizens were screened for glaucoma. Perhaps migrant farm workers lined up for hours to get free medical care while working in the fields. Whether you live in the city or the country, chances are some type of mobile health clinic has visited your community sporting colorful graphics on the outside and various medical/dental services on the inside. 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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