June 17, 2008

Blue Cross-Blue Shield signs EMR deal with Google Health
Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Massachusetts has signed a deal with Google Health to offer medical records online, and help patients manage their medical care and have more productive talks with doctors. Blue Cross-Blue Shield is the first health insurer to sign on to the service, which was launched by Internet search giant Google earlier this year. "It will make the quality of your experience with the physician a little better," Blue Cross-Blue Shield Vice President Steven Fox said. "It will be portable. It could improve compliance with treatment protocols." In recent months, BCBSMA has actively tried to encourage local physicians to use electronic medical records, including donating $50 million to the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative. But many doctors do not want to invest the money needed to move records online, Fox noted.
For details, visit http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2008...

IT professionals agree with level of HIPAA security rules
Most health information technology professionals feel the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)'s privacy and security safeguards are stringent enough while nearly one-third believe the opposite, according to a survey by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. Fifty-four percent of respondents agree there is enough security, 34 percent say there is too little, and 12 percent of respondents said they "don't know" how strong the restrictions are. The survey of 526 health IT professionals, conducted in May, also noted that recent publicity about patient data breaches could impact adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) technology. Thirty-three percent say it will slow EHR adoption, 25 percent believe it will accelerate or minimally increase adoption, and 39 percent feel it will have no impact, according to the survey.
For details, visit http://www.himss.org/content/... and http://www.himss.org/content/...

'Home Telehealth and Patient Monitoring' market report out June 21
The $5.6 billion home telehealth and remote patient monitoring market will grow by nearly 70 percent for at least the next three to five years, according to an upcoming strategic report published by Insight and Intelligence. Through interviews with industry leaders, surveys, use of government and other agency databases, and reviews of published literature, "Home Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring" reveals that the healthcare provider market segment - companies that offer telemedicine services to healthcare providers - consists of a number of small- to medium-sized companies with average annual revenue of approximately $6.6 million and combined average revenue growth of 72 percent. Consumer companies - which provide services directly to the consumer, such as wireless providers - tend to be larger, with combined average annual revenue of approximately $121.3 million and an even more explosive combined annual revenue growth of 118.5 percent to 193.5 percent. The prepublication discount deadline for "Home Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring" is June 21.
For further information and pricing, contact dmitchell@liebertpub.com

Health technology center opens in Oslo, Norway
The Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services has opened a new health technology center designed to showcase the latest in European health technology. The HP Health Centre of Excellence in Oslo, Norway will also be used for research and development purposes, and the center may become a launching point for new products and services, according to HCE Director Roger Morberg. "Companies will get the opportunity to reach an international market," Morberg said. "We will also be able to make sure that the European countries, at all times, will choose the technological solutions that result in the best efficiency and most satisfied patients." The center is a collaboration between Hewlett Packard, Telenor, Microsoft, Imatis and Cisco.
For details, visit http://www.ehealtheurope.net/news/3842/...

Americans believe health IT should be the next President's priority
Fifty-one percent of U.S. citizens believe access to information technology should be the next President's top priority, according to a survey by Kaiser Permanente. In addition, 47 percent of respondents prefer doctors who use electronic health records (EHRs), and 61 percent prefer insurance companies that use EHRs. The Internet is also a key method of obtaining medical information for Americans, with 65 percent of survey-takers going online and 38 percent using their insurance company's Web-based tools to learn more about their care, up from 29 percent in 2007. "Patients should be able to take a more active role in tracking and managing their own health information online," Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals Chairperson George Halvorson said. "If we do not empower patients and doctors to use these tools, their great benefits may not be fully realized."
For details, visit http://xnet.kp.org/newscenter/pressreleases/...

Ericcson, Apollo Telemedicine plan healthcare access for rural India
Telecom services provider Ericcson and the Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation plan a national campaign for introduction of telemedicine services in India. The effort, to be launched later this year, is an expansion of a 2007 pilot project which brought mobile broadband services to 18 villages and 15 towns in rural India, according to Ericsson India President Mats Granryd. The long-range goal is to provide affordable and accessible healthcare to millions of India residents nationwide. "Mobility has proven to be a major catalyst for social and economic empowerment, and a key ingredient in helping to bridge the digital divide," Granryd said. "Through our ongoing partnership with Apollo, we are putting an ecosystem in place to support telemedicine applications once the network is deployed."
For details, visit http://www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press...

Rockefeller conference tackles emerging digital technologies for the poor
The use of emerging digital technologies and e-Health to improve the health of poor and vulnerable people around the world will be the topic of an international conference hosted by the Rockefeller Foundation. The conference, "Making the eHealth Connection: Global Partnerships, Local Solutions," will take place from July 13 to Aug, 8, 2008 at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy. The goal of the conference is to develop support for workable solutions and to give new impetus for collaboratively funding, designing and deploying eHealth systems in the Global South and around the world, according to conference organizers. The month-long event's eight key discussion areas include the use of electronic health records, e-Health capacity building, mobile phones and telemedicine, and access to health information and knowledge-sharing.
For details, visit http://www.rockfound.org/about_us... and http://www.ehealth-connection.org/

EC looks at ways to eliminate fragmentation in eHealth market
The European Commission is preparing a study on ways to eliminate or reduce fragmentation of the eHealth market in the European Union, particularly in member states, and Iceland and Norway. The report will also identify areas where immediate action is necessary and act as a reference point for future development of eHealth policy. The report is expected to "cover in detail proposals for priority actions needed for successful implementation of national eHealth programs/plans," and identify trends and analyze lessons learned via best practices from the EU's 2004 eHealth Action plan.
For details, visit http://ted.europa.eu/Exec?DataFlow...

Consolidation is taking place, but German IT market remains fragmented
Despite much consolidation in recent years, Germany's information technology market remains extremely fragmented, according to a survey by the German Hospital Information Market (HIS). Agfa is the clear market leader, with nearly 25 percent of the nation's market share, with Siemens holding down second place at 15 percent. Other major IT suppliers are iSoft (7 percent), TietoEnator (6.5 percent), Nexus and Fliegel (4.2 percent each), and Meierhofer (2.4 percent). The rest of the IT market is made up of niche providers with very few systems installed, according to the survey. According to kon.m, a consulting group with a focus on market research, management consulting and executive consulting, the survey has "provided a picture that industry associations have been unable to deliver for years." The survey contacted 1,147 of Germany's 2,119 hospitals.
For details, visit http://www.ehealtheurope.net/news/3827/...

Authentidate, EncounterCare enter venture on chronic illness treatment
Secure workflow management software provider Authentidate Holding Corp. and home healthcare technology manufacturer EncounterCare Solutions Inc. have formed a joint venture to improve chronic illness care for patients. ExpressMD Solutions will offer in-home patient vital monitoring systems and reduce cost of care by delivering results to their healthcare providers thru the Internet, according to EncounterCare Chief Executive Officer Ron Mills. The new product comes at a good time: According to a January 2008 research study conducted at the State University of New York at Fredonia, the demand for patient monitoring systems in the primary healthcare sector in the United States is expected to increase 5.9 percent per year to an estimated $12 billion market by 2012.
For details, visit http://www.authentidate.com/index.php/...

Shared Health to upgrade free Tennessee HIE program
Tennessee's largest public-private health information exchange will undergo an upgrade that will give doctors more ways to use electronic medical information for their patients. Chattanooga-based Shared Health, a subsidiary of BlueCross-BlueShield of Tennessee, is offering a product called Shared Health Clinical Xchange, a Web-based system that includes an e-prescribing tool and an electronic health record that shows patient data such as medications, lab results, immunizations and medical histories, according to Rick Krohn, a marketing director for Shared Health. The product is free to credentialed physicians, who must register to log on to the exchange. It will be accessible statewide by the end of June.
For details, visit http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/...