May 2, 2008

E-prescription campaign launched by pharmacy chain giants
Electronic prescribing is getting a boost from a major campaign launched by 10 of the nation's largest pharmacy chains. CVS, Duane Reade, Grant Food, Kerr Drug, Longs Drugs, Rite Aid, Stop & Shop, Supervalu Pharmacies, Walgreens and Wal-Mart are backing a campaign designed to educate patients and physicians on the benefits of e-prescribing. The chains are sponsoring a Web site at www.learnabouteprescriptions.com that explains available technology and allows consumers to search for physicians and pharmacies that support e-prescribing. They can also e-mail their physicians to join the cause, according to SureScripts, operator of the National Pharmacy Health Information Exchange. Physicians, meanwhile, can join the e-prescription effort through a Web site at www.getrxconnected.com, which provides guidance on how to evaluate and acquire technology that supports e-prescribing.
For details, visit http://www.surescripts.com/pressrelease... and www.getrxconnected.com

Indiana HIE has plan to go national
The Indiana Health Information Exchange may take its game plan outside of state borders. Program organizers recently announced that the four-year-old HIE, used by 39 hospitals and 8,500 physicians, is considering working with other states to help them develop their own HIEs. Indiana HIE also hopes to sell database services to those exchanges and build up a repository of patient records, according to Dr. Marc Overhage, the HIE's chief executive officer. "We've had a lot of different markets approach us and ask for help," Overhage said. "We've got a model that we think works." The Indiana exchange is one of the nation's few self-sustaining exchanges, where its service fees pay its bills without need for grants or donations. The Indiana HIE's revenue has grown from $2 million to $5.5 million from 2005 to 2007.
For details, visit http://cms.ibj.com/ASPXPages/...

Wireless items to lighten load on Australian healthcare system
Mobile phones capable of checking blood pressure and blood sugar levels, as well as other items like stethoscopes that offer a detailed record of a patient's heart function, and a portable video assistance center are expected to provide major relief to Australia's overburdened healthcare system. According to Telstra Business Group manager Deena Shiff, wireless gadgets are the future of Australian healthcare. "Technology can transfer service delivery from the institution to the individual," Shiff said. "It's healthcare moving away from treating patients in hospitals to individuals using technology themselves to monitor their vital signs." Physicians in rural Australia are expected to embrace the new technology, with healthcare workers in some locations already using the items.
For details, visit http://www.stuff.co.nz/...

Maryland hospitals turn to Delaware for patient monitoring
Six southern Maryland hospitals with doctor shortages will use electronic monitoring from Delaware physicians to cope with the problem. The rural hospitals will use electronic ICU (eICU) technology to allow nurses and a critical care physician at a Delaware-based command center to see and speak with individual patients and nurses at respective hospitals and monitor patient progress for 71 beds by 2010. The hospitals will become the largest collaboration of independent hospitals in the country to establish this critical care model for its patients, according to Thomas Lawrence, board chair and chief medical officer for Maryland eCare. The eICU rollout follows a bill signed into law last week by Gov. Martin O'Malley creating a task force to examine physician shortages in rural areas.
For details, visit http://www.somdnews.com/stories/...

Irish health service deploys new intranet system
Health Service Executive (HSE), Ireland's national health service, has launched its new intranet program throughout the country. HSEnet will be accessed by over 50 thousand HSE staff from a network of more than 25 thousand computers. Ultimately, more than 120 thousand staff will have access to the system, according to Stephen McGrath, head of internal communications at HSE. "HSEnet makes briefing a workforce of thousands a simple matter," McGrath said. "Information can be posted and is immediately accessible by everyone." The system will provide access to daily staff news, briefings and reports, staff e-mail and contact directories, medical libraries and other resources. HSEnet is expected to receive more than 1 million page impressions per month during the course of the year, according to McGrath.
For details, visit http://www.ptools.com/More_pTools/News_...

Houston Web site offers side-by-side comparison of health plans
The city of Houston is launching a Web site aimed at giving residents more information about health insurance. HoustonHealthChoice.com allows comparison of health plans based on monthly premium prices, deductibles and coverage options. Houston Mayor Bill White said the site should "bring a measure of transparency" to health plan pricing and encourage the uninsured to seek affordable coverage. The city's announcement follows a survey that showed a 40 percent jump in premiums for Texans who got health insurance through their jobs from 2001 to 2005, while paychecks stayed virtually the same. About 5.5 million Texas residents lack health insurance. More than 1 million of them live in Houston, most of whom have full-time jobs, according to White.
For details, visit http://www.chron.com/disp/story... and http://houstonhealthchoice.com/

New lung cancer Web site to help oncologists in decision making
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) in Geneva, Switzerland have developed an online database to help oncologists choose the best therapies for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. The online database compiles data on the known somatic mutations (tumor derived - tumor specific) in a molecule called epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR), according to Dr. Samuel Murray from the Department of Molecular Pathology and Translational Oncology at Metropolitan Hospital in Athens, Greece. The database includes cumulative data from 12,244 patients, 3,381 of whom had somatic mutations in EGFR. Researchers catalogued 254 different mutations. The database is online at www.EGFR-mutations.org and www.somaticmutations-EGFR.org.
For details, visit http://www.esmo.org/news/?news_id=220

Simulation program could improve results of implant surgeries
A computer simulation breakthrough by a European Union-funded project could mean fewer medical complications and better surgical outcomes for patients undergoing hip, knee or spinal implant surgery. The OrthoSim platform uses computer software to create anatomical and implant simulations that significantly reduce the risk of post-op complications and also provide a way to test new implant devices, according to Dr. Ing Ruben LaFuente, technical manager of Valencia, Spain-based IT consulting firm Adapting S.L. "About 10 percent of operations have complications, often requiring a new implant or a further surgery," LaFuente said. "It means increased pain and inconvenience, a drain on human resources and of course, it is expensive, too." As a follow-up, the company plans to develop a surgical training tool, OrthoTraining, within the next two years.
For details, visit http://www.orthosim.com/AdaptingNews/... and http://www.orthosim.com

RNIBP wants better satellite systems for blind
The chief scientist at the Royal National Institute of Blind People in London has called for satellite navigation systems to be better equipped with more detailed information for the blind. Prof. John Gill said that although technology is getting better at addressing the needs of the blind, more must be done to ensure their well-being. Satellite navigation systems and global positioning systems are likely to become standard in many devices and could help in navigation, but GPS systems will require far more network sensors and more detailed maps than presently exist. There are currently only a few dedicated GPS units with speech and Braille functionality, Gill said. Gill's presentation follows a survey by the UK Vision Strategy, which reports that nine of every 10 people fear losing their sight above everything else.
For details, visit http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/...

Arkansas doctors head into long-distance medicine
The state of Arkansas, which ranks toward the bottom of the nation in terms of available healthcare for residents, is providing medical help - to India. Every week doctors from the CARE Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, India use telehealth to participate with physicians at the Little Rock-based University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS) for sessions on treating high-risk pregnancies. UAMS hope to expand the overseas exchange to other countries, such as Russia, Australia, South Korea and China, according to Dr. Curtis Lowery, UAMS director of obstetrics. "I think there is a huge possibility for a great virtual-medical university," he said. The program will also expand to other subjects, such as conferences on cervical cancer, and broadcasting of grand rounds for residents practicing statewide.
For details, visit http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/224151/

Videoconferencing gives boost to Adena's health system
Video-related technology has helped doctors at Chillicothe, OH-based Adena Health Systems greatly improve the efficiency of hospital care for children. According to Adena Chief Information Officer Marcus Bost, the system's switch to video-based Web conferencing has cut in half the number of children it transfers 70 miles away to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH. "For years, we were a Band-Aid station - patch them up and move them on," Bost said. But that changed once doctors at Nationwide could see the child on live video, while consulting with Adena physicians. The number of transfers dropped from 140 in 2006 to 70 in 2007. Parents also did not have to worry about the $40,000 average cost of transferring a child, and doctors did a better job of sending only the sickest children to bed-scarce Nationwide. "It was a win-win-win situation," Bost said.
For details, visit http://www.informationweek.com/news/...

Scottish doctors concerned about health IT funding cuts
Doctors at the Scottish British Medical Association's conference in Clydebank, Scotland have expressed concerns over the government's decision to cut $10 million [USD] from the e-health budget earlier this year. The move, announced by the government in February in order to recruit more police officers, has angered Scottish doctors, who say it could endanger patients. "We are concerned that this cut will mean that things won't get done which need to be done in Scotland in the area of e-health," said Dr Stuart Scott, head of the Scottish General Practitioner committee's IT sub-committee. "The lack of modern healthcare IT could raise questions over if Scottish patients are getting the service they deserve or need." Less than 1 percent of the NHS Scotland budget is currently spent on e-health, according to Scott.
For details, visit http://e-health-insider.com/news/...