May 9, 2008

Growth in health IT market expected to slow in '09
As expected, the health IT market will experience a slowdown during the next two years, but segments of the market will continue to thrive, according to industry analysts. Strategic clinical projects, such as electronic health records and clinical systems, will drive demand for health IT vendors, and mergers between vendors will continue to influence the market. Hospitals are also expected to remain committed to their projects, according to equity research analyst Corey Tobin of William Blair & Co. in Chicago. Earnings growth for companies is expected to be sporadic, with an increasing number of vendors having to reassess potential after failing to meet projections, according to Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Managing Director of Health Services Equity Research James Krumpel in Arlington, VA.
For details, visit http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/...

Kaiser wraps up rollout of outpatient EHR program
Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation's largest healthcare providers, has completed rollout of its outpatient electronic health record (EHR) program. All 8.7 million Kaiser enrollees and 13,000 doctors in nine states and the District of Columbia now have access to HealthConnect, reportedly the world's largest privately funded EHR. Kaiser began implementing the program in 2004 in Hawaii and wrapped up the project in Northern California this month, according to Kaiser spokesperson Ravi Poorsina in Oakland, CA. But the hospital still has a ways to go on the inpatient side: only 13 of its 36 hospitals have installed EHR software thus far. Fourteen more are slated to add the software by year's end, according to Poorsina.
For details, visit http://xnet.kp.org/newscenter/...

Telemedicine could mean drop in pediatric emergency room visits
Twenty-eight percent of all visits to the pediatric emergency department (PED) in upstate New York could have been replaced with a more cost-effective telemedicine-based doctor's visit, according to a study from the University of Rochester Medical Center. According to Kenneth McConnochie, M.D., the study's lead investigator, more than 1 in 4 local patients use the PED for non-emergencies. "This mismatch of needs and resources is inefficient, costly and impersonal for everyone involved," McConnochie said. McConnochie directs Health-e-Access, a Rochester-based telemedicine program that provides interactive, Internet-based healthcare visits in urban and suburban schools. The study analyzed data from 2006, tracking all pediatric visits to the city's largest emergency department. Telemedicine would have meant 12,000 fewer PED visits that year, McConnochie said.
For details, visit http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/...

Australia' Medicare records site goes national
Australia residents nationwide now have access to their Medicare claims history on the Medicare Australia Web site. The national service at www.medicareaustralia.gov/au/online allows people secure online access to view, save or print a record of their Medicare claims history statements or their Medicare tax statements for the 12 months preceding the date of request, according to Minister for Human Services Sen. Joseph Ludwig. Roughly 400,000 Australians currently use the service, and the number is expected to grow significantly, Ludwig said. "People have been asking for this for some time," he said. "This is a significant step forward in the implementation of e-Health services." Users can also view records on their organ donor registration and their child's immunization history, request a replacement or duplicate Medicare card and access other health-related information.
For details, visit http://www.mhs.gov.au/media/...

Researchers target tumors with microscopic nanoworms
Scientists at the Universities of California at San Diego and Santa Barbara, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA have developed nanometer-sized "nanoworms" capable of moving through the bloodstream, and reveal the location of and destroy developing tumors that are too small to detect by conventional methods. "Most nanoparticles are recognized by the body's protective mechanisms, which capture and remove them from the bloodstream within a few minutes," said lead researcher Michael Sailor, a UC San Diego professor of chemistry and biochemistry. "The reason these worms work so well is due to a combination of their shape and to a polymer coating on their surfaces that allows the nanoworms to evade these natural elimination processes. As a result, our nanoworms can circulate in the body of a mouse for many hours."
For details, visit http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science...

Scientists talk up new role for cell phones in telemedicine
Researchers say cell phones will play a key role in helping doctors collect medical data from patients and transmit it to offsite experts for analysis and diagnosis, potentially saving thousands of lives each year. The popularity of cell phones - more than 3 billion are in use worldwide - makes the system perfect for developing countries or remote areas where medical care is lacking, or in battlefields, disaster zones or other dangerous locations, according to George M. Whitesides M.D., a professor of chemistry at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. When equipped with cameras, cell phones can conceivably become a doctor's eyes and ears and prevent need for an on-site visit, Whitesides said. "The cellular communications industry is, and will continue to become, a global resource that can be leveraged for detecting disease," he added.
For details, visit http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/...

European Commission calls for cross-border e-Health cooperation
Better networking and cooperation is needed between public sector procurers and suppliers in the European Union's member states to aid in development of e-Health projects, according to a study by the European Commission's Information, Society and Media team. The study notes that the market "suffers also from the fragmentation of public demand, which in turn leads to a lack of exchangeability of products and services." Cross-border cooperation will help the e-Health industry avoid providing "customer-only" business solutions - at the expense of industry - and also prevent a technological delay and lack of economy of scale, according to the report. The report encourages procurers to "take risks and look at newly developed networking solutions," such as the Danish Health Ministry"s recent collaboration with healthcare authorities in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Sweden and Germany.
For details, visit http://www.hesmagazine.com/story.asp...

Growth boom expected among U.S. med schools by 2012
First-year enrollment in U.S. medical schools is expected to increase 21 percent by 2012, according to a survey by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The 3,400 students-per-year growth rate means nearly all medical schools will have to expand their programs within the next five years, with 86 percent already having done so. Nine new medical schools nationwide are under development or in discussion and are expected to accommodate 800 first-year students by the 2012-13 school year. "Ensuring an adequate supply of U.S. physicians is essential for our nation's health," said AAMC President and Chief Executive Officer Darrell G. Kirch, M.D. "This projected enrollment increase will help alleviate a future shortage of physicians...as more medical school slots become open, this [will be] an excellent time to consider a career in medicine."
For details, visit http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/...

Newest HHS regulatory agenda light on IT items
The newest Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) semi-annual regulatory agenda published in the Federal Register includes proposed rules on electronic submission of clinical trial data, new revisions to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) transactions and code set standards, and safety reporting requirements for human drug and biological products. The proposals are the only three IT-related actions planned by HHS in the near future, a drop from the dozen projects online with the department during its 2007 regulatory agenda. The agenda also includes expected updates to payment systems and other fee schedules for certain care settings. Items in the regulatory agenda demonstrate what issues are getting the most attention in HHS.
For details, visit http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/... and http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html

'Robodocs' not in the immediate future for hospitals
Despite growing use of robots in assisting with patient care, it's unlikely that they will replace doctors and nurses anytime soon. While their potential as a healthcare aid is enormous, current technology cannot yet produce a robot that can properly care for a patient because of the hospital's complex and unpredictable work environment, according to Dr. Charlie Kemp, director of the Center for Healthcare Robotics (CHR) in Atlanta, GA. At the moment, they are best used for routine but essential tasks such as patient lifting. Courier robots resembling small, mobile cabinets or carts are already being used to ferry linens, medications, laboratory samples, supplies and other equipment throughout U.S. hospitals without bumping into patients, visitors or staff. Roughly 120 hospitals nationwide use these at the cost of $1,000 to $5,000 per month, Kemp said.
For details, visit http://www.imt.ie/news/2008/05/...

Security and compliance concerns take back seat to EHRs
Healthcare providers are increasingly concerned about security and compliance issues now that the government has stepped up enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), according to a survey conducted at the recent Health Information Management and Systems Society 2008 Conference. Sixty-four percent of survey respondents named compliance and user access control as their top security concern, and 75 percent of respondents admitted they were concerned about facing a HIPAA audit. Sixty percent said the thought of such an audit drives their security and compliance efforts. And although many respondents worry about security and compliance, much of their budget and other resources are being allocated toward deployment of electronic medical record systems, according to the survey.
For details, visit http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/2...

Gemalto, Agfa HealthCare sign global e-health deals
E-health suppliers Gemalto, based in the Netherlands, and Agfa HealthCare in Belgium will be undertaking major projects in Algeria, Azerbaijan and Canada. In Algeria, Gemalto has begun a two-year rollout of 7 million smartcards in five regions of the north African country, to be used by healthcare beneficiaries and providers. Gemalto has also been chosen as a prime contractor for the National E-Health Programme in Azerbaijan and will supply 3 million smartcards there over the next two years. In Canada, Agfa HealthCare will deliver a Diagnostic Imaging Repository to the country's New Brunswick province. The project is part of the province's One Patient One Record e-health strategy, and will provide the infrastructure and functionality required to capture, store, view and link patient information for its 740,000 residents.
For details, visit http://www.ehealtheurope.net/news/...