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November 21, 2008

GE partners with Mayo Clinic and others in $200 million EHR system plan
General Electric and GE Healthcare have announced plans for a five-year, $200 million partnership with several U.S. medical institutions for development of a national electronic health record system. The partnership will include the Mayo Clinic, Intermountain Healthcare of Salt Lake City, Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY, and the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center. The goal, according to GE officials, is to ultimately develop a system that helps healthcare providers - including the partner companies, all of which have developed some system for sharing information electronically - make better decisions based on medical practices and patient histories. "This collaboration framework is designed to establish a common platform for healthcare IT across the spectrum of delivery," said Marc Probst, Intermountain's Chief Information Officer. http://www.genewscenter.com/Content/...

Federal Appeal Court upholds New Hampshire prescription data-mining law
In a setback for the pharmaceutical industry and companies that collect prescription data for use in drug marketing, a federal appeals court in Boston has upheld the right of states to prohibit the sale of doctor-specific prescription drug data. The data is widely used in pharmaceutical marketing. In 2006 data-mining companies IMS Health and Verispan sued to block a New Hampshire law that prohibited sale of computerized data showing which doctors were prescribing which drugs. The law was designed to reduce state healthcare costs by preventing pharmaceutical sales reps from promoting brand name drugs over generics. The three-judge Appeals Court panel concluded that the state "adequately demonstrated that the Prescription Information Law is reasonably calculated to advance its substantial interest in reducing overall healthcare costs within New Hampshire." Norwalk, CT-based IMS said it is disappointed with the decision and is evaluating its next steps. http://www.kentucky.com/513/story/596710.html

Dutch healthcare named as Europe's best medical system in 2008 EHCI
The Netherlands has been named as having Europe's best healthcare system, according to the 2008 Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI). Dutch healthcare topped the survey with the biggest margin since the 31-country ranking began in 2005. The Netherlands, top-ranked in 2005, was a runner-up in the 2006 and 2007 surveys. Other strong performers were Denmark, Austria and Luxembourg. Three former top-four nations -Sweden, France and Belgium - scored notably worse this time around, ranking fifth, 10th and 12th, respectively. Latvia ranked last at No. 31. This year's survey was the first to include e-health as one of the sub-disciplines used in ranking nations' healthcare systems, a fact that helped Denmark but hurt France, according to Johan Hjertqvist, President of survey sponsor Health Consumer Powerhouse. http://www.healthpowerhouse.com/files/2008...

National Priorities Partnership pushes for increased IT use in healthcare
Greater use of information technology is needed to help overhaul the healthcare industry, according to a new report by the Washington, D.C.-based National Priorities Partnership. "Aligning Our Efforts to Transform America's Healthcare: National Priorities & Goals" outlines six priority areas in healthcare where IT could be helpful: improving care coordination; engaging patients and families in decision making; improving population health; improving safety and reliability; guaranteeing appropriate and compassionate end-of-life care; and eliminating inappropriate or excessive care. "There is far too much waste and inappropriate care along with growing numbers of uninsured and persistent disparities in care," said Janet Corrigan, President of the nonprofit National Quality Forum, which convened the National Priorities Partnership. "These priorities and goals are all about the patient. We must make care safer, more effective and affordable for all." http://www.nationalprioritiespartnership.org/... and http://www.nationalprioritiespartnership.org/...

Rural South Dakota hospitals awarded $200,000 in healthcare IT grants
Fourteen rural hospitals in South Dakota will share nearly $200,000 in grants to boost healthcare information technology initiatives. The state's Department of Health awarded $194,766 to five critical access hospitals and nine regional facilities for implementation of a collaborative electronic health records system training project, new telemedicine equipment and workforce recruitment projects, according to South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds. "Keeping pace with the rapid changes in healthcare technology is essential for all providers but it can be a challenge for rural facilities with more limited resources," Rounds said. "We're pleased to provide this funding to help support technology projects in rural facilities." http://www.healthcareitnews.com/printStory.cms?id=10416

Maritime telemedicine to debut on European passenger cruises in 2009
Europe is embarking on its first-ever experiment in maritime telemedicine on board a large Italian passenger ship. The project, a collaboration between Italy's telecommunications giant Telesal, cruise line Costa Cruises, Genoa's Galliera Hospital, Centro Internationazionale Radio Medico (CIRM) and Genoese engineering company D'Apollonia, will be carried out on Costa's flagship Concordia in early 2009. According to Costa Cruises President Gianni Onorato, all 3,800 passengers plus the crew of 1,000 will have access to telemedicine services if needed as the ship is deployed on 10- and 11-day voyages to Greece, Turkey, Egypt and Cyprus. "It is part of our mission to be at the forefront in all aspects of our activity, so we can't help feeling proud to contribute to the first experiment in telemedicine at sea," Onorato said. http://www.marinelink.com/Story/ShowStory.aspx?StoryID=213572

Indiana HIE unveils chronic disease care management program
The Indiana Health Information Exchange has launched a chronic disease management program, "Quality Health First," designed to help physicians and patients achieve better health outcomes. The program simplifies how physicians and quality managers gather and organize clinical data and provides a multi-payer report with up-to-date clinical information, according to J. Marc Overhage, M.D., President of the Indiana Health Information Exchange. The program's goal is to help patients experience fewer health complications and help physicians better adhere to evidence-based medical practices. "This represents a profound leap into the future of healthcare," Overhage said. "We are able to offer a practical tool that can turn silos of information that are scattered across an entire region into meaningful, patient-specific care information to address patients' most common and basic healthcare needs." http://www.healthcareitnews.com/printStory.cms?id=10433

Kansas to kick off new statewide information network in January 2009
The Kansas Board of Regents plans to start a new statewide information network by the beginning of the 2009. The Kan-ed 2.0 service, currently being piloted in various parts of the state, will go live in January, according to Brad Williams, Kan-ed's Executive Director. Williams said the new network, geared toward Kansas hospitals, schools and libraries, will provide its members with enhanced Internet connectivity through a state contract with AT&T. Kan-ed 2.0 will also provide a way for the state to develop a health information network, Williams said. "The continuous expansion of the original network for distance learning, telemedicine and other activities demonstrates a clear need for the services Kan-ed provides," he said. http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/...

Kenya plans nationwide telemedicine service to end medical misdiagnosis
Officials in Kenya want to implement telemedicine service to all hospitals throughout the country in an effort to end cases of misdiagnosis. Dr. Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, said the plan involves connecting all Kenyan hospitals with the Internet, partly to help doctors make informed diagnoses and even consult their colleagues via secured Internet traffic before they administer any drugs. Misdiagnosis by doctors remains a serious problem in Kenya, with some local pathologists saying that almost 50 percent of hospital deaths result from this, according to Ndemo. With the new initiative, doctors manning rural dispensaries will be able to order medical supplies directly from the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa) at the touch of a button. Telemedicine was introduced to parts of Kenya in 2005, but this was done using high-frequency radios instead of computers. http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?...

Nigeria loses first - and only - telemedicine satellite to faulty solar panel
Telemedicine and other communication services in Nigeria have come to a halt with the destruction of its only orbiting satellite, NIGCOMSAT-1, which fell out of orbit after it lost power. Nigeria's Minister of State for Science and Technology, Alhassan Zaku, said the satellite powered down due to a malfunctioning solar panel and was destroyed to prevent it from damaging others. NIGCOMSAT-1 was launched 18 months ago at a cost of $240 million [USD] and was supposed to work for 15 years, according to Zaku. "The federal government invested a lot of resources in building the satellite - to the detriment of education and health in the last four years - with the hope of bridging the digital divide and accelerating the country's development," said Akin Soyinka, chair of the non-governmental organization Nigeria Internet Watch. "But now all that is gone down the drain." http://en.afrik.com/article14900.html

Senate Leader Baucus offers plan to increase healthcare IT adoption
Health information technology has a key role to play in overall health reform, according to a white paper released by Senate Finance Committee Chairperson Max Baucus (D-MT). "Call to Action: Health Reform 2009" offers three recommendations for encouraging health IT adoption: a need to assist healthcare providers in choosing and implementing systems; the providing of financial incentives; and encouraging information sharing among healthcare providers. Such revisions will take about 10 years to fully implement, according to Baucus. "This paper represents the next step," Baucus notes in the paper. "Many components here will require an initial investment but, over time, will vastly improve the quality of the health care Americans receive and reduce the cost of that health care, ultimately putting our system on a more sustainable path." http://finance.senate.gov/healthreform2009/...

IntelliCare Inc. to close doors in '09 for 'strategic reasons'
South Portland, ME-based IntelliCare Inc., a telemedicine company once hailed for its fast growth and potential for job creation, will shut down by the end of February 2009, according to Ann Smith, a spokeswoman for Medco Health Solutions, IntelliCare's New Jersey-based parent company. Smith said the 11-year-old firm, purchased by PolyMedica Corp. in 2005 and acquired as part of PolyMedica's merger with Medco in 2007, was "not a strategic fit at this time." Most of IntelliCare's 250 employees will lose their jobs, but Medco expects to retain 35 to 50 people, said Rob Marzulli, a Medco spokesperson. The employees who stay on will work remotely on other Medco initiatives. http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story...

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  April 26-28, 2009 - Las Vegas, NV
  Recognized throughout the world as the primary forum for the telemedicine industry, ATA's peer-reviewed oral and poster presentations and certificate courses set the standard for medical education on the topics of telemedicine and telehealth. The ATA Expo offers over 100,000 square feet of the latest in telemedicine products and services.

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

A Study on Intrabody Communication for Personal Healthcare Monitoring System
Abdullah Alshehab, Nao Kobayashi, Jordi Ruiz, Ryosuke Kikuchi, Shigeru Shimamoto, Hiroshi Ishibashi Telemedicine and e-Health. October 2008, 14(8): 851-857.
The body itself can be used to conduct sensor data to a central hub. In this report, electrocardiogram data were sent from the chest region to the left wrist for subsequent transmission in a telehealth configuration. Two modulation schemes (Quadrative Phase Shift Keying [QPSK] and Binary Phase Shift Keying [BPSK]) could be used for the intrabody communication. With the body as a conductor of signal up to 2.4G Hz and a decrease in transmission power, the optimal carrier frequency shifted to a lower range of 75 MHz-150 MHz. Both QPSK and BPSK performed well. 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.

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Telemedicine and e-Health is the Official journal of the American Telemedicine Association.
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