GE Healthcare expands presence in patient monitoring market
GE Healthcare has expanded its presence in the patient monitoring market by acquiring New York City-based Living Independently Group (LIG), the company announced. LIG is the maker of the QuietCare patient monitoring system, which uses wireless sensors to non-intrusively track the daily activities of seniors and alert caregivers if urgent or emergency situations arise, according to Agnes Berzsenyi, general manager of GE Healthcare’s Home Health division. No financial terms for the acquisition were announced. The action is the latest expansion step into patient monitoring and home healthcare by the giant medical device company. In April, GE Healthcare and Intel announced a plan to invest $250 million toward development of new technologies to assist seniors and patients with chronic diseases. GE also markets the Intel Health Guide in the United States. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/businesswire/2009/...

AT&T plans big push into telehealth and home health in 2010
Telecommunications giant AT&T plans a major entry into the telehealth and home health markets, with the Dallas-based firm preparing to unveil several prototype devices within the coming year, the company reports. The goal, according to AT&T Executive Director of Research Robert Miller, is to improve quality of medical care while lowering costs. Products include “smart slippers,” a pair of ordinary-looking fuzzy shoes with internal sensors that measure how well a person is walking; and a Smartphone-compatible handheld laser micro projector, capable of displaying diagrams, X-rays, and MRIs on any surface. AT&T is the latest communications and technology leader to make a push into telemedicine and remote care, joining companies such as Verizon, Intel, General Electric, and Cisco.  http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf...

Deadlines set for $80 million in health IT workforce training grants
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has set mid-January 2010 application deadlines for colleges interested in applying for funding from a two-tiered $80 million grant program for health IT workforce training. According to National Health IT Coordinator David Blumenthal, community colleges have until Jan. 14 to apply for a $10 million grant program for schools developing curriculum for health IT training programs. Those institutions that offer health IT workforce training have until Jan. 22 to apply for ONC’s $70 million grant program. Between the two sets of grants, ONC will award two-year funding deals to 70 community colleges by mid-March. Blumenthal said he expects the program will help train more than 10,000 experienced health IT professionals. More information may be found at http://healthit.hhs.gov. http://www.govhealthit.com/newsitem.aspx?nid=72601   http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?open...

Appendicitis can be diagnosed remotely by cell phone
New software now allows radiologists to remotely and quickly diagnose acute appendicitis via their cell phones, according to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Researchers reviewed computed tomography (CT) examinations of 25 patients by five radiologists at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, all of which were conducted with an iPhone G3 equipped with OsiriX Mobile medical image viewing software. Fifteen of the 25 patients were correctly identified as having appendicitis, according to study lead author Asim F. Choudhri, M.D., a physician in Johns Hopkins’ neuroradiology division. Patients suspected of having appendicitis typically undergo CT exams, but the process can be delayed if the radiologist needs to consult with a specialist. This increases the chance of rupture. Transmitting the images over a mobile device allows for instant consultation and diagnosis from a remote location, Choudhri said. http://www.rsna.org/media/pressreleases/PDF/pressreleasePDF.cfm?ID=439

Mental health social network launched for afflicted and caregivers
A new social networking site has been launched to give persons with mental health issues and their caregivers a chance to network with others in similar situations. MentalHealthSocial.com allows people to share experiences anonymously about problems and experiences, according to Mental Health Social President and Chief Executive Officer Colin Spencer Wood. The service offers the same features as Facebook and other social networks, including instant messaging, private chat, blogging, status updates, forums and free classified ads, as well as online video and photo posting. The service also plans to raise money for mental health-related nonprofit organizations, Wood said. http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/...   http://mentalhealthsocial.com/

St. Jude chronic pain platform receives FDA approval
The latest version of a programming platform used to optimize neurostimulation therapy for chronic pain patients has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. St. Jude Medical Inc.’s MultiSteering Technology software for Rapid Programmer helps healthcare professionals customize neurostimulation therapy for managing chronic pain of the trunk and limbs, and pain from back surgeries that have failed, according to Chris Chavez, president of the St. Paul company’s medical neuromodulation division. Spinal cord stimulators deliver mild electrical pulses to leads placed in the epidural space near the spine to interrupt the transmission of pain signals to the brain. Chronic pain affects more than 76.5 million people in the United States and costs the U.S. economy $100 billion annually in lost work time and medical care costs. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=73836...

Government-run health Web sites deemed most efficient
Medical Web sites handled by the government are more-efficiently run than those from pharmaceutical firms, hospitals, and insurance companies, but all sites still need improvement, according to an online customer satisfaction survey conducted by Ann Arbor, MI-based ForeSee Results. Based on responses from more than 40,000 consumers, the report awarded government sites a score of 79 out of 100, ahead of pharmaceuticals (78), hospitals (73) and insurance companies (64). According to ForeSee Chief Executive Officer Larry Freed, a score of 80 or higher means the site is “doing really well when it comes to giving customers what they need.” But there are variables: despite earning the lowest overall score, insurance companies had the widest range of scores, from 42 to 86, meaning some companies are well into improving their sites while others have yet to begin, Freed said. http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=19&sid=1829708

Spacelabs upgrades Ultraview portable patient monitors
Issaquah, WA-based patient monitoring products maker Spacelabs Healthcare has introduced enhanced wireless capabilities for its line of Ultraview portable patient monitors. The enhancements for the company’s SL2200, SL2400, and SL2600 monitors make them usable on the less-congested 5.4 GHz band, ideal for hospitals worried about oversaturation from wireless devices operating at the standard 2.4 GHz frequency, according to Spacelabs Chief Executive Officer Deepak Chopra. The new wireless feature sets will initially be available in the United States and Canada, with worldwide distribution planned for early 2010, Chopra said. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/spacelabs...

Tech-medical tools rank among industry’s biggest health hazards
It turns out technology is not everyone’s best friend after all – several items that medical practitioners rely upon to get their jobs done are also among the industry’s biggest technological hazards, according to the ECRI Institute’s annual list of hospital dangers. The Plymouth Meeting, PA-based company’s roster of “Top Ten Health Technology Hazards” include cross-contamination from flexible endoscopes, alarm fatigue from the sheer number of devices such as patient monitoring systems and ventilators in use, and patient overdose on radiation from CT scanning, increasing risk of cancer. The good news is that most of the risks are preventable, according to ECRI Vice President of Health Technology and Safety James P. Keller Jr. Hospitals should reevaluate their to-do lists and strongly consider the report’s recommendations to avoid bad practices before they result in patient harm, he said. https://www.ecri.org/Press/Pages/...

Wales to increase emphasis on telehealth in 2010
In the coming year, the Welsh Assembly Government plans to increase use of telehealth and telecare as part of its effort to improve health and social care in rural areas. The newly published “Rural Health Plan” recommends telemedicine as a way to prevent patients from having to travel long distances for routine medical care, something that would be a great asset given the primarily rural nature of Wales, according to Health Minister Edwina Hart. The report notes that home healthcare monitoring has been “greatly underutilized,” while increased use of telehealth carries a “huge potential” for rural areas. Hart said a group will be created to advise on how to carry out the report’s recommendations.  http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/5445...  http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/health/nhswales/...

VA eliminates one-third of postponed IT projects
The Department of Veterans Affairs has eliminated funding for one-third of the information technology projects it postponed last summer. According to VA Deputy Secretary Scott Gould, in July, VA postponed 45 IT projects worth $200 million because they were over budget or behind schedule. The projects include home telehealth infrastructure, health data repositories, and a master patient index. VA has since determined that 15 of the projects should be discontinued, while 17 more are allowed to proceed to their next step and 13 should be restarted, Gould said. http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng...

India to double rural areas’ tele-density by 2012
Over the next three years, India wants to double the number of rural citizens capable of receiving care through telemedicine, the nation’s prime minister announced. According to Dr. Manmohan Singh, an ongoing effort to provide high-speed broadband connectivity to rural India will help increase the nation’s tele-density from 20 percent to 40 percent by 2012. Although that is still far behind the rate of India’s cities, where tele-density is at 100 percent, the change high-speed communication will bring to those outside city limits is undeniable, Singh notes. In addition to improved medical care, the faster Internet lines will allow delivery of tele-education and better farming, the prime minister noted. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/12/05/stories/2009120553450100.htm