FDA approves new wireless pacemakers
Cardiac implant maker St. Jude Medical Inc. has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the industry’s first two pacemakers that allow retrieval of diagnostic results by wireless communication. The Accent RF and Anthem RF CRT-P pacemakers can each wirelessly communicate with a programming device used by a clinician or a home monitor, according to Eric S. Fain, M.D., president of St. Jude Medical’s Cardiac Rhythm Management Division. The wireless capability also allows hands-free follow-up device functionality tests from a clinic or at the patient’s home. An automatic alert system built into each pacemaker provides doctors with daily patient health monitoring, compared to the traditional in-person exams conducted several times per year. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix...

Health information exchanges on the rise
Health information exchanges (HIEs) are becoming more popular and result in significant cost savings for users, according to a study based on the eHealth Initiative’s Sixth Annual Survey of Health Information Exchange. In “Migrating Toward Meaningful Use: The State of Health Information Exchange,” the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit identifies 57 operational data exchanges nationwide, up from 42 in 2008. Forty of the 42 HIEs said their networks helped lower operational costs and resulted in less staff time needed for handling lab results and filing, decreased spending on duplicate tests and chronic disease care, and fewer medication errors. However, nearly two-thirds of the HIEs examined by the eHealth Initiative have yet to begin operating. http://ehealthinitiative.org/    http://ehealthinitiative.org/assets/...

VA tests mobile EKG reading technology
A new mobile handheld technology being tested by the Department of Veterans Affairs enables off-site cardiologists to read electrocardiograms (EKGs) and prescribe treatment within three minutes, a potential lifesaver for remote patients. According to VA Medical Center Informatics Chief of Staff Dr. Divya Shroff, during that three-minute cycle, an emergency room pages a cardiologist and sends an electronic EKG to his or her mobile device. The cardiologist retrieves the data on a Smartphone, then contacts the ER with instructions. Thus far, 599 of 600 EKGs tested on a Blackberry mobile device have been correct. The software provider, Cedar Brook, N.J.-based mVisum Inc., compares the devices to “pagers on steroids.” http://ohmygov.com/blogs/general_news/archive/...

Improved ‘smart clothes’ detect patient health with sensors
European researchers are developing a new form of “smart clothes” that monitor the wearer’s heart, breathing and body temperature, but are also comfortable to wear. Unlike existing remote health monitoring systems, which use sensors strapped to a user’s arms or chest and connected to wires or bulky equipment, the HealthWear project embeds the sensors directly into textiles, according to Theodore Vontetsianos, director of the e-Health Unit at Sotiria General Chest Diseases Hospital in Athens, Greece. Data from the biosignals collected by the clothes is then sent via a mobile connection to caregivers, allowing doctors to check up on their patients and warning if their health deteriorates. The clothing also speeds up healing: 24 HealthWear users who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were discharged from the hospital after less than four days, compared to nearly a week for non-wearers. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009...

U.S. company to implement health IT systems in China
In keeping with its promise to upgrade hospital care throughout the nation, the Chinese government has selected Plano, TX-based IT services provider Perot Systems to develop a regional health information platform in the Hunan Province. Under the agreement, Perot Systems will design, construct, and implement the province’s healthcare information exchange network, including a regional HIT platform with advanced infrastructure support and electronic health records. The project begins immediately, according to Perot Systems Chairperson Ross Perot, Jr. The move also runs counter to a recent trend of the country relying on domestic companies for health IT services. http://www.perotsystems.com/MediaRoom/...

DoD to expand pilot study of personal health records
The Department of Defense (DoD) plans to expand a personal health records pilot study after its successful test at a Tacoma, WA Army medical center, implementing the service on the East Coast and then possibly in a joint project with the Department of Veterans Affairs. DoD’s MiCare service, still in pilot mode at Madigan Army Medical Center, provides military members, their families, and veterans access to their personal health records via services such as Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health, according to Military Health System Chief Information Officer Chuck Campbell. Plans call for MiCare to be expanded to the Hampton Roads, VA area next. DoD and the VA are determining how the two can collaborate on a further initiative, according to Campbell. More than 400 patients at Madigan have participated in MiCare over the past year and are pleased with the results, according to Madigan Army Medical Center Informatics Chief Col. Keith Saltzman, M.D. http://www.informationweek.com/news/...

Canada sets new rules on e-health consultants
Still reeling from a multi-million-dollar spending scandal at its electronic health record (EHR) system developer, the Ontario provincial government has developed new requirements for the hiring of consultants. The new rules, which take effect immediately, require government agencies to tender all contracts worth more than $91,970 [USD]. The new guidelines aim to end single-sourced contracts such as those awarded by eHealth Ontario from fall 2008 to early 2009. That agency granted at least $5 million in untendered government work, half of which appeared to have ties to agency executives. eHealth, which lost a board chairperson and chief executive officer to the scandal, has also scrapped plans to establish its own vendor-of-record system and will instead use an existing list of approved contractors, agency vice president Deanna Allen said.http://www.nationalpost.com/news/...   http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/...

New study reaffirms telecare quality and cost-effectiveness
Telecare saves five times as much money as it costs to install a health monitoring system in people’s homes, according to a study compiled by York University and United Kingdom-based telecare provider Tunstall Healthcare Ltd. According to the research, published by London-based national charity Counsel and Care, telecare in people’s homes reduces the length of hospital stays and delays entry into residential care. It is also a money saver, with the York Health Economics Consortium verifying savings of $4.8 million [USD] at 13 Scottish telecare partnerships for the first six months of the 2007-08 fiscal year. The consortium said that figure rises to $71.2 million when projected over 2007-10. Experts also note that the savings will be exponentially higher over the years as the UK’s population ages. http://www.thiis.co.uk/telecare-research-cc.aspx

Paper still has key role in efficiency of EMRs
Pen and paper workarounds used by healthcare providers with electronic medical record (EMR) systems can make the EMRs even more efficient, according to a study by university and Department of Veterans Affairs medical researchers. “Exploring the Persistence of Paper with the Electronic Health Record” notes that doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and others who use EMRs have not completely abandoned use of paper. Items such as index cards and Post-it notes are still effective memory aids and highlighting tools in the handling of patient records, according to study lead author Jason Saleem, Ph.D., at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. The study, funded by the VA department, also recommends that EMR system designers consider decreasing the overall number of in-system alerts to keep clinicians from ignoring them due to information overload. http://newscenter.iupui.edu/4121... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...

FDA issues warning on e-cigarettes
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a public health warning against use of electronic cigarettes, stating that the items contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals such as diethylene glycol, an ingredient used in antifreeze. The battery-operated “e-cigarettes” generally contain cartridges with nicotine, flavor, and other chemicals. The nicotine is converted into a vapor that is inhaled by the user. The agency states that the products are routinely marketed and sold to young people – they are even available in flavors such as chocolate and mint – and may also be purchased online. They do not contain health warnings comparable to those on FDA-approved nicotine replacement products or conventional cigarettes. The FDA suggests that healthcare professionals and consumers report serious e-cigarette-related side effects to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program at www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch/default.htm or (800) FDA-1088. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/...

Telemedicine named one of space race’s top tech breakthroughs
Telemedicine has been named as one of the 10 technological breakthroughs resulting from the space race of the 1960s, according to TechRadar.com. The space program has resulted in “dozens of healthcare applications designed to help astronauts stay healthy,” including programmable pacemakers and blood pressure monitors, TechRadar notes. But it’s telemedicine, ranked No. 5 on TechRadar’s list, that will “arguably have the biggest impact in [the] future.” The list, developed in honor of the 40th anniversary of humankind’s landing on the moon, also includes other telemedicine-related staples, such as satellite TV, laptop computers and non-glare screens, 3D graphics and virtual reality, and global differential GPS, a more-precise version of the original global positioning system.http://newtechnologydirectory.com/index....

Qualcomm ends plans for healthcare mobile phone service
San Diego-based wireless technology services provider Qualcomm has officially dropped plans to launch a healthcare-focused mobile phone service, after an unsuccessful four-year effort to raise additional third-party funding. In mid 2007, Qualcomm, whose customers include Sprint and Verizon Wireless, announced it was weeks away from spinning off its LifeComm division into a separate company. LifeComm would have sold mobile phones equipped with health management applications, and the service plans to support the devices. But the current capital market conditions have prevented the launch from taking place, a Qualcomm spokesperson said. Some of LifeComm’s products may still become available despite its demise, such as a blood glucose monitor-equipped phone, and a wireless-enabled medallion with an accelerator to detect falls, Qualcomm notes. http://mobihealthnews.com/3256/...