iPod-sized device may lead to new treatment for hard-to-treat high blood pressure
Researchers at Washington University may have discovered an implantable wireless, iPod-sized device capable of treating high blood pressure in difficult cases, reducing the chances of a patient dying from stroke, heart disease, or kidney failure. Similar to a pacemaker, the device is implanted under the skin near the collarbone, with wires that carry electrical signals to nerve receptors along the carotid arteries in the neck. The signals activate the body’s own system for regulating blood pressure by fooling the brain into thinking a person’s blood pressure is higher than it is, according to Marcos Rothstein, M.D., professor of medicine at WU and lead investigator on the team studying the product. “The brain, as the body’s central command center, responds by slowing the heart rate, relaxing the blood vessels, and filtering more salt and water from the kidneys – all of which lower blood pressure,” he said. Rothstein seeks to enroll 300 U.S. patients for a larger study. The unit’s maker, CVRx Inc. of Minneapolis, plans to submit data from the larger trial for U.S. approval. Participants must be ages 18-75 and have blood pressure that has not responded to a combined regimen of the maximal dosages of at least two anti-hypertensives and a diuretic. Their systolic blood pressure must be consistently higher than 160 with this medication. http://mednews.wustl.edu/news/page/...

McKesson patient monitoring system debuts in UK, cuts processing by three hours
McKesson’s new Horizon Enterprise Visibility (HEV) patient monitoring system is making its debut in the United Kingdom, courtesy of Walsall Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Trust in Walsall, England. According to McKesson, HEV is the industry’s first patient visibility system to allow nurses to access real-time information simultaneously, so that each staff member knows the status and whereabouts of every patient. Walsall began implementing the system at the beginning of this year and went live with it in April. The Trust is using HEV to replace manual whiteboards with electronic notice boards, which display patient information with color-coded, time-stamped icons against a hospital floor plan, helping staff easily identify when beds are free, who is waiting to be discharged, patient locations, and when locations and prescriptions are ready. As a result, the bed allocation process for planned admissions has been expedited by up to three hours, according to Brigid Stacey, chief operating officer at Walsall Hospitals. The project’s next stage includes plans to incorporate RFID feeds for patient and equipment tracking, she said. http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/...

Already-big medical, data broadband about to become even bigger in Japan
Compared to the rest of the world, broadband is bigger and better in Japan for everything from telemedicine to telecommuting. If the government has its way, everyone will have access to the country’s high-speed network within the next two years. In a few years, Japan has gone from the country with some of the most expensive broadband on the planet to one of the world’s leaders in ultra high-speed networks, offering a 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) data download speed and data transmission speeds of up to 160 Gbps. In other words, transmissions are equal to four feature-length movies per second, one of which could be downloaded in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. But less than one-fourth of the population has access to that high-speed product, according to Takuma Otoshi, a director on Japan’s Telecommunications Council and chairperson of IBM Japan. The council aims to change that by promoting telecommuting, encouraging an uptake of high-definition teleconferencing, and even popularizing telemedicine that allows high-definition video communication between doctors and patients. The most optimistic goal is for 100 percent broadband penetration by March 2011, experts note. ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8068560.stm

IBM, UNC Health Care develop Web data warehouse for faster diabetes treatment
IBM and the University of North Carolina Health Care (UNCHC) have created an online medical data warehouse that will enable researchers to speed up analysis of larger volumes of patient health information and identify trends. The Carolina Data Warehouse for Health, which focuses on diabetes disease management and performance measurement, incorporates information from UNCHC’s electronic health records, insurance systems, nursing notes and other clinical materials, according to UNCHC Associate Director of Medical Informatics Donald Spencer, M.D. Queries that once took weeks now take seconds and allow medical care specialists to “make more intelligent decisions leading to improved patient care,” Spencer said. In addition, the warehouse has sped up the workflow of preparatory research, resulting in regulatory approval in weeks instead of months, he said. Eventually, the system could also allow UNCHC doctors to access and analyze research on the best treatments for diabetic patients with specific genetic characteristics, medical histories and other needs, Spencer added. http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/27602.wss

National Coordinator’s office to create Web site to educate public about PHRs
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) wants to develop a Web site to teach consumers about personal health records (PHRs), how they work and privacy policies related to their use. The government would use a Web-based template allowing PHR providers to present facts and keep information about the PHR system. The template is needed because the electronic PHR is a new concept that many consumers do not fully understand, according to an ONC notice on the Federal Register (May 22, 2009, Volume 74, Number 98). The office said it will test consumer understanding about the template at six U.S. locations through October, then rework the device as it receives feedback. http://govhealthit.com/articles/2009/05/22/...   http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-12023.htm

Telecommunications firms form mobile medical IT consortium for data transmission
Tokyo-based data services provider Willcom Inc., Tohoku University, and six other companies have established a mobile medical information technology consortium to help medical specialists easily transmit high-quality images while at emergency sites or during times of disaster. “The Consortium for Development of Medical Information and Telecommunication Systems in Mobile Environments” plans to build a system that can also allow the high-quality data to be used or transmitted in conjunction with home medical checkups or group health examinations. The system includes the “Electronic Medical Bag,” which can transmit high quality images, audio or biological information such as an electrocardiogram and blood pressure data to a doctor at a remote location using mobile communication networks for Personal Handy-phone System (PHS) and mobile phones. The bag can be used in households without an Internet connection, or in moving vehicles such as an ambulance, according to Willcom. Other members of the consortium are Sony Corp., Fukuda Denshi Co. Ltd., Omron Healthcare Co. Ltd., Honda Electronics Co. Ltd., Net One Systems Co. Ltd. and Three Links Co. Ltd. http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090526/170747/

Small practices can implement EHRs as effectively as large ones, AAFP notes
Health information technology such as electronic health records (EHRs), Web portals and chronic disease registries can be effectively and efficiently implemented by any medical practice, even small or rural ones, according to research by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). During AAFP’s two-year pilot study, the “National Demonstration Project,” 14 of 31 practices surveyed – including 12 small private practices – successfully implemented Web portals. Fifteen practices, including 10 small private practices – successfully established disease registries. Many small practices also required assistance with EHR selection, software capabilities and other issues. But they also “may be better positioned to adopt technology because they are usually very nimble and self-sufficient,” AAFP evaluators said. “Also, the adoption of technology has usually been their own decision, not thrust upon them, so it is viewed as a personal investment. Because the private practices do not have the support system of a large system, the adoption of technology is viewed almost as a survival skill.” http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/media/releases/...

IT, remote patient management to play key roles in care of chronically ill by 2011
Within the next 12 to 18 months, information technology and remote patient monitoring will play an increasingly vital role in controlling costs for the chronically ill and improving their treatment, according to a report by Framingham, MA-based research and consulting firm Health Industry Insights. The report, “Technology Selection: The Evolving Care Management Model to Address the Healthcare Crisis,” advocates extensive use of IT to document and coordinate care across all providers and settings. The document also recommends that payers “rationalize information technology and business processes to integrate related programs that support care management initiatives, such as pay-for-performance, health and wellness, payer-based health records and personal health records.” http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/...

Consumers expect computer medical consultations to be the way of the future
Patients appear to have no problem with electronic health records playing a larger role in their medical care, and Internet-savvy consumers are willing to trade away some privacy to gain full access to medical records, according to a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Care (BIDMC). The report suggests that consumers “fully expect” that computers will soon play a major role in their medical care, even substituting for face-to-face doctor visits, according to Jan Walker, R.N., M.B.A., instructor in medicine at BIDMC and the study’s lead author. “Patients know how busy their doctors are and they want to reserve us for what they really need us for—treating serious illness and conditions,” notes senior author Tom Delbanco, M.D., Professor of General Medicine and Primary Care at Harvard Medical School and BIDMC. “They may be more than happy to rely on computer protocols and ‘faceless doctors’ to help them manage garden-variety medical problems.” But surprisingly, privacy is less of an issue to patients as they become older, and face more illness and need serious medical care, Walker said. The study appears in the June issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=42849

Vital Images, DDI Health to bring visual medical products to Australia
Minneapolis-based visualization and analysis software maker Vital Images Inc. will partner with Australian diagnostic e-health software solutions firm DDI Health to become one of Australia’s first visual medical products providers, the companies announced. According to Michael H. Carrel, president and chief executive officer at Vital Images, DDI Health will offer Vital Images’ solution as its primary advanced imaging delivery system to their picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) customers and extend access to their PACS customers’ clinical referrers. DDI will also “reach beyond the classic groups such as radiologists and cardiologists for advanced visualization and enter into referring physician markets with best-of-breed advanced visualization capabilities,” DDI Health General Manager Peter Weston said. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?...

U.S. hospitals ‘drop the ball’ in reporting doctor incompetence, study alleges
Nearly half of U.S. hospitals did not submit a single doctor’s name in 17 years to a national databank that keeps track of physicians whose privileges have been revoked or restricted for more than 30 days, according to a new report by Washington D.C.-based healthcare watchdog Public Citizen. Public Citizen’s report, “Hospitals Drop the Ball on Physician Oversight” alleges that many hospitals fail to adequately discipline and report doctors with poor conduct or medical incompetence to the National Practitioner Data Bank. This makes it easy for such physicians to relocate to another state or institution where their track records are not known. “These problems have been known for a long time...and basically, nothing has been done,” said Public Citizen Acting President Sidney M.Wolfe, M.D. The database is closed to the public, but hospitals can query the system before making decisions on whether to hire someone. Public Citizen notes that when Congress created the Data Bank in 1990, it estimated hospitals would report 5,000 cases a year. But instead, the database has only averaged 650 reports annually – numbers that are “unreasonably low,” the organization said. http://www.citizen.org/documents/1873.pdf   http://www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm?ID=7660

When riding out IT's recession-based troubles, also prepare for a coming business boom
Information technology managers should prepare for the revival of the healthcare industry as well as handle the existing impact of the troubled economy, according to IT industry experts. The wisest managers are living a dual life, preparing to cut IT budgets while bracing for a boom in business, according to Anne Agee, vice provost for information technology and chief information officer at the University of Massachusetts Boston. “We’re lining up our strategic priorities for the university, and targeting our cuts as far away from them as possible,” she said. Other suggestions for riding out the recession while gearing up for the eventual upswing include taking care of business partners; reengineering instead of reducing staff; considering – or reconsidering – outsourcing; spending strategically and financing creatively; and being innovative to invigorate the company’s bottom line. http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=53313