Market for personal robots – medical and otherwise – to be at least $12 billion by 2015
Personal robots – including ones that help people take medicine, walk, see and keep from falling – are expected to be a hot market in the U.S. in the near future, topping $12 billion in sales by 2015, according to a study by Oyster Bay, NY-based ABI Research. The sales increase is expected to come even as the price of robotics products decline, according to Conyers, GA-headquartered GeckoSystems Intl. Corp., which manufactures personal robots geared toward the medical industry. GeckoSystems’ own forecast considers ABI’s market projections to be too low, according to GeckoSystems President R. Martin Spencer. The last major economic downturn in 1980-82 helped accelerate the personal computer market, Spencer notes. During the current recession, “we expect our growth to be driven not only by the present economic downturn’s severe cost reduction pressures, but also by pent-up demand,” Spencer said. Nearly half of the expected market growth will come from task robotics, ABI notes.    https://www.techworld.com.au/article/... and http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/...

Heavy demand for EMRs could triple field value to $1.6 billion by 2013
Growing demand by hospitals and physicians’ offices for electronic medical record data transfer equipment is expected to triple the EMR market value by 2013, according to a study by Rockville, MD-based research firm Kalorama Information. According to “High-Tech Patient Monitoring Systems Markets,” the EMR data equipment field, worth $575 million in 2008, should reach $1.6 billion in by 2013, growing at a rate of 23.3 percent per year. The President’s backing of EMR systems as a key way to reform the nation’s healthcare system is cited as a main driver for the growing product demand. “They have the potential to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction, provide cost savings and more efficient use of healthcare resources, and reduce hospitalizations,” the report notes. The industry must still overcome concerns about data privacy and security before major progress can be made, the study adds. http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/...

Federal stimulus plan will also stimulate merger activity among health IT firms
The government’s spending spree on healthcare reform will result in a dramatic increase in merger activity among the healthcare information technology industry’s major players, according to technology market analyst Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) Inc. The New York City-based company predicts that President Obama’s healthcare reform plan – which includes up to $36 billion in federal funding over a five-year period starting in late 2010 – will entice large technology firms to rapidly buy health IT companies in an effort to gain market share."Look for companies like General Electric, Siemens,  IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, McKesson and Google (among others) to swoop in and devour Allscripts, Epic, Cerner, not to mention eClinical Works, Quality Systems, Inc., and Eclipsys, in the next three to five years,” GLG states. Also, thousands of physicians in smaller practices will be “forced to join larger groups with access to the latest health information technology to survive.” There could also be a wave of physician retirements once the economy picks up and the stock market rebounds, GLG notes. http://www.glgroup.com/News/H...

Online ‘health shack’ houses medical records for California homeless teenagers
A California homeless shelter for teenagers has begun using a medical records database to help the forlorn teens keep better track of their medical histories. The Sacramento-based WIND Youth Center is using a $125,000 grant from the Sierra Health Foundation to launch the “Health Shack,” which allows homeless teens and medical care providers to access and add to the teens’ online health records, according to WIND Youth Center public health nurse Kim Whitney. More than 70 teenagers now use the no-cost database, which went online in May. “For a homeless kid in constant chaos, it can be more than just a record,” Whitney said. “Once they sit down and we start talking, they get kind of intrigued and energized about having their life in a safe place.” The Health Shack grant runs out in January 2010; by then supporters hope to acquire additional funding to keep the program running. http://www.capradio.org/articles/articledetail.aspx?articleid=6709

HealthPartners’ move to Microsoft gives 1.2 million members HealthVault access
Health insurer HealthPartners Inc. has begun offering a service that allows its 1.2 million members the option of transferring their medical records into Microsoft’s HealthVault online records tool. The deal between the Bloomington, MN-based insurer and Redmond, WA-headquartered computer technology giant means members will be able to permanently access their health information and share it free of charge, even if they change jobs, health plans or doctors, according to HealthPartners Executive Vice President Andrea Walsh. Microsoft Consumer Health Solutions General Manager David Cerino said the agreement demonstrates how HealthPartners “continues to push the online movement,” by allowing consumers to “make better choices to improve their health and the health of their families.” http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show...

Massive revenue growth anticipated in European health IT market by 2015
Health information technology services are now generating revenues of more than $2.2 billion [USD] per year and could reach $3.6 billion by 2015, according to a report by market analyst Frost & Sullivan. Such potential growth could mean a recurring revenue stream for health IT vendors, according to “Healthcare IT Professional Services Markets in Europe.” But IT services are likely to suffer in the near future, as growing pressure to reduce costs will “make it increasingly difficult for vendors to continue with current spending levels on the employment of professional services experts,” the study notes. Support and maintenance services make up more than half of the professional services markets in Europe. Healthcare IT providers in general will need to deliver “highly customized, user-focused consulting and shorter, easier training courses to thrive in the future.”  http://www.ehealtheurope.net/news/...

Federal government’s open-source NHIN Connect software to receive upgrade
In the coming year, the Federal Health Architecture plans to upgrade the open-source software that connects organizations to the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) and make it easier for users to access shared health record data, the agency announced. New services planned for “Connect,” the NHIN software gateway, include a master index for managing patient identities, policy engine to handle health records authorizations and registry to organize patient health documents. The new services will help turn Connect into a tool that will “make a real impact on the lives of ordinary Americans,” FHA program director Vish Sankaran said. “We now live in a world where you can get information at your fingertips on virtually every topic known to mankind,” he said. “Yet [on] the most important area of all — our health — [we] can’t easily get info when we need it. It’s time to change this once and for all.” http://govhealthit.com/articles/...

KoolDocs.com launches site to promote benefits of telemedicine to consumers
KoolDocs.com, a leading resource for online medical consultations, diagnoses and prescriptions, has launched a Web site that promotes the use of telemedicine among patients who need help with simple medical problems. The site at www.kooldocs.com allows patients to receive medical advice through an “Ask a Doctor” service. Patients can also visit KoolDocs.com for a weekly blog on the telemedicine and healthcare industry as it relates to consumers, and several resources. Physician employment opportunities are also available through the site. “Simply put, KoolDocs is an inexpensive, practical, ‘real-time’ alternative to WebMD,” said James Egidio, founder of KoolDocs.com. “KoolDocs is a straightforward, inexpensive, practical alternative for uninsured and insured individuals. It is quality medical care and advice at your fingertips with U.S.-licensed medical doctors.” http://www.topix.net/content/prweb/2009/... and http://www.kooldocs.com/about.php

InterSystems, Tieto help Sweden launch first stage of national EHR
Sweden has rolled out the first stage of its national electronic health record (EHR) system, a project information technology vendors InterSystems of Cambridge, MA and Helsinki, Finland-based Tieto are billing as one of the first of its kind in the world. Developed in less than one year, the Swedish National Patient Summary (NPO) initiative will improve patient security and quality of medical care by providing authorized staff access to critical information at any time and any place, according to NPO Project Manager Ulrika Landström. The first phase will extend to 500 users, including doctors, nurses and occupational therapists. Eventually, nearly 300 municipalities in Sweden will be connected to the system, according to InterSystems Country Manager Mats Sandström.  http://www.intersystems.com/press/2009/sweden.html

Net neutrality is key to use of telemedicine among rural residents, FCC notes
An “open Internet” is needed to bring the full benefit of broadband to rural parts of the U.S., according to a new Federal Communications Commission report on rural broadband. The report, “Bringing Broadband to Rural America,” notes that without net neutrality protections, broadband users won’t see as much innovation as possible on the Internet. Ninety-six percent of the entire U.S. population has access to wireless broadband, compared to only 83 percent of the rural population. Rural broadband deployment will drive up demand for telehealth and other Internet services, the report added. Broadband could also be a major driver of the economy in rural areas. “As with the basic telephone network, the more people that connect to a broadband network, the more value the network has for everyone on it, including initial users,” the report said. http://www.pcworld.com/article/... and http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/...

Cisco, others expand Afghanistan’s telemedicine program to rural provinces
Afghanistan’s inaugural telemedicine project is expanding from the capital city of Kabul to provincial hospitals nationwide, according to the country’s largest telecom operator. Telecom provider Roshan is teaming with Cisco, the government of Afghanistan, the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, the French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC), Aga Khan Health Services and the Bamyan Provincial Hospital (BPH) in the expansion effort, according to Roshan Chief Executive Officer Karim Khoja. The plan will link BPH to FMIC in Kabul, which is being developed as an Afghan center of medical excellence; future plans call for telemedicine links to be extended to medical institutions in Europe and North America. http://www.roshan.af/web/?p=667

eHealth Ontario suffering different sort of money woes – bad finance handling
Ontario, Canada’s provincial electronic health records (EHR) developer eHealth Ontario is under fire for a recent series of questionable financial moves involving millions of dollars in contracts, including paying a consultant who submitted an invoice in which she said she consulted herself. Miyo Yamashita of Anzen Consulting Inc. filed an invoice to eHealth Ontario in January for eight hours of work in which she “received instructions from M.Y. on privacy materials,” sent information “to M.Y. for review,” and made “phone calls with M.Y. on follow-up questions.” Yamashita charges $300 an hour, according to a report in the Star newspaper. eHealth Ontario spokesperson Deanna Allen said the invoice contained a typo but acknowledged the bill had been paid as filed. eHealth Ontario has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for paying more than $5.5 million in untendered contracts this year, half of which appeared to have ties to agency executives. Others contain questionable expenses, such as a $2,700-a-day consultant charging for a $3.26 muffin and tea, or a $300-an-hour consultant charging to read an e-health article given to her by her husband, another consultant. http://www.thestar.com/article/646040 and http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/...