GE launches $6 billion, six-year health IT initiative to stimulate EHR adoption
General Electric plans to spend $6 billion to promote research and development of health information technology over the next six years, with at least 100 projects under production through 2015, the company announced. GE’s Healthymagination initiative aims to increase the speed and productivity of health IT by improving use and capacity of electronic health record (EHR) systems, according to GE Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt. The company will invest $3 billion in research and development for projects that lower cost and improve quality by at least 15 percent; $2 billion on financing; and $1 billion on related technology that develops health IT for rural and underserved areas. GE also plans to help providers in these areas adopt EHRs by 2011 to qualify for federal incentives under the stimulus package. http://www.genewscenter.com/Content/...

American Heart, Stroke associations call telemedicine as effective as real-life exams
Use of telemedicine to evaluate stroke patients has been endorsed by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, which consider the method as effective as a bedside exam, according to a recently released AHA/ASA statement. Videoconference-based stroke treatment can also increase patient access to specialists in a field where only four neurologists exist per 100,000 people in the U.S., according to “A Review of the Evidence for the Use of Telemedicine Within Stroke Systems of Care.” Furthermore, not all neurologists specialize in stroke care, which makes telemedicine even more valuable, according to the AHA/ASA statement. “Telemedicine is an effective avenue to eliminate disparities in access to acute stroke care, erasing the inequities introduced by geography, income or social circumstance,” said statement lead author Dr. Lee H. Schwamm, who is associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. The AHA/ASA statement appears in the May 7 issue of the journal Stroke. http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/STROKEAHA....

One Health Alliance formed to tackle need for international health IT solutions
Eight technology and healthcare firms have launched the One Health Alliance (OHA), an international venture where government and private entities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa may buy health information technology solutions. One Health Alliance members cover procurement management, network infrastructure, clinical IT and workflow consulting, electronic patient records clinical information systems, document and workflow solutions, business information systems, implementation and deployment, according to OHA chairperson John Smith. “One of the underlying objectives of the Alliance is to [provide] a one-stop-shop single point of advice that takes away the risk and challenges of dealing with multiple suppliers,” Smith said. Companies involved are Ardentia, Clinical Solutions, Perot Systems, System C Healthcare, Lawson Software, Perceptive Software, SciQuest and Sun Microsystems. http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/4815/...

Senators ask for federal rule allowing e-prescriptions for controlled substances
Eleven U.S. Senators have asked Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder to create federal regulations that would allow electronic prescribing for controlled substances. In a signed letter, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Kerry (D-MA), John Thune (R-SD), and Richard Burr (R-NC) said they believe now is the right time to make progress toward healthcare reform. They add that studies show that widespread e-prescribing, used today in about 18 percent of doctors’ practices, could save $20 billion annually. Current federal rules require that doctors write paper prescriptions for controlled pharmaceuticals; as a result, most doctors resort to writing all prescriptions by hand rather than maintain a paper system for controlled substances and an electronic system for non-controlled substances. http://whitehouse.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/...

Virtual colonoscopies not as safe as traditional surgeries, Baylor doctors allege
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine say virtual colonoscopies should take a back seat to traditional methods when screening for colon cancer because the high-tech method isn’t as accurate. Past studies have shown that polyps smaller than 6 mm are frequently missed by CT scanning, according to Dr. Waqar Qureshi, associate professor of medicine and chief of endoscopy at BCM. “For someone who is at high risk for colon cancer, missing a polyp can be deadly,” Qureshi said. “Almost all instances of colon cancer begin as polyps, which are easily detected and removed during a colonoscopy.” As certain technologies continue to improve, virtual colonoscopies will too, Qureshi said. But until then, screening for colon cancer should be done by traditional colonoscopy. “It remains the gold standard,” he said. http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=1418

Philippines urged to adopt telehealth standards to help solve healthcare problems
Lawmakers and doctors in the Philippines are calling for the immediate adoption of international telehealth standards, as the country tries to cope with a population increase that is outgrowing the local healthcare resources. According to Sen. Edgardo Angara, e-health is the best solution to improving the country’s problem on healthcare while driving down its cost. Adoption of international telehealth standards can be achieved by promoting international collaboration, sharing and learning experiences from other countries, Angara said. But the Philippines “must look inwards by directing further research on telehealth technologies and systems that could be best implemented in the country,” he said. http://www.infoworld.com/%5Bprimary-term-...

Proposed ONC, AHRQ funds stay the same (again) for fiscal 2010
President Obama’s fiscal 2010 budget proposal calls for funding for the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology and for IT initiatives in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to remain flat for a third straight year. The proposed $61 million for ONC does not include the “jump start” IT funds from the economic stimulus law. ONC will receive an estimated $432 million in such funds this year and $809 million in fiscal 2010. AHRQ will receive $45 million in fiscal 2010 for health IT demonstration programs. A third program, Federal Health Architecture, is slated to receive $8 million, the same amount as in 2009. http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/... and http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/...

Robotic surgery becoming a viable option for specialized treatments in gynecology
A growing number of ob-gyns are using minimally invasive robotic surgery to perform hysterectomies, myomectomies, vaginal prolapse repair, cancer removal, and other gynecologic procedures, according to experts at The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. According to Arnold P. Advincula, M.D., associate professor and director of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Program and Fellowship atthe University of Michigan, physicians now typically consider robotics as an option for their practice. Unlike conventional laparoscopic surgery, which has a “steep learning curve” due to its two-dimensional imaging and counter-intuitive hand movements, the 3D robotic surgery uses instruments that work just like a surgeon’s wrist; eliminates normal hand tremors; and allows a surgeon to sit instead of stand during the procedure, safeguarding against fatigue. The biggest downside is cost: hospitals spend about $1.6 million on the system and another $100,000 annually on a maintenance contract, according to Advincula. http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/...

Virginia won’t pay $10 million for hacked medical records, citing lack of evidence
Officials in Virginia say the state does not plan to pay a $10 million ransom demanded by computer hackers for the return of more than 8 million patient records and 35 million prescription records, because there is no evidence that personal information was actually stolen. In a ransom note sent to Virginia officials last week, hackers allege they broke into the state’s prescription drug database and said they would sell the data if they did not receive the ransom. The site has since been shut down. All data has been backed up and people can still get their prescriptions, according to Sandra Whitley Ryals, director of the Virginia Department of Health Professions. “We are satisfied that all data was properly backed up and that these backup files have been secured,” she said. The FBI is still investigating the matter, she added. http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news... and http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/Statement050609.pdf

Telemedicine project not faring as well as expected in India
A telemedicine program implemented in Mohali, India has failed to catch on in popularity, potentially setting back the use of the service in that part of the country, according to medical officials. In 2008, the Punjab government started the telemedicine project to provide a digital liaison between Civil Hospital Mohali, PGI Chandigarh, Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, according to PHSC director Dr. S.K. Bansal. But the project has failed to live up to expectations because few people know it exists, there is a shortage of personnel, and a lack of available videoconferencing experts, Bansal said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chandigarh/...

Germany’s Sagem Orga gets green light on country’s new e-health card
Paderborn, Germany-based smart card maker Sagem Orga has been selected as the first official provider of the e-health card for the nation’s forthcoming switch to electronic medical cards, the company announced. The selection by gematik, the nation’s operating organization for telematics applications, means Sagem Orga is now the only company that can make certified e-health cards available to health insurers for distribution, which is scheduled to begin in summer. The new Generation 1 of the e-health card can be used online and has highly secure encryption functions. “We are very pleased to be the first and, so far, the only company to have received full approval for our Generation 1 e-health card,” said Christopher Goulet, Head of Sales for Central and Eastern Europe, Banking, Health, ID at Sagem Orga. “Our card product is thus ready...as far as we are concerned, the initial distribution of the e-health card can begin.” http://www.securitydocumentworld.com/public/...