Demand for health IT staff expected to rise by 2011
Health information technology staff will be a hot commodity within the next two years, according to a pair of new media reports. “The Healthcare IT Workforce” by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society notes that nearly 80 percent of health IT professionals surveyed plan to hire additional staff within the next one to two years. Meanwhile, a report by InformationWeek reveals that staffing firms nationwide are seeing an increase in demand for health IT-trained workers. A third report by Robert Half Technology – a survey of 244 healthcare chief information officers – found that 5 percent of respondents plan to increase hiring during the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to an overall zero demand among CIOs in all U.S. industries. The increased demand for employees is attributed to healthcare organizations’ efforts to transition to use of electronic health records. http://www.informationweek.com/news/...   http://www.himss.org/content/files/...

California unveils new online drug monitoring program
California law enforcement officials have launched the nation’s largest online prescription monitoring system in an effort to curb “doctor shopping” and save patient lives, according to the state’s attorney general. Upgrades to the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) will make it possible for physicians and pharmacists to instantly access patient drug use data instead of waiting for up to a week, according to California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. CURES contains the name of each prescribing doctor, the person receiving the drug, the quantity, and the date. It also includes more than 100 million entries for controlled substances. Law enforcement officials will also have instant access to the database, Brown added. The upgraded system comes after recent high-profile, prescription-related deaths to celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, and Anna Nicole Smith. Eight other states use Web-based prescription monitoring programs.  http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1806&

IBM, BHG have improved health IT plan for Thailand
IBM and Bangkok Hospital Group (BHG) have developed a healthcare initiative designed to bring “best in class” information technology to Thailand, according to BHG Chief Information Executive Veerasak Kritsanapraphan. The project will combine BHG’s electronic medical records with the IBM Power System to allow interconnected medical records, and offer patients “one-stop” registration Kritsanapraphan said. BHG will also upgrade its financial and business management systems with IBM’s Cognos TM1 software, which connects hospital data and analyzes statistics. Bangkok Hospital Group, a major private hospital group in Thailand since 1972, is the top medical service provider in Southeast Asia. http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/28388.wss

CA Inc. buys e-health monitor maker NetQoS for $200 million
Information technology management software giant CA Inc. is buying privately held NetQoS Inc. and its line of e-health performance monitoring equipment, for $200 million in cash. The deal, expected to close by the end of the year, will result in the merger of NetQoS’ Performance Center and CA’s eHealth Network Performance Manager systems, according to Ajei Gopal, CA’s vice president of products and technology. NetQoS, based in Austin, TX, has more than 1,000 active customers worldwide and annual revenue of $56 million; most of the company’s 250 employees are expected to be absorbed by Islandia, NY-based CA, according to Gopal. http://www.ca.com/us/press/release.aspx?cid=215047

Center implements ‘virtual detox’ for Internet addiction
Video game popularity has led to creation of the nation’s first facility for treatment of Internet addicts. reSTART, based in Fall City, WA, offers a 45-day recovery program that “launches tech-dependent youth and adults back into the real world,” according to Hilarie Cash, a mental health counselor and program co-founder. Sessions include talk therapy, life-skills coaching, physical and nutritional education, work and home-maintenance skill-building, 12-step meetings, and “high-adventure expeditions” where digital gamers feed and raise real animals instead of slaying digital ogres with flaming swords. Experts note that excessive use of technology can lead to physical and mental health problems, poor attention spans and social skills, and a need for instant gratification. The inpatient program helps people completely cut ties with technology, resulting in a temporary fast that allows them to reestablish a bond with the outside world, according to Cash. http://www.cmaj.ca/earlyreleases/15sept09_detox.shtml    http://www.netaddictionrecovery.com/

Microsoft HealthVault partners with Halo Monitoring
Patient monitoring system vendor Halo Monitoring Inc. has integrated its myHalo patient monitoring application with Microsoft HealthVault. myHalo is a personal emergency response system used primarily by seniors. It detects when a user falls and automatically transmits the alert to caregivers or emergency medical services personnel. Integration with Microsoft HealthVault will “put people and families in control of their own health and health information” by allowing users and their caregivers to easily view information collected by the device, according to David Cerino, general manager of consumer health in Microsoft’s Health Solutions Group. myHalo subscribers may opt-in for the new service, which is offered through a secure Web page, Cerino added. http://mobihealthnews.com/4299/halo-monitoring...

Patent awarded for new Omnyx high-speed image sensor
Pittsburgh, PA-based health IT technology developer Omnyx LLC has received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its new dual imaging sensor for rapid autofocusing in digital microscopes. The technology allows faster, sharper creation of digital images and will be incorporated into the company’s line of whole slide scanners, which are currently under development. The product should reduce the number of scanners needed by pathology labs to digitize large numbers of slides and cut data turnaround time to the pathologist, Omnyx Chief Executive Officer Gene Cartwright said. Omnyx is a joint venture of GE Healthcare and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. http://www.omnyx.com/html/article.php?id=20090914_PR

Europe holds lucrative opportunities for patient monitoring
Market potential for patient monitoring solutions in Europe has largely remained untapped, even though potential product demand is huge, according to a report from Frost & Sullivan. “European Patient Monitoring Outlook – 2009” projects that market revenue could rise from $2 million in 2008 to $2.6 million in 2012, largely due to an aging, increasingly ill baby boomer segment and expansion of the middle class. Standardization of e-health systems throughout Europe will also play a role, as physicians will be able to access patient data from any European Union state. The biggest deterrent for physicians, hospitals and home health organizations, according to the report, is cost. Frost & Sullivan’s research includes central station monitoring, multi parameter monitoring, vital signs monitoring, remote patient monitoring, telemetry monitoring, and telemedicine monitoring. http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/press-release.pag...

Temos to offer telemonitoring in India, South America
German hospital information technology standards group Temos plans to provide chronic disease telemonitoring services to markets in India and South America following successful efforts in Southeast Asia, and Eastern and Southern Europe, the company announced. Andreas Lanyi, Temos senior manager of international business and head of the telemedicine department, said the company is targeting countries outside of the U.S. where there are a large number of tourists from Europe and Germany. The company will also release its “Temos Health Tourism” product for Temos-certified hospitals during this quarter, with such facilities receiving free access to tele-lectures, e-courses, and relevant partners from research, insurance, and assistance from Germany and other European countries. http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/200909/market16.shtml

Electronic drug interaction alerts save lives, cut costs
Electronic prescribing tools that use drug interaction alerts can improve patient safety and reduce costs in outpatient care, according to a study by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The study, covering nearly 280,000 electronic prescription alerts statewide during the first half of 2006, notes that the alerts helped prevent 402 adverse drug events. The figure might have been higher, except physicians overrode the drug interaction alerts 91 percent of the time, according to the report. Drug interaction alerts occurred in 7 percent of all prescription attempts. The alerts also potentially save more than $400,000 by curbing adverse reactions, with 10 percent of those alerts accounting for 78 percent of the cost savings, the report notes. The study was published in the Sept. 14 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/...    http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/...

NLM launches health information exchange site for newborns
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has launched a new Web site to help support standardized electronic exchange of health data on newborns. The Newborn Screening Coding and Terminology Guide will help states use common terminology and coding standards, a key step in reducing variations in how tests are conducted and results recorded, according to Dr. Clem McDonald, director of NLM’s Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications. The terminology guide, which covers more than 100 conditions, will also provide a standard framework for results analysis, and enable use and comparison of data from different laboratories, according to McDonald. NLM created the Web site in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control, Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. http://www.nih.gov/news/health/sep2009/nlm-15.htm    http://newbornscreeningcodes.nlm.nih.gov

Online antibiotic sales pose problem in bacterial fight
Web sites that sell antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription could undermine efforts to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to a study from researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Investigators found 138 online vendors that sell antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription, including one-third that did so with no questions asked, according to the study. The problem, researchers note, is that the antibiotics are likely to be used inappropriately, increasing the likelihood of antibiotic resistance among various diseases and disorders. People who diagnose and treat themselves with the help of online vendors are likely to view doctors as a waste of time and money, according to lead researcher Dr. Arch G. Mainous III. The report was published in the September/October 2009 issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. http://www.annfammed.org/cgi/reprint/7/5/431