Dell purchases Perot Systems for $3.9 billion
Extending its reach into the e-health industry, computer giant Dell is buying health information technology services provider Perot Systems for $3.9 billion, the companies announced. The deal, still subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close by January 2010. When complete, Perot Systems will become a subsidiary of Dell. The merger is not the first time Dell and Perot have worked together; earlier this year the companies entered a strategic alliance to provide full integrated IT solutions to healthcare groups attempting to qualify for stimulus funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The purchase comes only a few weeks after Dell announced plans to launch its own electronic health record (EHRs) platform, aimed at the 90 percent of physicians who have yet to implement an EHR. http://content.dell.com/us/en/corp/d/secure/...

IOM, FDA to study clearance process for medical devices
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has been commissioned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to study the premarket notification program used to review and clear certain medical devices marketed in the United States. The IOM will consider whether the current 510(k) process used for medical device approval adequately protects patients and promotes innovation, and also review any legislative, regulatory, and administrative changes that are needed to improve the process. Medical devices subject to 510(k) review include new technology that “presents new questions of safety or effectiveness.” Over the next nine months the IOM will also hold public workshops to discuss its review process, and will publish a final report on its findings in March 2011. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom...

IBM pilots ‘smart city’ telemedicine project for elderly
IBM plans to launch a “smart city” telehealth project in Bolzano, Italy designed to improve lives and safety of at-home elderly patients while also reducing health costs. The one-year “Secure Living” project will involve 30 patients, ages 80-plus, who will be remotely monitored with in-home sensoring gear, according to Nicola Ciniero, general manager of IBM Italy. The patients will be provided with tele-assistance as needed during daily activities, and will be assisted over the phone and via the Web. The system relies on a network of integrated sensors throughout the patient’s home that send data to a city-run control room, which will supply medical assistance or other aid if needed. IBM has not decided whether it will replicate the project in the United States, according to Ciniero.   http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/28465.wss

GlobalMedia, NeuroCall, and REACH join on stroke care effort
Three companies that have independently tackled the problem of inadequate stroke and neurology care for remote patients are joining forces to create a telemedicine-based program to do the job. The new system from GlobalMedia, NeuroCall and REACH Call will provide neurologist call coverage, videoconferencing hardware and software, and Web-based consultation modules to hospitals nationwide to help speed diagnosis and treatment of stroke and other critical medical problems. NeuroCall will provide the physicians; GlobalMedia will handle the videoconferencing technology; and REACH Call will offer the telestroke/telemedicine platform, according to REACH Call President Sandeep Agate. Stroke is the third-biggest cause of death in the United States, and there is only one neurologist for roughly every 18,000 Americans. The program will significantly speed up care, the companies note.   http://www.reachcall.com/news_media/2009-09...

FDA awards $2 million in grants for pediatric medical devices
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded $2 million in grants to three consortiums that specialize in developing medical devices for children. Recipients were James Geiger, M.D., and the Michigan Pediatric Device Consortium ($1 million); Pedro DelNido, M.D., and the Pediatric Cardiovascular Device Consortium ($500,000); and Michael Harrison, M.D., and the University of California at San Francisco Pediatric Device Consortium ($500,000). Development of medical devices for children lags about a decade behind similar devices used by adults, according to Timothy Cote, director of the FDA’s Office of Orphan Product Development. The grants will stimulate development and promotion of pediatric medical projects to potential manufacturers, according to Cote. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/...

Indiana researchers unveil disease outbreak-tracking HIE
Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine’s Regenstrief Institute have developed a secure two-way heath information exchange (HIE) for use by doctors and public health officials in controlling disease outbreaks. The Notifiable Condition Detector (NCD), now in use in Indiana, automatically detects positive cases of contagious or widespread disorders such as novel H1N1 influenza, sexually transmitted diseases, lead poisoning or salmonella. When such diseases are detected, the program forwards alerts to public health agencies, and local and state health departments, for review and follow-up. NCD includes a Web application that interfaces with the Indiana HIE’s Regenstrief DOCS4DOCS service, a clinical messaging service that delivers more than 5 million medical data messages daily.   http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/11948.html

ATI to coordinate nursing telehealth at University of Hawaii-Maui
American TeleCare Inc. (ATI) will provide a nursing telehealth project for the University of Hawaii-Maui Community College (UHMCC), the company announced. Project Online Health and Academic Network Access (OHANA) will use training and technology from ATI to integrate telehealth into the general education and clinical practice of nurses in Hawaii, according to Nancy Johnson, M.S.N, A.P.R.N. and department chair of the Allied Health department at UHMCC. The school will use ATI’s inLife and LifeView telehealth systems, and will receive funding from the Rural Utilities Service Distance Learning and Telemedicine program to operate the service, according to Johnson.  http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news...

MedApps certified for use on KORE network
KORE Telematics, the world’s largest provider of machine-to-machine digital wireless services, has officially certified the MedApps Mobile Wireless Health Monitoring System for use on the KORE Telematics Network, the company announced. The FDA-approved MedApps System can automatically collect and transmit data through the KORE network from a remote patient’s health monitor to a specific healthcare provider, according to MedApps founder and Chief Executive Officer Kent Dicks. Various diseases, such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, asthma, and hypertension can be monitored and controlled while the patient is at home, improving care, and cutting healthcare costs, the company notes. http://www.koretelematics.com/en/news/...

Cell phones improve medication usage and patient behavior
The use of cell phones for medication telemonitoring can improve compliance and behavior among persons afflicted with chronic diseases, according to a study by the National Institute of Health’s National Cancer Institute. The study, which reviewed use of eMedonline, a cell phone-based drug telemonitoring technology, found a compliance rate of 98 percent over a three-month period, compared to 66 percent for the study’s control group. The technology, developed by Leap of Faith Technologies, reportedly made patients feel more confident that they would be able to manage their medications, according to the report. eMedonline integrates cell phones, radio frequency identification (RFID) or barcodes, and health informatics to optimize medication adherence, track medication use, and extend patient care to the ambulatory setting. http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-technology-1/...

U.S. lags behind other nations in health IT progress
The United States is far behind much of the world when it comes to making progress in advanced health information technology systems, according to a study by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF). “Explaining International IT Application Leadership: Health IT” notes that countries such as Denmark, Sweden, and Finland demonstrate that widespread use of technologies such as electronic health records improve the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare. These leaders, according to ITIF senior analyst Daniel Castro, are not afraid to learn and duplicate each other’s efforts. The United States, on the other hand, needs to jump-start its progress on health IT adoption. http://www.itif.org/files/2009-leadership-healthit.pdf

Some doctors view e-health as threat to job security
The potential of technology to fundamentally change how healthcare is delivered could help curb runaway medical inflation, but some doctors and hospital managers view it as a threat, according to one of Europe’s leading e-health consultants. Dr. Michael Tremblay, principal at Tremblay Consulting in Kent, United Kingdom, said the power of rapidly advancing technology could result in a boom in home-based patient monitoring equipment, which could reduce the need for hospital visits and downgrade the role of health professionals. Although that could reduce healthcare costs and cut double-digit inflation, some doctors may not know how to react to such a shift. The public, which “has a weak understanding of e-health,” must also be won over to the concept, Tremblay added. http://www.euractiv.com/en/health/...

Choking safety alert issued for Lifeline pendant
Philips Lifeline has issued a safety alert for its Lifeline Pendant Personal Help Button due to a potential choking hazard associated with the product, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Lifeline pendant button, which enables wearers to call for help when in distress, is designed to not break off when tugged, to prevent the unit from accidentally falling off. But because it does not break away, there is a risk of choking, according to the FDA. The agency said it is aware of at least six reports of serious injury or death from these circumstances between 1998 and 2009. Philips Lifeline is sending advisory letters to its 750,000 customers and has changed the labeling of the product to include a warning against the potential choking hazard. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/...