Text messaging may improve medication adherence
Text messages can help remind chronically ill patients to take medications or attend upcoming medical appointments, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center (JHCC) in Baltimore. With up to half of all patients failing to adhere to a prescription drug regimen – primarily due to forgetfulness – the use of a basic, highly available reminder method such as text messaging can greatly improve patients’ health, according to JHCC pediatrician Delphine Robotham. Recent studies conducted at JHCC indicate reduced organ failures and lower blood glucose rates when patients were sent text messages to remind them to take necessary medications. The growing popularity of text messaging also makes the concept hard to ignore, Robotham said. Still, text messaging is not a cure-all, as not all communication can be texted, cost can be an issue, and a patient may not always have a cell phone on hand, Robotham adds.    http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/texting-may-improve-disease-management.aspx

Halo Monitoring, A&D Medical partner on home health monitoring
Halo Monitoring Inc. of Huntsville, AL, will begin offering wireless home health monitoring to its myHalo service subscribers through Bluetooth-enabled products provided by San Jose, CA-based A&D Medical, the companies announced. According to Halo Monitoring Chief Executive Officer Chris Otto, the first two products supported will be A&D’s UC-321PBT Wireless Health Scale and the UA-767PBT Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor. Otto said the arrangement will enhance the ability of myHalo users to view their information or their loved ones’ information online. The partnership is the result of the 2008 Veterans Health Administration Care Coordination/Home Telehealth report, which demonstrated that use of telehealth reduced hospitalization by approximately 25 percent and saved nearly $11,000 annually per patient. http://www.ageinplacetech.com/pressrelease/halo-monitoring...

Maryland start-up strikes $13.5 million cancer detection deal with China
Rockville, MD-based MarkPap has entered a $13.5 million, five-year agreement to supply at-home cervical cancer detection kits to six rural provinces in China, the company announced. The pilot program calls for distribution of 1 million test kits that allow users to easily send results to physicians by computer or cell phone, according to MarkPap co-founder Olivera Markovic. Cervical cancer, once one of the leading causes of death for women in the United States, is now relatively rare. That’s not the case in poorer countries, where there is a shortage of pathologists to interpret test results. China is the tiny 10-person company’s first customer; Markovic said they hope to acquire India as the next market for the test kit. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...

Telemedicine slows growth of healthcare spending, maintains effectiveness
Telemedicine provides a way to slow the growth of healthcare spending without compromising access, effectiveness and safety, according to a report in the latest issue of Telemedicine and e-Health. “Economic Evaluation of Telemedicine: Review of the Literature and Research Guidelines for Benefit-Cost Analysis” notes that economic evaluations of telemedicine programs have been relatively rare, despite the implementation of many such programs several decades ago. This research gap has resulted in a lack of reliable, comparative economic data for policy makers, program administrators, and other stakeholders. The report discusses use of the three most common methods of economic evaluation – cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and benefit-cost analysis – and clarifies research gaps, challenges, and limitations of their use. http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus...

U.S. military task force in Afghanistan wants access to telemedicine
Members of a U.S. military medical task force in Afghanistan want greater accessibility to electronic health records (EHRs) and telemedicine capabilities within conflict zones. Sgt. Timothy Kusik, in charge of Task Force Medical East in Bagram, Afghanistan, and his team are working to place MC4 laptops at the bedside in treatment rooms and are evaluating installation of the Army’s Joint Telemedicine Network (JTMN) at remote locations to improve data access and to explore video teleconference capabilities. MC4, the Army's Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care organization, provides the U.S. military with AHLTA-Theater, the EHR used in conflict zones. Many reservists, including Kusik, are employed in civilian hospitals with terminals in patient care rooms when they are not on active duty and “want the same capability here," Kusik said. He is also examining the use of JTMN for video teleconferencing and telemedicine. http://www.govhealthit.com/newsitem.aspx?nid=72813

Surgeons develop 3D virtual patient for pin-hole surgeries
Bangor University in North Wales, United Kingdom is using a virtual patient 3D simulator program to train staff to perform pin-hole surgery without causing real patients much pain. The ImaGINe-S simulator resembles a video game as it recreates the feeling of guiding a surgical needle into the body, according to Prof. Nigel John from BU’s School of Computer Science. The user wears 3D glasses to see a projection of a patient, and then moves two handheld devices that simulate the role of a scanner and needle. Using force-feedback, technology found in items like game controllers and video racing steering wheels, users can then feel the pressure of pushing the virtual needle and guiding a wire through the body. John said the simulator resulted from modern advancements in medicine, in which many procedures now require only minimal intervention with a needle instead of open surgery. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8434622.stm

‘Compassionate use’ gives first MRI-safe pacemaker early debut
A woman in Wimberley, TX has received the first MRI-safe pacemaker months ahead of approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on grounds of “compassionate use.” Forty-five-year-old Shannon Tyson uses a pacemaker for an existing heart disorder, but also requires MRI scans twice a year as doctors monitor tumors on her pituitary gland which cause her to suffer from Cushing’s disease. MRIs, however, interfere with the operation of regular pacemakers. Doctors at St. David’s Hospital in South Austin, TX requested approval from the FDA and Medtronic, maker of the EnRhythm – the first MRI-safe pacemaker – and were able to perform the surgery within four days, according to St. David’s cardiologist Dr. John Dieck. Medtronic sales representative Darrell Sargent said the company expects to have the product on the market as early as this spring. Meanwhile, the compassionate use application is an option if “someone really needs it,” Dieck said.   http://www.statesman.com/news/texas...

Physical pain treatment may also help with emotional trauma
Medicine that eases physical pain can also blunt emotional suffering, according to a report by researchers at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Lead researcher C. Nathan DeWall said the study builds upon an earlier report from August 2009 that established that a gene linked with physical pain also governs a person’s sensitivity to rejection. In the UK-L study, groups of undergraduates were evaluated for several weeks, with half being given Tylenol daily; those on the pain-killer regimen reported significantly lower “hurt feelings” than the non-medicated by the end of the studies, according to DeWall. However, researchers say it will be some time before doctors will be able to recommend use of pills to overcome social rejection. Results of the study will be published in a future issue of the journal Psychological Science. http://uknow.uky.edu/content/pill-psychological-pain

Ethnicity, body mass may affect clarity of medical scans
The image quality of multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scans, used for the noninvasive detection of coronary artery disease, can be significantly affected by patient characteristics such as ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), and heart rate, according to a recent study. The study of 291 patients with coronary artery calcification found that compared with examinations of white patients, studies of black patients had significantly poorer image quality, according to study lead author Dr. Melvin E. Clouse, M.D. The findings, combined with new and advanced CT scanners, offer the potential to improve image quality of coronary CT angiography, “further making the test even more accurate and independent of patient characteristics,” he said. The study appears in the January issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. http://www.arrs.org/Pressroom/info.cfm?prID=440

HHS unveils ‘meaningful use’ master plan
After almost a year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) has released a master plan and definition for “meaningful use,” a 700-page proposal for improving healthcare value and quality by accelerating the use of health IT by doctors and hospitals. The proposed rules offer doctors and hospitals thousands of dollars in financial incentives for meeting three stages of progressively more-demanding goals for using health IT in their practices. Measures range from what percentage of physicians’ orders must be made electronically (80 percent for physicians; 10 percent for hospitals) to how many times providers must test their ability to transmit data from electronic health records to public health agencies. The proposal is available for viewing at www.cms.hhs.gov     http://www.govhealthit.com/newsitem.aspx?nid=72833    http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Recovery/11_HealthIT.asp

Medspira to market medical devices from The Mayo Clinic
Minneapolis-based Medspira has entered into an agreement to manufacture and market several new and developing radiology products from The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, NY, including a device that generates high-resolution MRI images of the wrist. According to Medspira Chief Executive Officer Tim Anderson, the licensing agreement includes Mayo Clinic's BC-10 MRI Coil, which allows acquisition of high resolution MRI images of the wrist at 1.5 and 3.0 Tesla, and the Breath-Hold Interactive Control System, a noninvasive device that enables patients to perform consistent, repeatable breath-holds during diagnostic imaging and image-guided interventional procedures. New technologies covered under the agreement include those for treatment of fetal incontinence, and the safety of angiograph contrast agents. Medspira plans to make the developing products available within the next one to two years; the other products are already on the market, Anderson said. http://www.finance-commerce.com/article.cfm/2009/12/29/Core-competency