Medical technology industry continues to grow, remains economic key
Medical technology continues to grow as an industry and remains a critical part of the medical industry's economic health, according to a report by the Washington, D.C.-based Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed). The report, authored by The Lewin Group in Falls Church, VA, shows the medical technology sector was responsible in 2008 for nearly 423,000 jobs, $24.6 billion in annual payroll, and almost $136 billion worth of products sold. All three areas posted gains of more than 10 percent compared to the group's last study in 2005. The report "paints an impressive picture of an industry that is a world leader in medical technology and a key economic engine for America in terms of job growth, payroll and sales," said AdvaMed Chief Executive Officer Stephen J. Ubl. California, Minnesota and Massachusetts remain the states with the highest number of medical technology jobs, accounting for about 30 percent of all med-tech jobs, according to the report.Full Story

Remote patient monitoring can improve treatment of cardiac-ill at home
Use of remote patient monitoring and traditional nurse care management to treat elderly Americans with chronic heart ailments in their home can reduce the need for costly hospital visits, according to a study by Hartford, CT-based health insurer Aetna Inc. and Santa Clara, CA-headquartered microchip-maker Intel Corp. According to Randall Krakauer, M.D., Aetna's national Medicare medical director, the study shows that traditional nurse care management programs have improved outcomes and reduced avoidable hospital admissions among Medicare beneficiaries with chronic heart conditions. Using technology can enhance that approach by helping Medicare members more easily monitor warning signs -- such as weight and blood pressure changes -- at home. In the study, 164 Aetna members on Medicare who suffer chronic heart problems were given blood-pressure monitors and weight scales to monitor their vital signs. Patients then entered the finding on their home computers. Nurse case managers monitored the information online using Intel's Health Guide system, including whether patients exercised properly and took their medicine. Full Story

Catholic Health Initiatives launches $1.5 billion clinical health IT project
In one of the nation's largest health information technology efforts, Denver-based nonprofit healthcare provider Catholic Health Initiatives has launched a $1.5 billion program to enhance clinical health IT throughout its network of 72 hospitals in 18 states. According to Cristina Thomas, CHI's vice president for clinical information strategy, the project will include plans for a system-wide electronic health record, a health information exchange, and physician and patient portals. The company will partner with Cerner, MEDITECH and Allscripts as it implements the program over the next five to seven years, Thomas said. Full Story

CSC to implement e-prescription service throughout Europe
Falls Church, VA-based health information technology developer CSC has plans for a Europe-marketed e-prescription service that will replace manual prescription processes with a paperless, integrated, computerized system, potentially cutting down on pharmaceutical errors and improving patient safety. According to Harald Deutsch, CSC-EMEA's vice president of healthcare, the e-prescription service is based on a successful trial in Denmark and will soon be made available in all European countries. Introducing a joined, electronic approach to prescriptions will also "make the entire process more efficient, freeing up time for all those involved in patient care," Deutsch said. The benefits of CSC's ePrescription solution also include the availability of a medication profile and decision support to all clinicians, pharmacies and hospitals; monitoring of prescribing and wastage patterns; and the ability to check for side effects, drug interactions, allergies and double medications.   Full Story

Johns Hopkins medical library to convert to online-only by 2012
Say goodbye to paper at Welch Medical Library at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore - the university plans to go completely electronic with its medical offerings by 2012. According to library director Nancy Roderer, within two years printed journals at Welch are destined to go the way of cassette tapes as the facility converts to an all-digital, "distributed model" facility. It's a bit behind schedule - in the 1980s, Roderer predicted that all academic journals would be electronic-only by the mid 1990s. The impact is already being felt on campus: medical students, clinicians, and professors dislike actually walking to the library's physical location now that most of its collections are available in electronic format through its Web site, Roderer said. And librarians have a new name - informationists - because of the lack of physical books to oversee. Full Story   Further Information

CompuMed to supply ECG telemedicine technology to California schools
Los Angeles-based telehealth firm CompuMed Inc. has partnered with the California School Health Centers Association (CSHC) to provide electrocardiogram (ECG) telemedicine technology to schools throughout the state. According to CSHC Executive Director Serena Clayton, PhD, the partnership calls for CompuMed to provide ECG equipment and interpretive over-reads for screenings, while CSHC will promote CompuMed's ECG telemedicine technologies via its web site, e-newsletters, statewide and regional conferences, and initiatives to be developed. CSHC represents more than 150 school health centers that serve more than 800 primary and secondary schools throughout California. According to recent estimates, five to 10 percent of elementary and secondary students in the U.S. may have undiagnosed heart conditions; approximately 95 percent of the most serious of these conditions can be detected by an ECG read by a pediatric cardiologist. Full Story

Researchers monitor lifestyles to design healthier 'smart' homes
Researchers at the University of Portsmouth in England are attempting to capture more information about how people live in an effort to develop sensor-based "smart" homes that can provide medical care to residents. According to Dr. Jim Briggs at UP's Faculty of Technology, sensors in smart homes will be able to "read" the health and wellbeing of those who live in a house, and upload the information to a secure Web site for review by a relative or caregiver living up to hundreds of miles away. The sensors can also run burglar alarms, and turn heating and lighting off in rooms that are not being used, Briggs said. Early versions of these sensors already exist in homes. The trick, however, is to fine-tune the unit to where it will be able to tell if someone has fallen over or is actually taking a nap, Briggs said. Full Story

New search engine would allow consumers to price-shop for medical services
San Francisco-based healthcare software developer Castlight Health plans to develop a Web site search engine that allows consumers to price-shop for doctors who offer a specific medical service. According to Castlight co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Colella, lack of price information in healthcare has been a big driver of ballooning healthcare costs, as the patient has no incentive or responsibility to keep costs down. But several studies and pilot projects, including one released by Mercer in May, suggest that the more patients know about prices, the more money they save, Colella said. Castlight currently sells access to a version of its search engine to employers but is working on a mobile version of the service to introduce next year so people can access the information from the exam table. Full Story   Further Information

Victoria, Australia DoH to start up $360 million e-health smartcard system
Victoria's Department of Health in Australia will begin using an e-health smartcard throughout the region in an attempt to modernize its information and communications technologies-based medical system. The department's new $360 million HealthSMART system will be rolled out in a phased process, with 5,000 cards issued in year one, 30,000 in year two and 50,000 in year three for a total of 85,000 cards. The new system includes creation of a common technology infrastructure - as a means of reducing ICT service delivery cost - as a major element; such an infrastructure would make authorized access to computer systems by sector staff easier and more secure to use and manage. Full Story

Indiana Network for Patient Care expands health information exchange
The Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC), one of the nation's busiest health information exchanges (HIEs), is expanding to include post-acute care facilities and bring the benefits of secure HIE to a growing number of individuals with significant healthcare needs. According to Kevin Terrell, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, three Indianapolis skilled nursing facilities will join more than 60 hospitals, clinical laboratories, and other medical facilities serving nearly 6 million patients and residents as members of the INPC. Each day the INPC handles approximately 2.5 million secure transactions such as laboratory test results, medication and treatment histories, and other clinically important information in a standardized, electronic format. This information is critical to diagnoses, treatment and referral decisions, Terrell said. Full Story

Eldersync seeks health firms for testing of appointment scheduling software
A Boston-based startup, Eldersync.com, is attempting to create and market software designed to help caregivers and consumers keep track of all the appointments and medications that they or their clients need to stay healthy. According to Eldersync co-founder David Bernick, health workers can use the Web-based system to schedule visits with patients in their homes, can verify via text message or phone call to the system that they've seen a patient, and can file notes on a patient's status to the system using any Internet-connected device. The plan is to also sync the online system with a patient's home health monitoring devices, enabling, for example, a quick check of a patient's blood sugar levels or heart rate. In May, two home health firms began to test a beta version of Eldersync's technology; Bernick said he's looking for more agencies to try it out. Full Story   Further Information

VA, HHS to add 'Blue Button' download feature to electronic patient portals
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Department of Veterans Affairs plan to add an electronic patient portal feature that allows users to download personal health information into the electronic media of their choice. According to HHS Chief Technology Officer Todd Park, the so-called "Blue Button" feature will provide an extra option for Medicare beneficiaries and veterans, who currently must visit the VA's MyHealtheVet and Medicare's MyMedicare.gov Web sites to access their data, and then print the records for use by caregivers and providers. The agencies plan to add the button to the patient portals this fall, Park said. Full Story   Further Information

Dr. R. Scott Wright, cardiologist and director of outreach for the Mayo Clinic's Department of Medicine in Rochester, announced that they are expanding cardiology services into the Twin Cities market using remote consultation equipment... Shal Jacobovitz, president of Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, announced the availability of the Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Mobile Reference Guide, available on a number of smartphone platforms...Melissa Boudreault, director of computer company Dell's state health services division, has been chosen to head a Dell initiative to help U.S. states build health information exchanges... Andrew Grossman, founder of Wal-Mart Watch, is starting the Health Information Center, a Democratic Party-wide effort to communicate information about healthcare reform...Dr. Marienne Hibbert, director of Melbourne, Australia-based BioGrid Australia, announced that they have developed an e-health application that facilitates "privacy protected research" between hospitals and health research organizations...Tom Newton, director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, announced that they expect to implement a statewide health information exchange starting in 2011...Beverley Winston, vice president and Chief Nursing Officer for Desoto Memorial Hospital, announced a partnership with TeleHealth Services as its interactive patient education provider...Congressman Charlie Dent visited the headquarters of HealthOneMed (HOM) in Allentown, PA, where he met staff and learned about the company. The founder and CEO of HOM, Dr. Gazi Abdulhay, discussed the potential of telemedicine to improve medical outcomes and reduce healthcare costs...Please send us your news on Movers and Shakers in the field.

IMPORTANT! Make sure you receive your chosen Mary Ann Liebert e-Newsletters, alerts and news updates. Add telemed@liebertpub.com to your Address Book or Safe Senders List. It's easy! View instructions HERE.

Forward Alert to a Colleague

For advertising
Contact us to maximize your print and/or online opportunities


This email was sent by: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
140 Huguenot Street, 3rd Floor, New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215, USA
Phone: 914-740-2100 or 1-800-M-LIEBERT    Fax: 914-740-2101    Email: info@liebertpub.com