New healthcare reform law emphasizes health IT, EHR usage
Health information technology and electronic health records (EHRs) are receiving a major emphasis in the recently signed healthcare reform law. H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, calls for new and expanded electronic quality reporting by healthcare providers through the use of EHRs, health information exchanges (HIEs) and networks, as well as a requirement for states to implement HIEs by 2014 to as a way of allowing businesses and individuals to purchase medical insurance. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will also be required to develop a template for online health insurance portals by 2014 that states can use. In addition, the legislation includes new and expanded quality reporting requirements for doctors and hospitals that must be performed electronically through EHRs and HIE networks. President Obama signed HR 3590 into law Tuesday. Full Story   Further Information

FCC may establish new wireless frequency for patient monitoring gear
By summer, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expects to issue a draft rule on a frequency spectrum proposal to increase development of low-cost medical monitoring equipment for hospital and home use. The proposal, calling for a designated low-frequency wireless spectrum for Medical Body Area Networks (MBANs), would allow monitoring product manufacturers to modify existing components that work in a neighboring band and quickly develop new, very low-power wireless sensors for use in healthcare, according to Framingham, MA-based Philips Healthcare product strategist Paul Coss. Companies such as Philips, GE, and Texas Instruments favor establishing the 2360 to 2400 MHz bandwidth for health IT purposes because the band is a “sub band” of the 2400 MHz frequency used for some current consumer-oriented products.  Full Story

Portable telehealth system developed to treat PTSD-afflicted soldiers
The Department of Defense has unveiled a portable telehealth system that enables physicians to use video teleconferencing equipment to remotely treat U.S. Army soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and brain injuries. According to Matt Mishkind, acting chief of the National Center for Telehealth and Technology in Tacoma, WA, the units mark the first step in meeting Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker’s goal of using technology to replace face-to-face sessions between clinicians and soldiers. The first portable, an 8-by-20-foot unit with three treatment rooms that allow out-of-area doctors to communicate with soldiers through a computer network and teleconferencing system, will be tested on troops in American Samoa, Mishkind said. Full Story

Robot surgeons may be way of future, but obstacles remain
Despite the potential and growing popularity of robot-driven procedures, many surgeons say the technology isn’t evolving quickly enough or dropping in price fast enough to become a true medical aid. According to a report in the MIT Technology Review , robotic surgical systems offer tremendous advantages, such as allowing two surgeons to work together. But there’s growing frustration over when the systems will become practical. A much smaller and cheaper device could provide the same visual advantages and flexibility, but that no one has been able to move this forward, the report notes. Still, some physicians stress that use of robots shortens patient hospital stays, which drives down costs and allows users to make up the costs over time. Also, the desire for smaller, less-expensive units is leading new developers into the market with their ideas, according to the report.     Full Story

VA to add social media tools to MyHealtheVet site
In an effort to add more functionality to its online health records database, the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) plans to add social media tools to its popular MyHealtheVet site. According to Gail Graham, the VA’s deputy chief officer of health care information management in Washington, D.C., veterans of all ages use MyHealtheVet to access records, keep health diaries and reorder prescriptions. But younger veterans find the system lacking in online services and want social media tools, such as access to chat rooms. The VA has been testing a secure message tool at several VA hospitals that links patients to their health providers through MyHealtheVet, although there are still shortcomings, such as lack of an instant messaging tool due to HIPAA privacy rules, Graham said. Full Story

Remote health management market expected to double by 2015
Remote health management (RHM) is the fastest-growing segment of the home health management (HHM) market but will only reach its full potential if health insurers adopt reimbursement practices that encourage greater physician adoption, according to a study by Cambridge, MA-based consulting firm Scientia Advisors. Although remote health management is the smallest portion of home health – making up less than 2 percent of HHM – its revenues are expected to double from $1.8 billion in 2007 to $3.6 billion by 2015, the study notes. Major companies such as Intel, IBM, Motorola and Philips are partnering with or acquiring companies to produce innovative products for remote health management, but physicians are reluctant to embrace RHM because government and private health insurers reimburse only for its use in specific disease states or rural populations, Scientia Advisors Managing Partner Harry Glorikian said.   Full Story

Brio deep brain stimulator receives new marketing approval
St. Paul, MN-based medical device maker St. Jude Medical Inc. has received regulatory and reimbursement approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration for the company’s Brio deep brain stimulation system (DBS) for treatment of Parkinson’s disease. According to Chris Chavez, president of the St. Jude Medical Neuromodulation Division, the Brio neurostimulator, with a 10-year rechargeable battery life and about the size of a man’s watch, is the world’s smallest, longest-lasting rechargeable DBS system. Brio also has the greatest implant depth of any currently available rechargeable DBS device, making it potentially less noticeable and more comfortable for patients, while providing physicians with flexibility in selecting the implant location, Chavez said. Full Story

Telemedicine systems improve stroke treatment for UK patients
Use of telemedicine systems to treat stroke thrombolysis can save the lives of up to 100 patients and could improve the lives of at least 400 more, according to a pilot study conducted in eastern England. The trial, conducted by Cambridge-based East of England Strategic Health Authority at facilities in Cambridge, Watford, Southend and Peterborough since September 2009, was developed after a report by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development last year showed that Britain’s record on treating stroke patients was behind other western countries, according to Alan Lowe, Chief Operating Officer of St. Vincent’s Healthcare in Glasgow. The program will soon be introduced to 12 other hospitals in the region. Full Story

Chronic disease more likely to lure afflicted to social media for help
U.S. adults living with chronic diseases are significantly less likely than healthy adults to have access to the Internet, but once online, having a chronic disease increases the chance that someone will use social media to share what they know and learn from their peers, according to a survey by the Pew Internet Research Project and the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF). According to Suzannah Fox, associate director of digital strategy at Pew Internet in Washington, D.C., because of the chronic disease, it’s significantly more likely that an Internet user will work on a blog or contribute to an online discussion, listserv, or other online group forum that helps people with personal issues or health problems. There is also a greater likelihood, once someone is online, that the afflicted will access this user-generated health content to “dive deeply into a health topic, using the Internet as a communications tool, not simply an information vending machine,” Fox said.   Full Story

E-health market untapped in developing nations, but some are ready
Electronic health record systems may not be financially feasible for developing nations, but electronic health tools can result in large health improvements, even in resource-poor environments, according to Smart Card maker Changamka Microhealth Ltd. (CML) in Nairobi, Kenya. CML Chief Executive Officer Sam Agutu notes that the lower cost of electronic-based medical care makes its easier for doctors to treat patients, compared to the traditional manner, in which “one has to go through long procedures before receiving medical services.” Remote electronic services also reduce fees for doctor’s consultations, lab tests, and medication costs, all reasons that 80 percent of the Kenyan population does not receive access to formal medical care, Agutu said. At this point, Kenya’s e-health potential remains untapped, but the Kenyan market is definitely read for such services, he said. Full Story

TIA to hold first broadband technology conference
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) plans an inaugural conference to demonstrate the importance of broadband technology for all industries that rely upon it, including the medical industry. Set for June 7-9, 2011 in California’s Silicon Valley, the event will promote broadband-enabled technology innovation, networking, education, and business growth as industries prepare to emerge from a global economic recession, according to TIA President Grant Seiffert. Arlington, VA-based TIA represents broadband, mobile/wireless, information technology, networks, cable, fiber, and smart apps, smart devices and Smart Grid technology developers and users. For more information, contact TIA Sustainability, Intelligence and Networking Vice President Taly Walsh at (703) 907-7744 or twalsh@tiaonline.org. Full Story

Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, and Representative Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota, announce that the state’s Information Technology Department is receiving more than $5 million in federal grants for a health information exchange program…Mark Bachman and Hector Parra with the University of California Irvine’s California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology introduced Telios, or Telepresence Interactive Operating System, a software package for telemedicine…Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, announced that funding is available through the USDA’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program for telehealth applications…Chris Stidman, senior vice president of OptumHealth announced that their telemedicine application, NowClinic.com, is being used by MedicalEdge Healthcare in Texas…Greg Reed, former chief of Dundee Bank of Canada, has been nominated to head eHealth Ontario by the Standing Committee on Government Agencies…Pamela Swingley, CEO and founder of RememberItNow!, announced the launch of its eHealth service…Mike Davis, executive vice president of HIMSS Analytics, announced the publication of a report that found widespread use of e-commerce by U.S. hospitals in the purchasing process… Mike Locatis, chief information office for the state of Colorado, announced they have teamed up with Cisco Systems Inc., for pilot telehealth projects aimed at improving rural healthcare and education…Ilias Iakovidis, deputy head of ICT for Health, put forth the idea at the World of Health IT conference in Barcelona, Spain, that in order for e-health to expand in Europe there will need to be a single market approach to interoperability... Please send us your news on Movers and Shakers in the field.

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