Navajo Nation to receive $32.2 million in federal aid for broadband network
The federal government is allocating $32.2 million to help the nation’s largest American Indian reservation, the Navajo Nation, build a high-speed Internet network to connect thousands of homes and businesses within a three-state region. According to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, the funds to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority will be used on 550 miles of new fiber optic cables and 59 new or modified microwave towers capable of covering 15,000 square miles in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. Sixty percent of residents on the reservation lack basic telephone service, and “too many people in the Navajo Nation are stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide,” Locke said. The project will provide residents with the educational, business, and employment opportunities offered by the Internet, he said. Full Story

New tissue implant gives enhanced meaning to ‘wireless’ heart monitor
Sometimes wires are good: Cardiologists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (UPM) in Philadelphia have developed what is effectively a silicon-based, heavily wired method of monitoring and controlling a heart’s electrical rhythm. According to UPM associate professor of neurology Brian Litt M.D., the new device delivers electronic circuits directly to the tissue, as opposed to the traditional method of remotely placing up to 10 wires around the heart – via an implant in an abdomen or under a collarbone – to control electrical impulses. The new method allows up to 288 electrodes to be easily placed within the tissue. The system could allow doctors to more quickly, safely, and effectively destroy areas of the heart that cause life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. The research can be expanded to treatment of stroke and epileptic seizures, Litt said.  Full Story

Enhanced version of Lifeline service auto-dials for help if wearer can’t
Royal Philips Electronics has unveiled an enhanced version of its Lifeline medical alert service designed to automatically detect falls within a user’s home. According to Walter van Kuijen, senior vice president and general manager at Philips Healthcare, the Home Monitoring Lifeline with AutoAlert is the only pendant-style help button that can automatically call for help if a fall is detected and a senior is unable to push his or her help button. Internal testing indicated that the unit correctly identified 95 percent of many types of falls and had a low rate of false alarms. Falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma, as well as injury-related deaths, and nearly half of all seniors can’t get up from a fall without help, van Kuijen said. Lying on the floor for an extended period of time can lead to serious complications, including pressure ulcers, muscle necrosis, dehydration, hypothermia, and pneumonia. Full Story

Remote care program reaches one of Earth’s most-remote environments
United Kingdom-based online health service Meddserve is using its telehealth system to deliver remote medical care to residents of one of the world’s most-remote areas. Residents in the village of Gerkhutar in Nepal are receiving care through Meddserve’s Medsystem Online and Medrecord Online programs, which provide in-depth consultations with healthcare specialists based 40 miles away – a two-day trip for the average Nepal resident, according to service co-developer Dr. James Britton. The project, which has been underway for almost a decade, is ideal for Nepal, where 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas. The government wants to roll the technology out across the country and has already selected two more villages where it will be used beginning in April, Britton said. Full Story

New ‘pacemaker for bladder’ offers remote-controlled incontinence care
An implantable device developed by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston may provide improved quality of life to persons who suffer from bladder control problems. According to Dr. Christopher Smith, associate professor of urology at BCM, the new InterStim Therapy treatment acts like “a pacemaker for the bladder” by filtering brain signals that cause incontinence. A stimulator is implanted in the buttocks area and the entire unit is beneath the skin, making it invisible to the naked eye, Smith said. Patients use a remote control to dictate the intensity of the electrical impulse and the degree of incontinence control. The device, approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration, is recommended for patients who have not had success with diet and behavioral changes, or oral medications. Full Story

Forensics robot helps doctors with virtual autopsies
In a preview of the future of forensics, researchers at the University of Bern (UB) in Bern, Switzerland are using a robot to help doctors perform virtual autopsies. The Virtobot at UB’s Institute of Forensic Medicine scans the contours and textures of a human cadaver to acquire high-definition images. The images are combined with those from a CT scan in the same room to create a three-dimensional image of the body that can be stored for future use. The robot can also perform CT-guided biopsies. The system is already in use at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to assess the causes of death for troops sent back from Afghanistan or Iraq. Full Story

Oridion, Masimo enter distribution deal for patient monitoring system
Patient monitor maker Oridion Capnography Inc. and Irvine, CA-based respiration equipment provider Masimo have entered a distribution agreement involving the Oridion Capnostream 20 portable bedside monitor. According to Oridion President Gerry Feldman, the deal makes Masimo the product’s non-exclusive distributor throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. The agreement is an extension of a 2009 deal between the two companies in which Oridion began incorporating Masimo’s Patient SafetyNet remote patient monitoring system within its Capnostream product. Full Story

Telepsychiatry becomes treatment of choice for teens, psychiatrists
Telepsychiatry continues to gain popularity among psychiatrists, who enjoy the way it eliminates major barriers to patient treatment, particularly among children, according to a report in Time magazine. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), between 7 million and 12 million children suffer from mental, behavioral and developmental disorders. Half of these persons go without mental health services, largely because of an inability to reach a psychiatrist, AACAP notes. But telepsychiatry makes it possible to contact a patient whether the physician is in or out of the office, according to Time. And, it takes the stigma out of seeing a shrink. It’s much easier for a troubled teen to speak to a television screen than in person at the doctor’s office – partially because videoconferencing has become part of their everyday lives, thanks to social media applications like Skype and texting. Full Story

DEA releases interim final rule on controlled substance e-prescriptions
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)’s interim final rule (IFR) allowing use of electronic prescriptions for controlled substances is now available for review on the Federal Register’s Web site at www.federalregister.gov. The rule is an addition to existing regulations on the prescription of controlled substances. Such regulations prohibit the use of controlled substances-based e-prescriptions, requiring healthcare providers who use electronic data systems to keep paper records for these items. The rule is also expected to reduce paperwork for those who dispense controlled substances, reduce errors caused by illegible handwriting, and cut down on prescription forgeries. The IFR remains in effect until May 31; DEA will accept public comment during that time. Full Story

VA still on track to implement new EHR system by 2012
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is on track to switch to an electronic health record system by 2012 as originally scheduled, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said. The new system, planned for piloting at VA’s Baltimore, Little Rock, AR, Pittsburgh, PA and Providence, R.I. offices, are expected to improve case handling by up to 70 percent. Without a system overhaul, the backlog of unprocessed claims is expected to reach 2.6 million by 2015, 10 times as many as currently handled. It also takes about five months to have a claim processed, and there are many complaints about lost paperwork and inaccuracy, Shinseki said. Under the current system, only one person at a time may review a person’s records, and boxes of paper records must typically be shipped across the nation from office to office, increasing the chance of lost records or further delays. Full Story

National database needed to track EHR malfunctions and errors
A federal advisory panel wants to create the first national database of medical software malfunctions and problems to help doctors and hospitals adopt electronic medical record technology. The Health Information Technology Policy Committee workgroup believes that wiring up the nation’s medical infrastructure holds great promise to improve healthcare quality and lower costs. Even advocates for tighter oversight of the tech industry generally agree that computerized record systems can be superior to paper charts in helping doctors diagnose disease. Yet many authorities also worry that the systems are not as safe as possible. And that’s the problem, according to panel co-chair Marc Probst: the proposed system wouldn’t be up and running before 2013—even though a growing number of technology experts is warning that rapidly converting paper records into digital formats can unleash new types of medical errors. Full Story

ISO proposes use of standardized medical device symbols
The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) is proposing a methodology for development and presentation of medical device symbols that can be understood independently of language. According to Leighton Hansel, manager of the Paris-based ISO working group that developed the standard, standardized symbols will eliminate potentially life-threatening errors or delays in device usage. Similar to international clothing tags, which use standardized symbols to dictate the manner in which a garment may be cleaned, the ISO’s proposal can also be used by manufacturers and regulators for validating symbols for use with medical devices, where suitable symbols are not standardized. Full Story

Kathleen Delaney, chief executive officer of Emerging Health Solutions, announced they have closed on the acquisition of “Dreams” telemedicine technology for $800,000…Curtis Lowery, MD, director for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Center for Distance Health, announced they have partnered with Crittenden Regional Hospital (West Memphis) to use telemedicine application SAVES for immediate treatment of stroke patients…Alan Lowe, chief operating officer of St. Vincent’s Healthcare (Cambridge, UK), announced they are expanding their trial use of telemedicine systems for stroke thrombolysis care in the east of England…Will Rice will be the new executive director of the state of Tennessee’s Office of e-Health Initiatives, replacing Melissa Hargiss…Linda Fischetti, CIO at the Veterans Health Administration, suggested that a governing body should oversee the multi-agency, multi-level execution of the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record Health Community Program created by the Obama Administration…John D. Stobo, University of California’s senior vice president for health sciences and services, announced that the UC regents were forming a committee to study a controversial proposal for the university to provide healthcare for California prison inmates…Jon Linkous, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association, will be the keynote speaker at the 2010 Wyoming Telehealth Summit statewide meeting Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at the University of Wyoming Conference Center-Hilton Garden Inn… Gail Graham, deputy chief officer of health care information management for the Department of Veterans Affairs, announced that they were testing various social media-style tools on the VA’s electronic health record portal My HealtheVet…Sam Agutu, CEO of Kenyan company Changamka Microhealth Ltd, announced his company’s continued focus on e-health services in Kenya with the Chamgamka e-card, which enables low income Kenyans to access quality and affordable healthcare…T.J. Hollis, Ross County Jail (Ohio) administrator, announced that they had received a $15,000 grant that would allow them to transmit medical information to Adena Regional Medical Center...Please send us your news on Movers and Shakers in the field.

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