Foundation awards $2.4 million for patient monitoring research
Five university research teams will share more than $2.4 million in grants to help explore the use of remote sensors in patient monitoring and how the compiled data can help physicians improve quality of care. The Princeton, N.J.-based Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has awarded each team a two-year, $480,000 grant for research such as the monitoring of medication usage among seniors at risk of cognitive decline, according to Stephen Downs, S.M., assistant vice president of RWJF’s Health Group. Recipient schools are Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA; RTI International and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA; San Francisco State University; University of California at Berkeley; and the University of California at Irvine and Charles Drew University. The research is part of an ongoing health information technology study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Project HealthDesign. Full Story

GE Healthcare unveils new EHR tools to help doctors meet 2011 deadline
GE Healthcare has introduced several electronic medical record (EMR) and revenue cycle management products designed to speed up physicians’ ability to implement health information technology tools required for federal incentives before the 2011 deadline. According to Jim Corrigan, GE Healthcare vice president and general manager, the new products include a streamlined version of its Centricity EMR system, with a new rapid-install process that enables practices to get up and running in as little as 10 weeks; Centricity Business “PowerStart,” used by most academic medical centers and hospital networks in the U.S., that now includes rapid implementation, smart workflows and the core functionality required by many complex physician practices; and the Stimulus Simplicity program, which makes physician practices purchasing GE Healthcare’s EMR solutions and/or Centricity Business PowerStart eligible for zero percent payment terms, with deferred payments until 2012. Full Story

New handheld brain pulse device could control migraines
Researchers at Albert Einstein College in New York are testing a handheld device that uses a magnetic pulse to the back of the head to treat migraines. The researchers note that that device could become an alternative to drug treatment for millions of chronic headache sufferers. The device emits a single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (sTMS), thought to disrupt the electrical events in the brain which cause the preliminary symptoms of migraines with aura. Forty percent of the 200 patients in early trials were pain free two hours after using the device. Research also showed there were no serious side-effects and patients found the device easy to use at home. However, doctors say more research is needed to work out the timing of the doses. Migraines affect close to 18 percent of women and 6 percent of men in the United States and Europe. Full Story

Quest, Surescripts to collaborate on physician medical data network
Healthcare information network giants Quest Diagnostics and Surescripts have announced an agreement to create an integrated service to make laboratory and prescription information broadly and easily accessible to physicians. According to Richard A. Mahoney, Quest Diagnostics’ vice president of Healthcare Information Solutions, both companies have been working on products designed to improve patient safety and clinical outcomes. The joint venture, geared toward creation of a nationwide health information network (NHIN), will “make it possible and realistic for physicians to use technology meaningfully toward optimal and efficient patient care,” Mahoney said. Quest Diagnostics, based in Madison, NJ, tests approximately 150 million patients each year and has 150,000 physicians connected to its Care360 platform. Surescripts, headquartered in Alexandria, VA, processed nearly 600 million e-prescription messages in 2009 and now supports approximately 170,000 active prescribers. Full Story

MainStreet introduces e-health tracking products for seniors, children
Cranston, RI-based telemedicine safety products maker MainStreet Monitoring Devices Inc. has launched two new patient tracking and monitoring systems geared toward protection of children and seniors, including individuals challenged with autism, Alzheimer’s, and other developmental and sensory disorders. According to Craig Baker, MainStreet’s Chief Executive Officer, the new CareTracker system integrates machine-to-machine technologies that can be worn as a pendant or wristwatch, carried in the pocket of clothing, or clipped to a belt. Caregivers can easily monitor an individual’s location by accessing the CareTracker Web site online from a computer, Apple iPhone, or other smartphone. The device works in conjunction with new CareAlert , MainStreet MD’s emergency response alert system device. Both products are built, deployed and managed using Addison, TX-based SensorLogic’s Cirrus Platform as a Service (PaaS), Baker said. Full Story

New ‘electronic house call’ device developed to treat sleep apnea
ExpressMD Solutions, a provider of remote patient monitoring systems and services for patients with chronic illnesses, has developed an interface between its Electronic House Call (EHC) in-home remote patient monitoring solution and Somerset, PA-based DeVilbiss Healthcare’s IntelliPAP AutoAdjust Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device, which is used to treat obstructive sleep apnea. According to DeVilbiss Vice President of Marketing Joe Howard, the EHC allows healthcare providers to manage more patients without increasing staff overhead costs, and to improve personalized care plans and vital statistics monitoring while reducing the requirement for home and office patient visits. And, using remote patient monitoring for chronic patient illness management can reduce the incidence of emergency hospitalizations and readmissions, minimize severity of reoccurrences, and improve condition outcomes for patients, Howard said. Full Story

Combination cardiac monitor/smartphone coming from Germany
A Berlin-based medical products distribution firm is about to release a remote cardiac monitoring tool that also functions as an advanced cell phone. According to Andy Rosch, managing director at MMB Medical Marketing Berlin GmbH, the H’andy sana 210, also known as a “doctor in your pocket,” is the first telemedicine device that allows a heart patient to remotely monitor their heart by recording a real-time ECG (electrocardiogram), send it to a health professional, and also functions as a basic smartphone. The device merely requires two fingers for a patient to take an ECG reading of their heart’s rhythm at any place or time, and can also monitor vitals such as blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol. The device also offers an emergency service where the ECG would be sent to medical experts for immediate (2-3 minute) analysis and diagnosis. Rosch said the H’andy sana 210 is expected to be released in the United Kingdom and Germany in August, and other parts of Europe in November. Full Story    Further Information

CCHIT extends certification to women’s health, oncology programs
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) is expanding its certification programs to include those involving women’s health and oncology. The programs represent the next step in the Commission’s expansion roadmap to address the needs of professional specialties, care settings, and patient populations. Development of these two new programs will begin following an open recruitment for volunteer work group members conducted only through the Commission’s Web site from March 16 through April 16, 2010. Those interested in applying should visit the CCHIT website  beginning on March 16 for more information. Work Group members will be announced in June. Other programs currently under development for launch this summer include Behavioral Health, Clinical Research, Dermatology, and Long Term and Post-Acute Care. Full Story

Honduras clinic gets telemedicine upgrade from GlobalMedia
In an effort to improve medical care in one of the world’s poorest and most technologically remote regions, Scottsdale, AZ-based GlobalMedia has donated advanced telemedicine equipment to the nonprofit firm Shoulder to Shoulder (S2S) for a new medical clinic in Concepcion, Honduras. According to Jeffery E. Heck, MD, executive director and founder of S2S and professor at the University of North Carolina, the equipment – a TotalExam high-definition camera, ClearSteth digital stethoscope and CapSure store-and-forward software – will help bring high-quality, cutting-edge and lower-cost healthcare to an area that has traditionally relied on low-quality x-rays and lacks nearly all forms of modern digital imaging. Joel E. Barthelemy, managing director of GlobalMedia, believes Shoulder to Shoulder “recognizes that the right technology can revolutionize healthcare for regions just like Concepcion, Honduras and help drastically improve the quality of life. We’re honored to partner with them.”    Full Story

NeHC launches online university to teach ABCs of NHIN
The National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) has created a new online “NHIN University” to educate health information stakeholders on efforts to build the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). According to NeHC Chairperson Laura Adams, the first semester of NHIN University features a series of free webinars intended to provide stakeholders with foundational knowledge about what the NHIN is, how it works, and “the vital trust fabric that underpins the safe and secure exchange of health information.” The online classes will also enable stakeholders to interact with their professors, providing real-time, real-world reactions to the information presented, Adams said. The first webinar was held Feb. 22; future classes are on March 16, in mid-April and mid-May. To sign up for the courses, visit the National eHealth Collaborative website.   Full Story

Consumers still prefer medical advice from doctors, not Web
Physicians are still the primary source of information for medical care despite the Internet’s growing popularity with consumers as a medical encyclopedia, according to a survey by the National Cancer Institute. The seven-year study, involving 16,000 people, found that trust in Web-based sources has actually declined over time, and trust in medical information from television and other sources has decreased dramatically from 2002 through 2008. More people, however, are using the Web as a first-time resource for medical information before conferring with their physicians, the survey notes. The survey was published in the March 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Full Story

VA temporarily shuts down DoD EHR portal due to access errors
A medical glitch has caused the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to shut down access to Department of Defense (DoD)-managed electronic health records, the VA reported. According to a patient safety alert from Veterans Affairs, the error caused some physicians to download incorrect or incomplete patient medical records when they used the VA’s Computerized Patient Record System, Remote Data View and VistAWeb functions. No patient harm has been reported, but the potential exists, leading to a disabling of system access until further notice, the VA reports. No date has been given as to when the system might be back in operation. Full Story

Julius Genachowski, FCC Chairperson, announced that the FCC is giving $145 million to 16 telehealth projects in 17 states as part of an expansion of its Rural Health Care Pilot Program…Andrew Weniger and Tara Waechter, both with the North Carolina Healthcare Information and Communications Alliance, announced that they are accepting proposals for a Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) gateway to connect to the Western North Carolina Health Network’s Data Link…Dr. Young Koo Cha, senior vice president of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm Korea, announced that the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) to provide applications and smartphones to improve the efficiency of South Korea’s national health survey…Andrew M. Wiesenthal, MD, SM, associate executive director of The Permanente Federation, announced that every medical facility within the Kaiser Permanente health system is now equipped with Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect, the largest private sector electronic health record in the world…Alisa Ray, executive director of the Certification Commission for Health IT (CCHIT) announced that they have received a record 46 vendor applications seeking certification for electronic health records…Hrant Khachatryan, radio engineer of Simotech, announced that the company is involved in negotiations with Armenia and Russia to establish a united telemedicine network…Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin, chief medical officer and president of clinical services at HCA says that the “meaningful use” incentives of the HITECH Act have accelerated the healthcare systems’ implementation of electronic health records… Professor Zafarullah Chaudhry, president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP), inaugurated the Tele-oncology services initiative of the Telemedicine/E-Health Training Centre (TETC) of Holy Family Hospital…Please send us your news on Movers and Shakers in the field.