Health information systems expected to save $261 billion through 2020
Using technology to develop interoperable, patient-centered health information systems could yield up to $261 billion in savings for healthcare over the next decade, according to a report by the Washington, D.C-based Commission on U.S. Federal Leadership in Health and Medicine. The commission's report, "A 21st Century Roadmap for Advancing America's Health: The Path from Peril to Progress," notes that health IT will play a major role in "re-engineering healthcare through the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs)." Widespread implementation of EHRs is still in the early stages of development, with only 1 in 5 physicians and 1 in 10 hospitals using basic EHRs. Even fewer are using health IT to advance care coordination, aid clinical decision-making, or report health outcomes. Appreciable benefits from health IT will not be gained until a "comprehensive approach" is adopted, the report notes. Full Story

Northeastern University students invent wireless wristwatch alert for elderly
Student researchers at Northeastern University in Boston have developed an automated emergency alert system to help elderly people in need of immediate medical attention. According to NU associate professor of electrical and computer engineering Charles DiMarzio, the system consists of a wireless wrist device that automatically alerts emergency responders should the item detect a sudden change in the user's vital signs or speed of movement, such as from a fall. The device, which resembles a wristwatch, monitors vital signs, including oxygen levels and heart rate, and wirelessly transmits the information to provide those responding to an emergency with as much knowledge as possible prior to arrival, DiMarzio said. The idea for the device came from a development team member's experience with another, less technologically advanced product, in which the wearer suffered fatal internal injuries after falling down a set of stairs. Full Story

Personal telemedicine system to help promote home health, telepsychiatry
Telepresence system pioneer Vidyo Inc. has unveiled a new telemedicine videoconferencing product that can extend use of the Internet and other IP networks to telepsychiatry, home health, eldercare, speech therapy and specialist consultations. According to Vidyo Chief Executive Officer Ofer Shapiro, the Hackensack, NJ company's VidyoHealth system is an affordable, scalable platform that "easily and effectively" reduces costs while enabling doctor-patient and doctor-doctor video communication and collaboration by eliminating the need for a dedicated telehealth network infrastructure. The real promise of telehealth, Shapiro said, is to make healthcare affordable and accessible to everyone, something that was not possible until now. Vidyo Inc. is the first company to deliver personal telepresence, Shapiro added. Full Story

St. Jude releases quadripolar heart implant monitoring device
Cardiac device maker St. Jude Medical Inc. has released a product that allows physicians to better monitor new heart implants and even manage complications without surgery. According to Eric S. Fain, M.D., president of the St. Jude Medical Cardiac Rhythm Management Division, the Promote Quadra CRT-D is the industry's first quadripolar pacing system and features four pacing electrodes on the left ventricular lead - enabling up to 10 pacing configurations. Multiple pacing configurations allow the physician to implant the lead in the most stable position, while still being able to select the most optimal pacing location. Approximately 23 million people worldwide are afflicted with congestive heart failure (CHF), and 2 million new cases of CHF are diagnosed each year worldwide. Full Story

Colleges launch programs to prepare students for health IT careers
Two-year and four-year colleges nationwide are implementing programs that prepare their students for careers in health information technology. The University of California at San Diego offers an Extension Health IT program in which students develop plans to demonstrate "meaningful use" of electronic health records (EHRs) at community clinics. The students use Medsphere's OpenVista system, an open-source EHR platform derived from the Department of Veterans Affairs' VistA EHR system. Meanwhile, other schools such as the California State University at San Marcos are establishing a six-month Certificate in Health IT program, designed to produce graduates who can provide leadership in the evolution of IT. And, schools such as Northeastern University in Boston are conducting pilot studies on the incorporation of health IT into existing nursing programs and other healthcare fields. Full Story   Further Information

Federal program seeks applicants for $2 million in telemedicine grants
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)'s Office of Rural Health Policy and the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT)'s Telehealth Network Grant Program (TNGP) is offering up to $2 million in grants to eight parties with projects that demonstrate how telehealth programs and networks can improve access to quality healthcare services in underserved rural and urban communities. According to OAT Public Health Analyst Carlos Mena, OAT wants to fund projects that effectively integrate administrative and clinical information systems with the proposed telehealth system, and integrate the system into each provider's normal healthcare practice. Deadline for applying for the grants, to be given out during fiscal years 2010 and 2011, is June 14. For more information, contact Mena at (301) 443-3198 or cmena@hrsa.hhs.gov.   Full Story

Experimental nanosensor offers pain-free blood glucose test for diabetics
A scientist at Draper Laboratories in Cambridge, MA has developed an experimental sensor that can detect blood glucose levels without requiring diabetic patients to undergo the painful finger prick of traditional monitoring. Dr. Heather Clark's implantable nanosensor, similar to a tattoo but far less painful, changes color in response to glucose. Clark inserts her polymer-based nanoparticles into shallow layers of the skin, where the device draws glucose from the blood into its core. A chemical reaction inside the particle causes it to fluoresce, with color changes indicating the concentration of glucose in the blood. Clark then uses an iPhone-sized handheld device to shine a light on the particle, correlating the brightness of the 100-nanometer implant's fluorescence to the amount of glucose in the blood. The device has been tested thus far only on mice. Eventually, the lab hopes to commercialize the product, but that is still a long way off, Clark said. Full Story

Cardiocom, ContinuLink enter home telemonitoring system deal
Chanhassen-based telehealth services provider Cardiocom and Atlanta-based ContinuLink Health Technologies now have a business arrangement that offers improved use of ContinuLink's home telemonitoring system. According to ContinuLink Chief Executive Officer Satish Movva, Cardiocom's Omnivisor Pro software application and the Web-based ContinuLink application can be directly integrated to bring forward a single point of access for the telehealth clinician. The clinician can perform a health check consisting of a series of health and wellness related questions and collect various vital signs, which can include weight, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart rate and peak flow. This information is automatically transmitted via a standard phone line or a cellular connection from the patient's home and is immediately available for review by the telehealth clinician, Movva said. Full Story

Samsung's $20.6 billion investment to include medical device technologies
In an effort to create thousands of new jobs, Samsung Group plans to invest $20.6 billion [USD] in medical device and solar cell technologies in South Korea over the next decade. According to Lee Kun-Hee, chairperson of group flagship Samsung Electronics in Seoul, South Korea, the money will be spent in five areas: solar cells, rechargeable cells for hybrid electric vehicles, LED technologies, biopharmaceuticals and medical devices. The medical device portion, which includes electronic healthcare equipment such as blood testing units, will account for $1.2 billion of the funding. South Korea's jobless rate hit a nine-year high of 5 percent in January. The Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry said in a report earlier this year that Samsung Electronics created the most new jobs in South Korea of any company from 2003 to 2008. Full Story

Cellular networks, patient monitoring can save health providers $5.8 billion
Use of remote patient monitoring through cellular networks can save public and private healthcare providers up to $5.8 billion globally by 2014, according to a report by Hampshire, United Kingdom-based Juniper Research. The research firm's "Mobile Health Opportunities Report" notes that providers in the United States and Canada will save the most during that period due to the structure of their health systems, high healthcare costs, and more advanced remote monitoring rollouts. For example, a hospital bed costs more in North America, meaning there is a greater potential on the savings generated by remote monitoring, Juniper Research Senior Analyst and report author Anthony Cox said. Savings will also be generated by the renewed interest in mobile health during the past 18 months, as well as a thriving health and fitness market that is pushing development of items such as body-worn sensors, the report notes. Full Story

CMS awards $9.2 million in EHR system funding to four states
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded $9.2 million in federal stimulus funds to help four states implement electronic health record systems (EHRs) and qualify for future Medicaid incentives. According to Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations at CMS, the states of New Jersey ($4.93 million), Louisiana ($1.85 million), Maryland ($1.37 million) and Minnesota ($1.04 million) were the latest funding recipients under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). ARRA provides a 90 percent federal match to cover the cost of state planning efforts related to the EHR incentive program. CMS has awarded nearly $68 million in planning grants to 39 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands since 2009. Further Information   Further Information   Further Information   Further Information

Health technology prevents $2.5 billion in Medicare fraud in 2009
A federal reform law introduced by the departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Justice is saving Medicare and Medicaid billions of dollars through the use of advanced technology and data analysis tools. According to the government's annual "Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program" (HCFAC) report, the Affordable Care Act (ACA)'s anti-fraud efforts in 2009 resulted in $2.51 billion being deposited to the Medicare Trust Fund, a $569 million, or 29 percent, increase over 2008. In addition, more than $441 million in federal Medicaid money was returned to the Treasury, a 28 percent increase from 2008. An ACA-created program called the Center for Program Integrity - run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) - uses techniques such as electronic patient record and prescription transaction monitoring to uncover improper payments, according to HHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson. Fraud recoveries were made in all areas of medicine, including hospitals, product manufacturers, private physician practices and among patients, the report notes. Full Story   Further Information

Ed Meagher, chair of an Industry Advisory Council work group, estimates that overhauling the Department of Veterans Affairs' VistA electronic health record system could cost between $5 and $7 billion...Rick Spurr, CEO of Zix Corporation, has teamed with insurance broker Lockton, to provide healthcare companies that have chosen cyber liability insurance coverage with best-in-class email encryption services...Niels Weertman, vice president of Product Management for Scopus, announced a new iPhone application, Scopus Alerts, that gives researchers mobile access to the Searching and Alerting features of Scopus, the world's largest abstract and citation database...Dale Alverson, MD, Medical Director, Center for Telehealth, University of New Mexico Health Sciences, moderated a Capitol Hill roundtable discussion on "Policy, Technology, and Research Developments in Mobile Health"...Gov. Jim Doyle of Wisconsin signed into law the WIRED for Health Act, which will create an organization to oversee a statewide electronic health record...Maurizio Vecchione, president and CEO of CompuMed, announced a campaign to introduce its CardioGram electrocardiography (ECG) telemedicine system to medically underserved markets...Please send us your news on Movers and Shakers in the field.

• e-Health 2010: From Investment to Impact
  May 30 - June 2, 2010 - Vancouver, Canada
  e-Health 2010
  
  
• Seventh Annual Healthcare Unbound Conference & Exhibition
  July 19-20, 2010 - San Diego, CA
  Networks, platforms & applications for technology-enabled participatory medicine. Special focus on remote monitoring, home telehealth, mhealth and ehealth for chronic care management and wellness promotion. Featuring an aging services educational track. Supporting organizations include: AAHSA, CAST and DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance. www.tcbi.org
  


• Global TeleHealth 2010
  November 10-12, 2010 - Perth, Western Australia
  More Info
  

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