| ONC to Award Additional $30.3 Million to Beacon Communities Posted: 27 May 2010 12:10 PM PDT The Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has announced two new awards in The Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program totaling $30.3 million. In early May ONC awarded $220 million to 15 Beacon Communities that demonstrate meaningful use of health IT and achieve measurable improvements in health care quality, safety, efficiency, and population health. The additional awards will be made in the form of approximately two 31-month cooperative agreements to non-profit organizations or government entities representing geographic healthcare communities. Selected communities must already be national leaders in the advancement of health IT, workflow redesign and care coordination, or quality monitoring and feedback. The cooperative agreements will be awarded in August of 2010.  |
| MedWaitTime Launches in Chicago Posted: 27 May 2010 09:40 AM PDT MedWaitTime , a new Web and mobile service aimed to help patients determine if their doctor is running late for an appointment, has launched in Chicago. The technology, developed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vishal Mehta with two partners, is live with 10 Chicago-area doctors, with plans to be incorporated into local emergency rooms as well. Patients who sign up with the service receive text messages to notify them when their doctor is late, and Mehta is planning to launch an iPhone app for the service as well. The group has spent more than $200,000 on developing and testing the service and they plan to charge $50 a month per doctor and $300 a month for each hospital department.  |
| Intel to Expand Health Guide in Europe Posted: 27 May 2010 08:01 AM PDT Intel (Santa Clara, Calif.) has announced that it will be expanding availability of the Intel Health Guide in Europe and is working with industry partners in France, Germany, Spain and The Netherlands to bring localized versions of the Intel Health Guide to market in the coming year. The announcement was made at the World Congress for Information Technology in Amsterdam. The Intel Health Guide combines an in-home patient device with an online interface to allow physicians to remotely and securely monitor patients in their homes, addressing challenges of chronic conditions for patients. Chronic conditions currently account for 70 percent of total health expenditure in Europe. The Intel Health Guide is already commercially available in the United Kingdom, United States, Ireland and Australia. Intel is working on a pilot project with the Martini Hospital and CurIT in Groningen to use the Intel Health Guide for pregnant women with diabetes.  |
| Kaiser: Home Monitoring May Improve Blood Pressure Posted: 26 May 2010 07:51 AM PDT A new study led by Kaiser Permanente Colorado in conjunction with the American Heart Association and Microsoft Corp. finds that the use of at-home blood pressure monitors and web-based reporting tools that connect clinicians and patients via the Internet appears to significantly improve patients’ ability to manage their high blood pressure to healthy levels. The study involved 348 patients with uncontrolled hypertension aged 18-85 years. Participants were randomized into a usual care group, where blood pressure was checked during regular office visits, and a home monitoring group, where a Kaiser Permanente application automatically transferred the home blood pressure readings to Kaiser Permanente’s electronic disease registry. At six months, patients in the home monitoring group were 50 percent more likely to have their blood pressure controlled to healthy levels compared to the usual care group. As many as 73 million Americans have high blood pressure, a leading predictor of heart disease.  |
| KLAS: Healthcare IT Consultants in High Demand Posted: 25 May 2010 09:00 AM PDT A new report from Orem, Utah-based research firm KLAS shows that as the healthcare industry moves towards meaningful use, the demand for skilled consultants is high. The report, Shifting Demand for Consultants: Who's Hot, Who's Not, and Why , is based on interviews with 118 healthcare providers and finds that nearly 70 percent of those interviewed expect to hire a professional services firm to help with the demands of achieving meaningful use. The study also notes that, in 2007, just five firms enjoyed significant provider mindshare, while today thirteen do. The KLAS report also details which consulting firms are being considered the most by providers looking to hire outside help, with CSC (formerly FCG) topping that list and being considered in 17 percent of deals. The study notes that the number of firms enjoying significant provider mindshare has incread from five in 2007 to 13 in 2010. Firms highlighted in the KLAS report include Accenture, ACS, Beacon Partners, CSC, CTG, Dearborn Advisors, Deloitte, IBM, maxIT Healthcare, and Navin, Haffty & Associates (NHA).  |
| New Mexico HIE Meets ARRA Stimulus Requirements Posted: 25 May 2010 08:30 AM PDT The US Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has announced that New Mexico is the first state to meet all requirements for strategic and operational planning as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) state health information exchange (HIE) cooperative agreement program. Many states have previously secured ARRA planning funding, but New Mexico is the first and only state to execute on its plan to meet ONC criteria and receive approval for implementation funds. Using the $7 million ARRA grant, The New Mexico Health Information Collaborative (NMHIC) will be able to accelerate its plan to serve two million patients statewide. Currently, NMHIC has one million unique patients in its database, with access to patient record information from more than ten hospitals, two major medical groups, and two major laboratories. The NMHIC network is largely powered by Centergy Data Exchange Services from Cincinnati,Ohio-based MedPlus , the healthcare information technology subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated.  |
| Shands takes surprise hit Posted: By Jim Saunders 5/28/2010 © Health News Florida Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed $371 million from the new state budget today, largely sparing health- and human-services programs. But he immediately raised questions by vetoing millions of dollars for the Shands Healthcare System --- and by trying to prevent rate cuts for nursing homes.  |
