First we have.
Massachusetts requires EHRs in hospitals by 2015
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has signed into law a health care bill that will require hospitals and community health centers to use interoperable electronic health records (EHR) systems if they seek to obtain or renew licenses to operate in 2015 or afterward.
The law outlines a goal of “full implementation of electronic health records systems and the statewide interoperable electronic health records network by January 1, 2015.” It sets up a mechanism for creating a statewide health information network.
However, it stops short of requiring doctors in private practice to use health IT. Instead, it requires doctors to demonstrate competence in the use of computerized physician order entry (CPOE), e-prescribing, EHRs and other forms of health IT by the beginning of 2015, as part of their licensure requirements.
The new law also requires hospitals and community health centers to implement CPOE as a licensing requirement, beginning in 2012.
More here:
http://www.fcw.com/online/news/153468-1.html
This is really amazing to have a State set legal deadlines to get systems in over only 4-5 years, and not easy ones either! We could to with a bit more of this in OZ!
Second we have.
Canadian electronic health record projects quadruple in four years
Momentum improving patient care
August 11, 2008 (Toronto) - Canada's electronic health record (EHR) projects increased by 12 per cent last year and have quadrupled since 2004 announced Richard Alvarez, President and CEO of Canada Health Infoway (Infoway).
"Canadians want their medical information available electronically to the clinicians who care for them," said Alvarez. "And that's starting to happen in communities across Canada. Collaboration among governments is at an all-time high and with continued federal funding, we are well on our way to providing every Canadian with an electronic health record by 2016."
Working with its federal, provincial and territorial partners, Infoway is quickening the pace of development and implementation of electronic health records. Infoway approved $311.5 million in new EHR investments in 2007-08, bringing the total cumulative value of its investments to $1.457 billion or 89 per cent of Infoway's $1.6 billion in capitalization by the federal government. The investment brings the total number of projects underway to 254, representing a four-fold increase from the 53 projects that were underway in 2004.
"The electronic health record projects the government of Canada is investing in are coming alive, bringing tangible results to Canadians and the clinicians who care for them," said the Honourable Tony Clement, Federal Minister of Health.
These efforts are translating into real benefits for patients from coast-to-coast: In Nova Scotia, the shared diagnostic imaging program provides digital images of X-rays, MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds to authorized health practitioners where and when they're needed; patients in remote northern communities are connected with health care professionals in urban centres through telehealth, improving their access to care; and electronic medical records are generating much-needed efficiencies in the face of growing clinician shortages, increasing chronic disease and growing administrative demands.
In addition to the steady progress being made in all electronic health record programs including registries, diagnostic imaging, lab and drug programs, Infoway continues to target investments in replicable solutions that support health system transformation, such as telehealth and public health surveillance.
Read our 2007-2008 Annual Report to learn more.
http://www.infoway-inforoute.ca/en/News-Events/InTheNews_long.aspx?UID=325
Seems like Canada is continuing to work hard – and to be really making some progress!
Third we have:
Techies find niche in health care field
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/13/2008
Jeff Ray always liked technology. When he got out of the Army about 10 years ago, he started taking computer science classes. Soon he was working for the Newberry Group, a technology consulting firm in St. Charles.
Through his job there, Ray entered health information technology, one of the fastest-growing industries in the nation. The Newberry Group had a contract with SSM Healthcare-St. Louis, and Ray eventually moved to being a full-time SSM employee.
With positions ranging from systems technicians to chief medical-technology officers, careers related to how medical information is generated, stored and mined are soaring in demand and popularity.
"Because of trends in the health care industry, we need people who have a new knowledge base for decision-making," said Jody Smith, chair of the health informatics and information management program at St. Louis University's Doisey College of Health Sciences. This fall, the school will add a master's program in informatics.
If the nation's health care system continues to move toward wider adoption of health information technology, it could need 40,000 more health IT professionals to do it, according to research by Dr. William Hersh, a professor of health informatics at Oregon Health & Science University.
Hersh found U.S. hospitals employ about 108,000 full-time equivalents in health information technology careers. But if these hospitals want to increase technology to the point where it improves quality and efficiency, the number will need to increase by more than 37 percent.
Dr. Don Detmer, chief executive of the American Medical Informatics Association, said Hersh's estimates are the best available, but they aren't adequate because it's difficult to differentiate between the professionals who design the systems and those who make them work. Detmer is confident more health information technology professionals will be needed.
"It's an emerging profession," Detmer said. "There's not enough trained people."
More background on the HI professional shortage –an interesting read.
Software that saves lives
By Mary K. Patt , Computerworld , 08/11/2008
The statistics were telling: 15% to 20% of neurosurgery patients developed infections in the drains that neurosurgeons implanted to draw away fluids, a complication that not only threatened lives, but also led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in treatment costs annually.
Dr. Daniel Stålhammar, a neurosurgeon for 40 years, believed his hospital, Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, could do better. He turned to computers for help.
That may not be surprising, but his choice of IT tools is: Stålhammar picked business intelligence software to improve patient outcomes and ultimately save lives.
"I needed to handle large databases and have tools to make proper decisions on which patients were to be selected for specialized and very expensive care," he says.
Stålhammar used QlikTech International AB's QlikView to analyze multiple databases containing patient information against established medical measurements and likely outcomes. This tool has helped the hospital reduce its rate of medical complications, sparing patients any additional pain and problems and eliminating the need for many costly tests and treatments.
Much more detail here:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/081108-software-that-saves.html?hpg1=bn
A good example of the application of business technology to address a health related problem!
E-health programs result in lower premiums for companies, better care for employees
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal - by Lisa Sibley
Cisco Systems Inc. management is saving more than $4 for every $1 it invests in its employees' health care.
Executives at the San Jose-based company discovered that when employees become involved in their personal electronic health-care records, they are healthier and more productive at work. There are fewer visits to the doctor, and the employer's health care costs are reduced.
The results are part of a pilot program begun with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation three years ago, offering an example for other Silicon Valley companies.
Cisco had the advantage of scale that smaller companies may find hard to duplicate, but experts say others may try when they see the possible savings.
"We are saving more than the $36,000 we are putting in," said Sharon Gibson, Cisco's director of health care practice for the Internet Business Solutions Group. "It pays for itself."
The networking equipment supplier paid a $60-per-year subscription service, or $5 a month per employee, to participate. There are 600 employees in the pilot program. Gibson and Dr. Paul Tang, the foundation's vice president and chief medical information officer, are continuing to track progress of the study.
The initial results showed 87 percent of employees spent less time away from work; 72 percent said they reduced their number of office visits; and 61 percent preferred online contact with their physicians and physicians' offices, Tang said.
"There was intrigue from the employees," Gibson said. "They thought this was a novel idea, and we wanted to build on that success."
The company is continuing to expand the program to more employees and their dependents. It is tracking the benefits with additional results to be released soon. Gibson said the real advantage to employees is offering health support services online that are similar to other areas of their workplace and lives.
More here:
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/08/11/story3.html?b=1218427200^1681407
Yet more proof of how Health IT can make a difference!
August 8, 2008
WSN to Save Billions for Healthcare Industry
The healthcare industry has the potential to save approximately $25 billion by 2012 because of advancements in WSN (wireless sensor networking) technology, according to a recent report from ON World, www.onworld.com, San Diego, Calif. The study lists reducing hospitalizations and extending independent living for seniors as the main benefits WSN can provide for the healthcare industry.
“With a clear return on investment and high average revenue per user, healthcare is one of the most funded research areas for WSN,” says Mareca Hatler, director of research, ON World. “There are literally dozens of healthcare WSN ‘killer apps’ for outpatient monitoring, chronic disease management, and elderly care.”
ON World says the WSN applications attracting the interest in healthcare are that of AAL (ambient assisted living) and BSN (body sensor networks). Using a network of sensors installed throughout a home, AAL systems remotely monitor patients in their homes, thereby giving the elderly the ability to live independently longer and reducing the amount of travel and associated expenses for their caretakers. According to the study, AAL systems have benefited from advancements in “smart home” WSN technologies, such as ZigBee, Z-Wave, and Wi-Fi.
More here:
http://www.specialtypub.com/m2m/article.asp?article_id=7061&SECTION=4
I must say WSN has slipped under my radar until now. Must find out more in due course!
Enjoy!
David.
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