It has been another one of those weeks when too much news was barely enough. We also had the following:
First we had:
Crisis not hurting IBA Health
Karen Dearne | November 06, 2008
HEALTHCARE will remain relatively immune from the wider financial crisis "as demand for healthcare does not track stock market indexes", IBA Health Group's executive chairman and chief executive Gary Cohen says.
"For obvious reasons, governments worldwide remain under pressure from citizens to spend more on healthcare, not less," Mr Cohen said at the company's annual general meeting in Sydney.
"All estimates point to continued increases in spending. In modern economies, healthcare is rapidly moving up political agendas amid escalating costs and growing demand for better quality patient care.
"As a business, IBA is resilient in the face of recessionary pressures, as our customers are largely public sector organisations, with obligations and priorities to their citizens. Consequently we expect to be relatively unaffected by the downturn in other sectors."
Following the acquisition of its former rival, iSoft, IBA has become one of the largest providers of healthcare software worldwide, with more than 13,000 customers in 35 countries, 3800 employees and annual revenues in excess of $500 million. Eighty-five per cent of its revenue is now generated outside its traditional markets in Australia and Southeast Asia.
More here
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24611037-15306,00.html
IBA was also mentioned here:
IT braces for the crunch
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Last Updated: Wednesday, 5 November 2008
By James Thomson and Patrick Stafford
The SmartCompany Dun & Bradstreet Industry Growth List for the information technology sector reveals a set of results that are unfortunately not indicative of the year ahead.
These are nervous times in the information technology sector. While many of the companies on the SmartCompany Dun & Bradstreet Industry Growth List have enjoyed strong growth over the past 12 months and are confident of further growth, IT spending is slowing and a wave of consolidation is set to begin.
The 50 companies on the SmartCompany Dun & Bradstreet Industry Growth List range in size and specialty from IT services giant IBM (revenue: $3.9 billion) through to Objective Corporation (revenue: $27.6 million), which specialises in content management systems for government bodies and corporations.
The total revenue of the companies on the list rose 21.8% to $33.3 billion, compared with $27.3 billion in the previous corresponding period. The list is dominated by mid-to-large-sized firms, with the average revenue of the companies on the list being $665 million.
On top is IBA Health, which specialises in software for the healthcare sector. The company’s suite of products includes software for patient record keeping, facilities management, electronic claims management and professional accreditation.
Much more analysis here:
Good news for the shareholders (including yours truly)!
Second we have:
Imaging the South and WA Department of Health Connect
Friday, 07 November 2008
Western Australian radiology leader Imaging the South has established connectivity directly to the WA Health Department in an effort to improve the level of care provided to regional patients.
Australian teleradiology pioneer Imaging the South today announced that in conjunction with the West Australian Department of Health, clinical data stored by the practice will be made available to all WA public hospitals on the WAPACS system effective immediately.
“This is a major step forward,” said Angela Whittington, CEO of Imaging the South, “and something we have been very keen to introduce for some years now.”
The system which has been in development for several months, will allow the secure transmission of patient diagnostic images from Imaging the South’s ITSLink PACS to the Department of Health’s WAPACS system in use at major tertiary hospitals around the state. Importantly, the link is bi-directional, which means that images from tertiary hospitals will also be able to be transmitted to ITS-Link, which will mean that ITS radiologists will have access to electronic versions of previous images available to them.
More here:
This looks like good news – while at the same time showing how local initiatives a just getting on with it – in the absence of national co-ordination. I hope likely national standards are being complied with so the system can grow in the future.
Third we have:
Decisions on ICD-10 rules likely to be postponed
By: Joseph Conn / HITS staff writer
Posted: November 3, 2008 - 5:59 am EDT
Part one of a two-part series:
The presidential election this week likely will have a profound impact on American life, but the coming change in occupancy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. also could affect two of the most arcane yet important elements in healthcare—electronic data standards and code sets.
Those topics are at the center of a great debate taking place among healthcare interest groups in a battle that likely won’t be settled until there is a new administration.
The debate stems from an Aug. 15 announcement by HHS that it wants to switch the nation from the current diagnoses and inpatient procedure codes set under the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, or ICD-9, to those under ICD-10. HHS also proposed to mandate an upgrade of the Accredited Standards Committee X12 data transmission standards from the current Version 4010 to Version 5010 by Oct. 1, 2010. The data standards change is needed to handle the longer and far more numerous and complex ICD-10 codes.
The public comment period on the proposed rules closed Oct. 21 and unleashed a string of pronouncements on the subject with several of them clashing over what the deadline for implementation of ICD-10 should be.
More – and a second article – here:
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081103/REG/311039994/1029/FREE
The US is really struggling with this – and it now seems to whole process will be delayed by another year!
Fourth we have:
EHTEL defends patients’ right to “switch off eHealth”
Wednesday 5th November 2008
European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL) experts Angelica Frithiof (Chair of the EHTEL Patient Stakeholder Group) and Jos Dumortier launched the EHTEL Patients Charter for eHealth Information Systems at the WoHIT conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, this Tuesday.
The Charter calls on national healthcare authorities across the European Union to adopt a patient-centred approach to formalising and harmonising guidelines related to the use of e-health systems and the processing of electronic health records.
Under the heading "Dignity and Respect", the Charter addresses the issue of the enormous potential of e-health to improve the quality of life for older people, disabled people and patients affected by chronic diseases and other conditions.
Frithiof warned, however, that "we must recognise that despite the clear advantages, monitoring technologies, by their very nature, are invasive, since they are installed in private residences, be they rooms in a care institution or in a private home. Attention needs to be paid to the way in which such technology is installed, how patients, infirm citizens and carers are treated."
This is a very European approach – but it does address an issue I must admit I have never even considered – silly me!
Fifth we have:
Military to unveil PHR with Google, Microsoft help
By: Joseph Conn / HITS staff writer
Posted: November 6, 2008 - 5:59 am EDT
The Military Health System could debut a personal health-record system by December, working in conjunction with rival PHR platform developers Microsoft Corp. and Google, a military health official said in a blog posting.
Stephen Jones reported on a tour of health facilities with Chuck Campbell, the MHS chief information officer, including a trip to 205-bed Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Wash. While there, Jones said they “met with some of the brightest technical and medical minds in the military” and spoke of “a new partnership between the DoD and Google and Microsoft to develop a prototype personal health record.”
The new PHR will be “both available to, and entirely controlled by, the patient, and at no additional cost to the beneficiary,” Jones wrote. “A first draft of the system is set to debut as early as December and we are very excited about the potential of this new technology.”
More here:
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20081106/REG/311069994
It occurs to me the Australian Military and Veterans Affairs could undertake a similar project as a proof of concept in OZ. Wonder if they might think of it!
Last we have:
eHealth Policy and Research
Monday, 03 November 2008
For two decades the European Commission has contributed to the improvement of healthcare by supporting the research and development of new technologies that can change the way we get health treatment. With i2010, the Commission's strategic framework to create a European Information Society for growth and jobs, the focus is now on meeting the health care needs of our ageing population.
eHealth makes it possible for citizens to get quality health information and view their health records on line, even when travelling in Europe. Secure health networks, containing specific vital information about patients, can be accessed securely by health professionals in any EU Member State. eHealth does this and much more.
eHealth improves relations between patient and health-service administrations, by allowing institution-to-institution transmission of data, and peer-to-peer communication between patients and/or health professionals.
eHealth can also be thought of as health information networks, electronic health records, telemedicine services, and personal wearable, portable and communicable systems to monitor and support patients.
More here:
This is a useful summary of what the EU is up to in e-Health, and it is a great deal!
See also:
http://www.ehealthnews.eu/content/view/1386/37/
Accelerating the Development of the eHealth market - Viviane Reding's Speech at WoHIT 2008
Enjoy
David.
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