Surgeons at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill are using electromagnetic seeds to make landmarks in lungs to help them perform more accurate biopsies for patients facing cancer. The system begins with the patient having a special CT scan that is used to create a 3-D map of the lungs. The map is used to chart the quickest route to nodules in the lungs, while electromagnetic seeds are placed to mark the way.
Texas-based technology giant EDS announced it has been awarded a 6 1/2-year, $209 million contract to upgrade the information and claims-processing system used to run Indiana's Medicaid system. The new agreement includes several enhancements, such as digital storing of files and a Web-based tool for doctors and other providers to enroll in the program. Indiana's Medicaid program has 27,000 healthcare providers and 800,000 recipients.
Allscripts, a Chicago-based EMR vendor, has acquired Extended Care Information Network (ECIN), a provider of hospital care management and discharge planning software, for approximately $90 million in cash. ECIN's web-based software automates the care management process in hospitals, from admission through discharge. The privately held company has a client base of more than 400 hospitals and nearly 5,000 postacute care facilities.
Although the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program® does not explicitly require that hospitals use information technology, many of the organizations that have achieved magnet status are making extensive use of IT, especially electronic charting for nurses.
Experts are developing a flexible surgical robot which they say could revolutionise keyhole surgery. The robot, known as the i-Snake, could enable surgeons to do complex procedures previously possible only through more invasive techniques. They envisage using the i-Snake for heart bypass surgery, but it could also be used to diagnose problems in the gut and bowel by acting as the surgeon's hands and eyes in hard to reach places inside the body.
A new California law expands the state's existing data-breach notification law to include unencrypted medical histories, information on mental or physical conditions, and medical treatments and diagnoses. Under the law, California residents must now be notified when their electronic medical information or health insurance information has been exposed.