Buried in the blizzard of year-end holiday distractions was an announcement from Aetna that could prove, in hindsight, to be one of those watershed events. Just before Christmas (probably the least effective time to put out a press release), the insurance giant said it will pay for Web visit consultations to physicians in more than 30 specialties. Aetna has hooked up with RelayHealth, an online connectivity vendor that was acquired by another giant, McKesson, in June 2006.
A handful of physicians have been using the Relay technology, which enables secure messaging between physicians and patients. For non-urgent matters, this can be a real convenience for patients no doubt. How many times have you gone to the doctor, only to forget to ask a question? Or how many times have you had to skip work for a visit to resolve what proved to be a minor issue? In this column, I have publicly pined for such interactive capability with my own physician.
But despite the advantages for us patients, unless physicians can be paid for such visits and services, what good does the technology do them? I have interviewed many physicians who have put in EMR technology. Some have even opened up their scheduling system and clinical records to their patients, who can access their own chart electronically. But when the discussion shifts to online consultations, or so-called "e-visits," the tone changes. Physicians invariably say the same thing: Until there's payer support, we have no incentive.
Well now, at least for Aetna patients, that is starting to change. That's not to say this technology will spread like wildfire. Patients continue to have misgivings about the security of sharing health data online, as several recent surveys have attested. And physicians will have to, in the words of the management consultants, "reengineer their workflows" to make it happen.
I'm not one to make predictions. But I think that connectivity services that pull patients and providers together can only go up. This is, after all, a service industry. And the one-on-one relationships between consumers and providers comprise the cornerstone.
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.