A recent study showed that eight out of 10 people go online for health information, but only 45% of those Web sites are accurate. So patients are increasingly turning to fellow patients for advice, information, support, or just a laugh through blogs.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has unanimously approved a health IT bill and sent it to the full House for action. The committee leaders who sponsored the Protecting Records, Optimizing Treatment and Easing Communication Through Healthcare Technology Act of 2008 made significant concessions to privacy advocates and to those who use health information. The PRO(TECH)T Act aims to promote e-health records for all Americans by 2014, as the Bush Administration called for in 2004. It also establishes in law the technology standards activities that the Bush administration developed and would provide $560 million in grants and loans for healthcare providers to acquire EHR systems.
Ronald Herberman, MD, the director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers, plans to issue an advisory to faculty and staff about the possible health risks associated with cellular phone use. The advisory suggests measures to limit exposure to electromagnetic radiation emitted by the devices. It also recommends that children not use cell phones except in emergencies. Herberman said he hoped the suggestions would spread to others within Pitt and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, as well as to the general public.
Zimmer Holdings says it will suspend sales of the Durom cup, an artificial hip component, that some doctors have complained was failing at a high rate. In recent months, some doctors have complained that the device was failing in their patients, who then had to undergo replacement surgery. Zimmer said its investigation had determined that the product was not defective, but added that even some experienced surgeons had found it difficult to implant. The company said it expected to resume sales once specialized training for doctors had begun.
Internet entrepreneurs are teaming with doctors, researchers, and other medical professionals to create the Web's largest body of health information. Modeled on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, but written and edited only by trained professionals, the Medpedia Project will gather knowledge usually confined to academic circles but make it understandable and available to consumers. The website will be officially launched at year's end.
Qtrac Software and Patient Placement Systems, a provider of patient referral software, have announced a partnership to help long term care facilities efficiently manage patient referrals and intake, as well as transition seamlessly to an electronic health record. Through the partnership, Patient Placement Systems will connect disparate referral, admissions, and discharge databases with Qtrac's clinical care applications to streamline communication, transfer data and enable new residents to quickly and efficiently transition into a managed care delivery model with supporting documentation.