A California representative is joining seven other bipartisan co-sponsors to introduce the Medicare Remote Monitoring Access Act of 2008, which proposes Medicare be required to cover remote monitoring services for patients with chronic health conditions. The bill proposes to amend the Social Security Act to cover remote patient management services for heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia. It also proposes to create a demonstration program to evaluate the potential coverage of these services for diabetes, epilepsy and sleep apnea.
The Washington (PA) Hospital, a 265-bed community facility, has recently started using an innovative science fiction-like wireless voice communications system that allows doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to instantly connect to one other with a simple tap of a button. More than 1,400 people (everyone from nurses, lab technicians and doctors to housekeeping and escort) have been trained to use the Vocera badge and its accompanying software, which includes a hands-free, clip-on device about the size and shape of a portable digital voice recorder. As a result, staff are spending more time with patients and less time returning pages or telephone calls, say hospital representatives.
Robots are a fast-growing, diversifying $1 billion segment of the medical device industry. For example, many urologists performing prostate surgery view the movements of a robot as the best way to spare nerves crucial to bladder control and sexual potency. A robot's ability to deftly handle small tools also may lead to a less invasive procedure and faster recovery for a patient. In addition, robots can protect surgeons from physical stress and exposure to X-rays that may force them into premature retirement.
New Jersey has not monitored access to key personal information in a computer system that tracks care for the poor, making it possible that Social Security numbers and other information about doctors and patients have been misused, according to a state audit. The analysis determined that the Department of Human Services lacks appropriate security policies and procedures for the computer system it uses to process claims for more than one million New Jersey Medicaid patients. The audit is the third in recent weeks to criticize New Jersey's $9 billion Medicaid program, with others finding people earning as much as $295,000 enrolled in the program and questionable medical equipment purchases.
Lawanda Jackson, a former administrative specialist at UCLA Medical Center, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly selling information to the media from medical records of celebrity patients. Jackson was indicted on a charge of obtaining individually identifiable health information for commercial advantage. Actress Farrah Fawcett and her lawyers allege that Jackson leaked personal information about Fawcett's battle with cancer to tabloids.
During an appearance in Baltimore, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich stressed the merits of switching to electronic medical records. Gingrich was in Baltimore to speak at a healthcare symposium concentrating on preventable medication errors, healthcare information technology and healthcare issues. The federal government will spend up to $150 million over the next five years on electronic records, but many other countries spend more. The United Kingdom allocated more than $11 billion to digitize its healthcare system, and Canada is spending a billion dollars. Gingrich also advocated increasing the focus on preventive care instead of treatment, which he said would save billions in health costs.