The Office of the Coordinator of Health Information Technology plans to integrate a national network of electronic health records with healthcare databases launched by Google and Microsoft. The Office also plans to expand its Nationwide Health Information Network to include electronic health records stored in networks operated by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, the Indian Health Service, and integrated healthcare systems that span numerous communities.
A nonprofit foundation affiliated with San Francisco General Hospital has won a $2.26 million grantto upgrade the public hospital's IT system and install software to help slash medication errors. The grant will fund two major projects at San Francisco General:
the expansion of the hospital's computer capabilities through the purchase of a mobile data center to boost server capacity and allow it to implement various IT projects to improve patient care
the implementation of electronic Medication Administration Records software, which officials say will improve communication between nurses and the hospital's pharmacy, eliminate medication transcription errors and reduce the number of early, late and missed doses of medication
A Netherlands-based digital security firm has begun to roll out Algeria's first e-health project. A pilot project comprised 700,000 smartcards in five regions of the north African country. The system will result in the issuing and management of seven million smartcards used by healthcare beneficiaries and providers. The aim is for hospitals and other healthcare institutions to securely manage patient records securely and to verify patient benefits.
Japanese researchers have demonstrated part of an envisaged molecular level system that might one day enable cell phones to keep watch on their owners' health. NTT DoCoMo hopes some future cell phones will contain devices capable of analyzing molecules from the user's body to provide a warning about a possible virus, high levels of stress or other factors that might affect health.
Beginning in summer 2008, Medicare beneficiaries in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will see prices slashed by an average of 25 percent on oxygen equipment, power wheelchairs, walkers and many other medical devices and supplies. Medicare officials estimate that seniors and others with disabilities will save hundreds of dollars a year because of a competitive bidding program the federal agency is launching.
More than two years after safety concerns curtailed use of the devices, the Food and Drug Administration has laid out new guidelines for the testing of drug-coated stents. The FDA said companies should be prepared to track patients for up to five years after their stents are approved to monitor blood clots, heart attack and other potentially fatal events. Previous studies showed that months after they are implanted, stent coatings can increase the risk of life-threatening blood clots unless patients continue to take anti-clotting drugs.