The Supreme Court made it harder for consumers to sue manufacturers of federally approved medical devices. In an 8-1 decision, the court ruled against the estate of a patient who suffered serious injuries when a catheter burst during a medical procedure. The case has significant implications for the $75 billion-a-year healthcare technology industry, whose products range from heart valves to toothbrushes. In a recent three-month span, federal regulators responded to over 100 safety problems regarding medical devices.
Two small rural hospitals in Southern Illinois, Washington County Hospital in Nashville and Salem Township Hospital in Salem, are creating a community-wide medical information exchange that will allow physicians, hospitals and other medical providers to electronically share patient information. The partnership establishes a network of health communication that many larger, more urban areas, including St. Louis, have failed to do.
The World Privacy Forum is warning consumers about the potential pitfalls of using newly popular services that consolidate personal health records. Some of the records are kept by companies that are not subject to current federal regulations on privacy and security, according to the Forum.
Motivated by mounting medical costs, lawmakers and executives are urging doctors to embrace prescribing medications online. The move could save billions of dollars per year, and proponents say electronic prescriptions will make transactions more efficient, reduce medication errors and entice doctors to prescribe less expensive drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved Medtronic's Endeavor zotarolimus-eluting coronary stent system to be used in the treatment of coronary artery disease. It is the first new drug-eluting stent to be approved by the FDA since 2004.