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.
A new California law expands the state's existing data-breach notification law to include unencrypted medical histories, information on mental or physical conditions, and medical treatments and diagnoses. Under the law, California residents must now be notified when their electronic medical information or health insurance information has been exposed.
Some intensive-care units in New York and South Carolina are about to get copper fittings as part of a project to test if drug-resistant bacteria survive better on stainless steel than on copper.
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore are developing a saliva test that could spot diseases such as mouth and throat cancer in heavy smokers, heavy drinkers and others at high risk. The screening test focuses on finding cells with genetic signatures suggesting the presence of these cancers.
Four regional telehealth networks that will leverage the speed and connections of OSCnet are among 69 projects nationwide receiving $417 million in federal funding to "significantly increase access to acute, primary and preventive health care in rural America." These four projects will receive more than $35,4 million over three years, representing the largest state share of funding among the 42 states and three United States territories garnering awards through the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Health Care Pilot Programme.
Sage Software joined a list of petitioners urging the White House and President George W. Bush to revise regulations which prohibit controlled drugs from being electronically prescribed. According to a letter from the e-Prescribing Controlled Substances Coalition, such regulations are negatively impacting the adoption of electronic prescribing and foregoing potential significant efficiencies e-prescribing brings to healthcare. Sage Software is among those submitting the letter along with large healthcare-related organizations such as BlueCross BlueShield, CVS, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and Wal-Mart.
"E-prescribing is safe and secure," says Michael Burger, director of clinical product management for Sage. "We appreciate that the government's obligation is to safeguard public health, but the vast inefficiencies in our healthcare system are overlooked in the current regulations. E-Prescribing is one of the many remedies that could counteract such inefficiencies. The cost savings are immense and the need in our healthcare system is great."