The Lance Armstrong Foundation is teaming up with Web-site operator Demand Media Inc. to launch a health-and-wellness Web site funded by advertising. The Foundation currently spends about $40 million a year on health programs and cancer research, and the group felt launching a for-profit site would increase awareness about the foundation and promote its core mission of helping people with cancer.
When a patient comes into a facility for a diagnostic imaging exam, the interpreting physician reads the study and notes abnormal findings in the report. The staff contacts the referring clinician directly with the results, and then waits for the referrer to follow-up. Some of these requests for follow-up due to abnormal results fall through the cracks, but a team at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Baltimore has created an automated application to ensure that none of its follow-up requests are overlooked.
Physician blogger Bob Wachter, MD, disusses the way doctors analyze and use clinical IT. Wachter says that while he has no doubts that IT systems have improved patient care, it is vital to understand some of the unexpected consequences of using the technology.
Marriott has joined a growing legion of companies providing electronic personal health records to their employees. But unlike some of the personal health records offerings being rolled out by other employers, Marriott's system also taps into a sophisticated clinical rules engine that looks to avert potential medical mistakes or gaps in care that could lead to serious complications and costs.
Three years of state grants totaling $750,000 will come to an end in June 2008 for the Tampa Bay Regional Health Information Exchage. The RHIO is now actively seeking additional sources of funding and developing a business plan as it tries to avoid the fate of dozens of RHIOs around the country that are defunct because they lacked sustainable business models.
Just like with do-it-yourself taxes, a growing software industry lets patients create their own "personal health records." No more answering 10-page questionnaires every time you visit a new doctor--just hit the print button before leaving home to arrive armed with your life's medical history. But can using personal health records actually make patients healthier? The government is spending millions on the first studies to find out--and if so, the findings would give doctors a big push to get on board.