A health information technology bill that would strengthen privacy protections for electronic health records has won the approval of the Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee. The subcommittee approved the Protecting Records, Optimizing Treatment and Easing Communication Through Healthcare Technology Act of 2008. The bill now goes to the full committee, but there were signs that its path might not be as smooth as it was in the subcommittee after several committee members offered amendments to modify privacy protections and other aspects of the bill. The chief sponsor of the bill will meet with the dissatisfied subcommittee members to discuss their concerns and possibly compromise on the sections of the bill they find objectionable.
The FDA has issued a consumer update on safety in pediatric medical imaging to increase awareness for the need to decrease the radiation dose administered to children during CT scanning. The FDA's article supports the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging's Image Gently campaign, issued by the American College of Radiology. The article said that "unnecessary radiation exposure during medical procedures should be avoided. This is particularly important when the patient is a child."
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has announced that Ministry Health Care will begin using an electronic health record software suite developed by Marshfield Clinic for the majority of its hospitals and Ministry Medical Group. The move creates the largest patient database in Wisconsin. More than 1,000 providers in the Marshfield Clinic system will share access to 2.5 million patient records. Implementation of the EHR for Ministry will occur over three to five years.
Eugene Helveston, a retired Indiana University ophthalmologist, has developed an Internet-based telemedicine system that offers expertise to eye-care providers and their patients in developing countries. Through the Cyber-Sight program, some 140 "medical mentors" guide eye care in the virtual world by aiding more than 600 ophthalmology professionals in some 30 countries.
An increasing number of Texas doctors are opting out of Medicare, weary of the perennial fights over cuts in reimbursement. Only 58% of doctors in the state now accept new Medicare patients, according to a survey by the Texas Medical Association. That number is down from an estimated 90% before 1990. Among primary-care doctors, the percentage that now accept Medicare patients is 38%. Leaders of the Texas Medical Assocation now predict the percentage will continue to plummet if Congress doesn't arrive at a long-term solution soon.
Better known for its scenery and for offering tourists adventure, New Zealand also has fine private hospitals that, unlike their public counterparts, are not full to overflowing. But the major advantage, and the biggest selling point for Medtral, a New Zealand company set up to attract refugees from the U.S. healthcare system, is cost. Medtral representatives say it can offer procedures at boutique hospitals with follow-up personal nursing care at a fraction of the cost of the same surgery in the United States.