Top Stories
New bill seeks universal privacy standards
In November, House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) put forward a bill (HR 4157) which would grant the HHS the ability to develop new national medical privacy standards and make it easier for doctors to accept donations of IT equipment.
Under the bill, the HHS would investigate the way state privacy laws and standards for data transmittal impact how medical data are communicated. If needed, the new universal standards would be in place within three years. Alternately, the HHS could develop a uniform system for health information privacy and security, transaction standards and billing codes.
Organizations petition for EHR privacy
The Patient Privacy Rights Foundation and the Electronic Privacy Information Center are using a petition to appeal to lawmakers to control access to sensitive information contained in medical records.
The petition aims to put the power in the patient's hands in choosing who can access their medical records and blocks employers specifically. The petition also was created in hopes of preventing the sharing of private information from being a prerequisite to getting healthcare.
More information is available at: www.patientprivacyrights.org.
IBM grants standards bodies free access to patents
IBM's healthcare and education practices have launched a major initiative to grant royalty-free access to its patented technology to standards bodies in an effort to improve interoperability and IT developments through open software standards in healthcare and education.
IBM has cited the fact that industry growth and service delivery in healthcare and education is currently diminished by widespread use of incompatible document formats and proprietary technology. Allowing standards bodies access to a full range of technologies to pick and choose from, without worrying about fees or penalties, will hopefully help to promote the development of standards.
Two healthcare equipment leasing studies released
The Healthcare Equipment Leasing: U.S. Market Dynamics and Outlook 2005-2006 study was coordinated by the Equipment Leasing Association (ELA) and R.S. Carmichael & Co. Inc.
Double Black gets FDA OK for mammography display
Double Black Imaging, the North American distributor and service center for WIDE Corp., has received FDA 510(k) approval for WIDE's 5MP display system, meaning that the system has been officially cleared for use in digital mammography applications by the FDA.
The IF2105M is a 21.3-inch diagonal 5 megapixel LCD driven by a high-speed graphic controller.
Survey: Most hospitals still lack fully implemented IT
Though more and more healthcare facilities are adopting IT systems to streamline operations and boost quality of care, only 10 percent of them have a fully installed health IT system in place, according to recently released results from an American Hospital Association survey which took place between April and June of this year:
Study confirms mammography, adjuvant therapies reduce breast cancer deaths
A new study links the success of both mammography screenings and adjuvant therapies as contributors to the drop in cancer mortality during the previous three decades - even though the relative contributions of each have not been defined. The study was published in the Oct. 27 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The findings are the result of the work of seven research groups.
In the 25 years that were evaluated, breast cancer mortality dropped by as much as 21.3 percent. The mammography screenings accounted for 28 percent to 65 percent of the decrease. Adjuvant therapies accounted for the rest.
Americans want regulation to cure healthcare system
Most Americans would like to see key industries regulated, especially healthcare areas such as pharmaceuticals and insurance, according to a Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive poll.
Neurognostics gets FDA nod for MindState fMRI add-on
Neurognostics Inc. announced that the FDA has granted it special 510(k) approval for the company's MindState functional data acquisition device (fDAD). This clearance allows Neurognostics to enhance fDAD by providing a library of stimulation paradigms, data collection protocols and image processing services, collectively known as MindState fDPD, and marketing it for clinical use, according to the company. The MindState fDPD includes a library of ready-to-use stimulation paradigms.
In November, House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) put forward a bill (HR 4157) which would grant the HHS the ability to develop new national medical privacy standards and make it easier for doctors to accept donations of IT equipment.
Under the bill, the HHS would investigate the way state privacy laws and standards for data transmittal impact how medical data are communicated. If needed, the new universal standards would be in place within three years. Alternately, the HHS could develop a uniform system for health information privacy and security, transaction standards and billing codes.
Organizations petition for EHR privacy
The Patient Privacy Rights Foundation and the Electronic Privacy Information Center are using a petition to appeal to lawmakers to control access to sensitive information contained in medical records.
The petition aims to put the power in the patient's hands in choosing who can access their medical records and blocks employers specifically. The petition also was created in hopes of preventing the sharing of private information from being a prerequisite to getting healthcare.
More information is available at: www.patientprivacyrights.org.
IBM grants standards bodies free access to patents
IBM's healthcare and education practices have launched a major initiative to grant royalty-free access to its patented technology to standards bodies in an effort to improve interoperability and IT developments through open software standards in healthcare and education.
IBM has cited the fact that industry growth and service delivery in healthcare and education is currently diminished by widespread use of incompatible document formats and proprietary technology. Allowing standards bodies access to a full range of technologies to pick and choose from, without worrying about fees or penalties, will hopefully help to promote the development of standards.
Two healthcare equipment leasing studies released
The Healthcare Equipment Leasing: U.S. Market Dynamics and Outlook 2005-2006 study was coordinated by the Equipment Leasing Association (ELA) and R.S. Carmichael & Co. Inc.
- Estimated new volume in 2005 is $7 billion
- It is projected to exceed $8 billion by 2007
- Healthcare in 2004 represented a $1.8 trillion annual market
- Small, professional firms are the most significant businesses in the healthcare sector
Double Black gets FDA OK for mammography display
Double Black Imaging, the North American distributor and service center for WIDE Corp., has received FDA 510(k) approval for WIDE's 5MP display system, meaning that the system has been officially cleared for use in digital mammography applications by the FDA.
The IF2105M is a 21.3-inch diagonal 5 megapixel LCD driven by a high-speed graphic controller.
Survey: Most hospitals still lack fully implemented IT
Though more and more healthcare facilities are adopting IT systems to streamline operations and boost quality of care, only 10 percent of them have a fully installed health IT system in place, according to recently released results from an American Hospital Association survey which took place between April and June of this year:
- 92 percent of the more than 900 hospitals that participated in the survey indicated that they are developing plans for health IT systems or at least thinking about it.
- Of the hospitals that are using health IT systems, as many as 36 percent indicated they had just started, 27 percent claimed minimal use so far, another 27 percent indicated mid-level use, while 10 percent reported full on use of an IT system.
Study confirms mammography, adjuvant therapies reduce breast cancer deaths
A new study links the success of both mammography screenings and adjuvant therapies as contributors to the drop in cancer mortality during the previous three decades - even though the relative contributions of each have not been defined. The study was published in the Oct. 27 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The findings are the result of the work of seven research groups.
In the 25 years that were evaluated, breast cancer mortality dropped by as much as 21.3 percent. The mammography screenings accounted for 28 percent to 65 percent of the decrease. Adjuvant therapies accounted for the rest.
Americans want regulation to cure healthcare system
Most Americans would like to see key industries regulated, especially healthcare areas such as pharmaceuticals and insurance, according to a Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive poll.
- 51 percent would be OK with tougher pharmaceutical industry regulations, whereas 46 percent want the same for the insurance sector.
- Only 28 percent of respondents wanted to see tougher regulations for hospitals.
- 8 percent feel drug makers are honest and only 4 percent believe that managed-care companies can be trusted.
- 34 percent view hospitals as generally trustworthy.
Neurognostics gets FDA nod for MindState fMRI add-on
Neurognostics Inc. announced that the FDA has granted it special 510(k) approval for the company's MindState functional data acquisition device (fDAD). This clearance allows Neurognostics to enhance fDAD by providing a library of stimulation paradigms, data collection protocols and image processing services, collectively known as MindState fDPD, and marketing it for clinical use, according to the company. The MindState fDPD includes a library of ready-to-use stimulation paradigms.