NHS Web site to include drug reference information

NHS Web site to include drug reference information

Drug reference information from the British National Formulary will be part of NHS Evidence, a portal that's due to launch in April 2009, reports the United Kingdom's department of health. NHS Evidence aims to be a one-stop-shop for physicians and patients to access evidence and clinical information. The drug reference information on the site will support the safe and effective use of medicines, according to the report."

Open Health Tools project to boost HIEs

Open Health Tools project to boost HIEs
Healthcare IT News 12/12/08

The Open Health Tools (OHT) Foundation has approved a new project in principle for the development of server-based technology designed to create interoperability among disparate health information systems.

The project is expected to dramatically drive down the cost of interoperability components, which have contributed to significant cost barriers for the HIEs in their development of standards-based solutions."

Open Health Tools is a collaborative effort between national health agencies, major healthcare providers, researchers, academics, international standards bodies, and companies from Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe. Its goal is to develop common healthcare IT products and services and provide software tools and components that accelerate the implementation of electronic health information interoperability platforms, thus improving patient quality of care, safety, and access to electronic health records.

The project will be led by Misys Open Source Solutions, a division of Misys plc, who will work within the open source community to build server-side components for the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) profiles.

The first deliverable will address the IHE profiles for patient identifier cross-referencing and patient demographics query. The plan calls for an operable beta version in February 2009.

A quarter of adults likely to create online health record

Twenty-seven percent of American adults say they are extremely or somewhat likely to create an online PHR to help track their medical history and medications, according to a national online survey by research firm Morpace. The company said use of online PHRs will grow as consumers become more aware of free options through Google, Microsoft, WebMD, Revolution Health, and other sources. The survey also found that age was not a factor in whether people intend to create a PHR; Americans aged 55 and up are as likely to create an online PHR as younger Americans.

Humana using online videos, social media to explain healthcare

(11/24/2008)

Humana is trying to help consumers better understand healthcare through a new media experience called "Stay Smart, Stay Healthy." It takes complex healthcare topics and puts them into easy-to-understand video clips. It also includes a full complement of social media outlets, including a Facebook presence and YouTube channel. The videos address why healthcare is so expensive, explains consumer-driven healthcare, and deciphers acronyms such as HSA, HMO, and FSA.

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More tech firms to tap into healthcare market share

(11/25/2008)

Technology firms that traditionally have not been involved in healthcare may attempt to tap into the industry. Reuters reports that a growing number of technology companies are considering foraying into healthcare to claim a piece of the $2.5 trillion market in the United States. Several companies have started developing tools to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient care, Reuters says. In addition to Google and Microsoft's new online personal health record applications, Intel introduced a patient monitoring system to help doctors remotely track patients with chronic diseases. Companies with a history in the healthcare market, such as General Electric and Phillips, are expected to increase their efforts. General Electric's $17 billion healthcare unit estimates its technology sector could grow to a $5 billion–$7 billion business, up from the estimated 10% of revenue it currently represents, Reuters says.
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Availity and Prematics Launch First Comprehensive E-Prescribing Service For Florida Physicians

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. and VIENNA, Va., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Availity, L.L.C. and Prematics(TM) today announced the launch of CarePrescribe(SM), the first fully-managed, easy-to-use electronic prescribing service offered at no charge to physicians throughout Florida. After a three-month controlled deployment with select physician practices in the Miami and Tampa areas, the service is now available to prescribers state-wide.

The Availity(R) CarePrescribe(SM) service is a registered solution with ePrescribe America. It is integrated across the Prematics and Availity network platforms, making it accessible through the Availity Health Information Network, a secure online health information exchange, and through a handheld system provisioned by Prematics. CarePrescribe offers physicians a no-cost, seamless solution for eliminating medication errors, streamlining practice productivity, and making patients' lives easier. Availity and Prematics are deploying CarePrescribe with support from Humana and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, which were instrumental in bringing the solution to Florida physicians.
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Allscripts' ePrescribe integration is live with Google Health

Allscripts' ePrescribe integration is live with Google Health, the company reports. According to Allscripts, the partnership provides physicians with a new means of sharing medication history securely over the Internet with their patients via Google Health. If a patient's physician uses the Allscripts ePrescribe solution, he or she can ask for a secure personal identification number from the physician to establish a sharing link between the e-prescribing and Google Health, allowing the patient to securely import medication history, allergies, and conditions into his or her Google Health Account. The Web-based e-prescribing solution from Allscripts has been offered free of charge to every physician in the United States via the National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI). Allscripts is a national cosponsor of NEPSI and Google is the search sponsor.

Docs want more specialty-specific mobile applications

Skyscape: Docs want more specialty-specific mobile applications

Physicians would like to have more specialty-specific tools on mobile applications. That's according to a new Skyscape white paper, Demand for Clinical Information via PDA by Specialty Physicians. Among the half of all U.S. physicians who use PDA/smartphone-based mobile applications, two-thirds say their PDA/smartphone is essential to their clinical practice. Yet nearly three-quarters say they would like more access to specialty-specific drug references, clinical applications, and medical tools/alerts on mobile applications. According to Skyscape, this could indicate a way for pharma to better engage and communicate with specialists through technology solutions.

Epocrates for iPhone big hit with physician users

In the first month of availability, more than 125,000 users, including 25,000 U.S. physicians, downloaded the Epocrates Rx drug and formulary software for the iPhone. Epocrates conducted surveys among 607 physicians and consumers to evaluate how the iPhone is being used to support clinical decisions and ensure medication safety. Nearly 80% report using Epocrates during patient visits. They also share drug safety information with their patients. Patient reaction is also positive, with the majority feeling more confident their provider is confirming clinical information. More than 70% of physicians report using Epocrates at least once per day, and half plan to use it more in the future. In addition, 90% believe all healthcare professionals should use a clinical reference, such as Epocrates.
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Doctors Get High Marks as Regence Members Share Opinions Online

PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ --

An overwhelming majority of Regence members would recommend their doctor to others, according to a popular online survey on the company's member Web site -- myRegence.com. A "Member Feedback" feature on the site allows Regence members to post feedback on their experiences with individual providers, including physicians, dentists, other health care professionals and facilities.

"Our own research and national studies show that patients want to hear from other patients," said David Clark, Senior Vice President of Health Care Services for Regence. "We created the feedback feature so members can share experiences and compare notes. That kind of information helps our members make better decisions about their health care."

JupiterResearch Finds that Mobile Social Networks Hold the Potential To Be Next Killer Application

NEW YORK, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- JupiterResearch, a leading authority on the impact of the Internet and emerging consumer technologies on business, has found that a confluence of events, ranging from the introduction of the iPhone to the popularity of social networks among teens and young adults, is fundamentally altering consumer expectations of cellular services. As a result, social networks hold the potential to be a killer application for cell phones.

According to a new report "Mobile Social Networking: Assessing Social Strategies for Carriers and Handset Manufacturers," cell phones primarily play a disconnected role from social networks today. However, despite relatively low adoption of social networking activities on cell phones by the average cell phone user, active social networkers -- those accessing their networks multiple times each day -- are using their cell phones to interact with these sites, generating an enormous volume of traffic.
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Online Social Networking Goes Mobile: 140 Million Users by 2013

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 2, 2008--

Online social networking is huge and growing strongly, but what happens when all those virtual friends hit the road? Increasingly, they will be able to keep in touch via mobile versions of their favorite social networks, running on their cellular phones. ABI Research forecasts that in 2013, more than 140 million subscribers will share “anytime, anywhere” experiences this way, and they will generate subscription revenues in excess of $410 million.

http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/ Mobile_Content_Research_Service

Canadian Medical Association Launches Social Networking Site for Canadian Doctors

--(Marketwire - Aug. 19, 2008) -

Delegates at the Canadian Medical Association's 141st Annual General Council will get a sneak-peak at the latest web-based innovation in Canadian health care: a new online social networking community called Asklepios that makes it easier for physicians from coast-to-coast to connect, share best practices, and learn from each other."

The Asklepios online community is only open to Canadian physicians, residents and medical students and is securely hosted in Canada where data is protected. Asklepios uses the same authentication procedures as www.cma.ca, so unlike traditional forms of online communication, physicians can trust the security and privacy of information posted on Asklepios and be confident that the people they're communicating with are Canadian physicians, validated by the CMA.

CVS.com enhances Rx management, will integrate with Google Health, HealthVault

CVS has relaunched CVS.com with tools it says make it easier for consumers to manage their prescriptions online. The new site lets users view and print their prescription history, order refills directly from their prescription history, choose or change a pickup location, receive refill reminders, request a prescription renewal, be alerted to generic alternatives, and transfer prescriptions from another pharmacy.

CVS.com also gives parents the option to manage their children's prescriptions online.

Future functionality of CVS.com will allow integration with Personal Health Records through Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault. CVS/pharmacy says it hopes the new tools increase the number of on-time medication refills and help promote cost-saving generic alternatives.
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RelayHealth and Microsoft HealthVault

July 24, 2008

The RelayHealth division of McKesson Corp. will offer its patient-physician connectivity software through Microsoft Corp.’s HealthVault consumer health platform.

RelayHealth’s software enables patients to communicate electronically with providers and payers for such functions as scheduling requests, test results, prescription refill requests, paying bills and online patient-physician consultations.

Through the partnership with Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft, physicians also will be able to access Atlanta-based RelayHealth’s electronic prescribing service, according to the vendors. Patients will be able to share their personal health records with their physicians using the connectivity software."

checkMD Enables Healthcare Reform Through New Social Networking Platform

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 2008--

Finding quality healthcare just became easier today with the introduction of checkMD, the first inclusive healthcare social network and healthcare reform website dedicated to fixing our nation’s broken healthcare system. Built on the concept that personal accountability leads to better health, checkMD enables consumers, healthcare professionals and companies the ability to make the best healthcare decisions possible.

checkMD offers physician and hospital research and ratings, the ability to find and share information on medical issues, forums to create and participate in healthcare communities, and information on the current political and policy debates on healthcare issues throughout the country. Through sharing information and experiences, checkMD enables everyone to take an active role in improving their own and other’s healthcare, as well as using the Internet to help organically reform the healthcare system.

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Wolters Kluwer Health Launches Mobile Clin-eguide

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 14, 2008--

Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for health care professionals and students, and Unbound Medicine, a leader in knowledge management solutions and mobile information resources for health care, announced today that Mobile Clin-eguide, a version of its online clinical decision support tool powered by the Unbound™ Platform, is now available to IP-authenticated Clin-eguide subscribers for “on the go” and point of care use on Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and iPhone devices.

The Unbound™ Platform from Unbound Medicine, a leader in knowledge management solutions and mobile information resources for health care, is a powerful knowledge management platform that supports end-to-end digital publishing activities from content creation through multi-platform electronic delivery. For publishers, the Unbound Platform facilitates streamlined creation of modular content via distributed author networks. For users, the Unbound Platform delivers content where and when it is needed—to personal digital assistants (PDAs), the Web, or wireless devices.

Clin-eguide provides accurate, evidence-based information for health care providers in the clinical setting. It integrates trusted content from Wolters Kluwer brands like Ovid, Facts & Comparisons®, and Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, as well as other premier publishers.

Through Mobile Clin-eguide, users of Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and iPhone now have even faster, easier access to a wealth of clinical decision support resources.
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DestinationRx Launches Drug Trends Today Blog

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 17, 2008--

DestinationRx today announced the launch of its new blog site, www.drugtrendstoday.com, which will serve as a vehicle for sharing data and trends related to the prescription drug industry. As a leader in drug comparison and purchasing technology, DestinationRx is in a unique position to provide readers with valuable and relevant information on the ever-changing drug market.

Drug Trends Today will feature recurring data “snapshots” illustrating drug and pricing trends in graph or chart format. These regular features will be refreshed on a weekly rotation and include Top Ten Searched Drugs with the DestinationRx price comparison tool; Drug Class of the Month, which will compare pricing among multiple brand and generic drugs in a single class; the DRx Challenge, which takes one drug and illustrates multiple avenues for cost savings; and an ongoing Drug Price Tracking feature that will compare pricing, and changes in pricing, for the most popular hypertension medications over the long term.

In addition, DestinationRx will provide regular expert commentary on industry news and trends, covering topics ranging from drug pricing, transparency and the retail pharmacy market to Medicare and health plan selection and management.
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Nebraska Launches Electronic Health Information Exchange

From http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/

(7/10/2008)

The Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NeHII), a statewide healthcare collaborative, has selected Axolotl Corp. of San Jose, Calif., as its technology partner to deploy a Health Information Exchange (HIE) designed to improve healthcare quality across Nebraska.

During the pilot phase, Axolotl says its Elysium Exchange suite will connect several Omaha hospitals, clinics, physician offices, radiology centers, reference labs and pharmacies. Once the pilot is complete, the HIE will be rolled out to healthcare entities across the state, it says.

The nonprofit NeHII is a collaboration of Nebraska health care organizations, hospitals, physicians, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska.
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Vermont IT Leaders Select EMR Products

From http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/(7/10/2008)

The Vermont Information Technology Leaders Inc., (VITL), which is conducting a $1 million pilot project designed to equip independent primary care clinicians with EHR systems, has selected three EHR products.

The five physician practices participating in the pilot project have chosen Chicago-based Allscripts’ HealthMatics, Allscripts’ TouchWorks, and UK-based GE Healthcare’s Centricity EMR to provide them with EHR solutions, says VITL. HealthMatics and Centricity are each being used by two pilot sites, while TouchWorks is being used by one site, touts the company.

According to Montpelier, Vt.-based VITL, it is a non‐profit public‐private partnership that is facilitating the adoption of electronic health records and building a statewide health information exchange.
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