Breaking News: Congress Wants to Create National eHealth Network, Legislate Who “Owns” Health Data

“Clue - it ain’t patients. Google. Microsoft. I hope someone in your healthcare organizations reads this brief. Look especially to the latter 1/3rd.
Browsing Twitter this afternoon, I learned about a House bill draft (HR ____) nicknamed “Health e-Information Technology Act of 2008″ from @jesran.
It has not yet been assigned a number, but the draft copy is available here. It looks to be in pre-committee.
Sponsors: Mr. STARK (for himself, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. PASCRELL, and Mr. LEWIS of Georgia).
IF YOU ARE IN HEALTHCARE, THIS BILL IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU MAY READ THIS YEAR.”
Article
Jen McCabe Gorman, Health Management Rx, 8 October 2008

Innovation Principles: What Might Healthcare Sector Learn from Others

“I’m here today at my alma mater, MIT to attend Technology Review’s annual conference, EmTech (short for emerging technologies). And why am I attending an event that appears to have little relevance to healthcare? Well, there is one session this afternoon addressing EMRs and another tomorrow on personalized medicine, but those are periphery to my real reason to attend.”
Article
John Moore, Chilmark Research, 24 September 2008

Bringing you Medicine 2.0

“Last week, PatientsLikeMe presented a keynote address at the inaugural Medicine 2.0 Congress in Toronto, Canada in front of 200 researchers from 20 countries. A new, annual international conference on Web 2.0 (social web) applications in health and medicine, this year’s event was centered around the theme: “Building Virtual Communities and Social Networking Applications for Patients and Consumers.” You can view the entire conference proceedings online.  The event is organized by Gunther Eysenbach, MD MPH, who is the editor and publisher of the Journal of Medical Internet Research, where Jeana Frost and I recently published our paper - “Social Uses of Personal Health Information Within PatientsLikeMe”.”
Article
PatientsLikeMe, 12 September 2008

IBM introduces new mobile services for healthcare organizations

“IBM has announced new services to help healthcare organizations implement wireless mobility solutions.
IBM Enterprise Mobility Services is designed to give clinicians and nursing staff wireless communications and real-time access to patient records anywhere on the facility premises, according to IBM.”
Article
Bernie Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 12 September 2008

Using social networking to breakdown research silos

“On September 4, a group of collaborators at Harvard launched a new website called Catalyst that is publicly available. I encourage you to visit it.
This site is remarkable in many ways. It brings together all the people, lifelong learning, and resources for the Life Sciences across Harvard and its affiliates.
In the People area, you’ll find social networking for the research community called Profiles. . It not only shows traditional directory information, but also illustrates how each person is connected to others in the broad research community.”
Article
John Halamka, The Health Care Blog, 10 September 2008

Hot technology that could change health care

“Advances in health care run the gamut from mind-boggling medicines to simple Web solutions that, if adopted, could slice huge slabs of fat from a bloated system. Whatever form innovation takes in the coming years, much of it will spring from start-ups, not pharma and tech giants.”
Article
Maureen Farrell, CBC News, 8 September 2008

Experience-based Information: The Role of Web-based Patient Networks in Consumer Health Information Services

“The prevalence of Web-based patient networks creates a substantial need for health information professionals to consider the qualities of such patient-mediated communities. By understanding the social and design characteristics of such communities through online patient community ethnography and comparative analysis of Web information evaluation criteria, health information professionals can better understand how to evaluate these information sources and find service integration points.”
Abstract
Susan Scola-Streckenbach, Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, Volume: 12 Issue: 3, 216 - 236, DOI: 10.1080/15398280802143657

German hospitals count benefits of SAP

“Hospitals in Germany say they expect regional e-health networks to deliver substantial cost savings of up to €2 million a year.
The figures are extrapolated from a new survey, conducted by German software giant SAP. In its survey of hospital managers at ten major hospitals using SAP, respondents said they anticipated average savings of €100 for every patient.”
Article
e-Health Europe, 3 September 2008

Health 2.0 User-Generated Healthcare

“How are Web 2.0 technologies like social networks, wikis and online communities changing the face of the health care industry? How are hospital systems and physician practices evolving as a result of rapid technological change?  How can health plans evolve in the face of emerging challenges with the help of new technologies and new thinking? What will come of the recent controversies over genetic testing and the privacy of patient data? Where does the hype over social networks and user-generated content end and the reality begin?”
Article
The Health Care Blog, 13 August 2008

Patient 2.0 Empowerment

Abstract
The authors want to show the implication of interactive ICT on patient empowerment, through an overview of some of the key aspects - EHR, telecare and patient networks - all this within the context of recent Health 2.0 developments.
Definitions will be given of both Health 2.0 and Patient 2.0 Empowerment.
Article
Lodewijk Bos, Andy Marsh, Denis Carroll, Sanjeev Gupta, Mike Rees, to be published in the SWWS08 Proceedings, August 2008

King’s Fund to run telehealth network

“The Department of Health has funded a network to help expand use of telehealth and telecare and disseminate the lessons learned from the Whole System Demonstrator programme.
The Whole System Demonstrators Action Network involves an action research programme involving 10 to 12 of the unsuccessful sites for the WSD programme. The groups, made up of PCTs, local authorities and third sector organisations, will share information from the pilots as well as collecting data on the progress and impact of telecare and telehealth applications at their own sites.”
Article
e-Health Insider Primary Care, 16 July 2008

Telemedicine network is launched

“A new network to expand the use of telemedicine has been launched by the Kings Fund.
The network will ensure that information from pilot schemes in Kent, Cornwall and Newham, who are making use of the latest assisted technology, is shared among experts to help spread best practice.”
Article
OnMedica, 10 July 2008

Building an inter-organizational communication network and challenges for preserving interoperability

“Abstract
Background: The ideal scenario for information technology to bridge information gaps between primary and secondary healthcare and to improve the quality of healthcare in the medication process is to build an interoperable communication network. This type of undertaking requires diverse information systems to be integrated, and central to this are the preservation of data integrity and the integration of different pieces of patient data.
Objectives and methodology: In this study, we focused on sources of challenges to the integration process and to the building of an interoperable communication network. Interviews, document analysis, and observations were conducted to evaluate the integration process in a project that involved medication data communication between primary healthcare providers (i.e., general practitioners and community pharmacists) and secondary healthcare providers (i.e., hospital pharmacists and specialist physicians).
Results: The project encountered numerous integration problems, many of which persisted even after extensive technical intervention. An analysis of the problems revealed that they were mostly rooted either in problematic integration of work processes or in the way the system was used. Despite the project’s ideal technical condition, the integration could be accomplished only by applying human interfaces.
Conclusion: The main challenge to building interoperable communication network does not lie in technical integration. The real problem occurs when the technical linkage is implemented without the work processes being aligned and integrated.”
Abstract
H. Pirnejad, R. Bal and M. Berg, International Journal of Medical Informatics, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 25 June 2008, doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2008.05.001

You Say You Want a Revolution?

“His advantage? He’s a personally motivated billionaire with plenty of Internet experience—you may recognize his name from the America Online (AOL) days, when he piloted the fledgling Internet company he co-founded with two other entrepreneurs into one of the greatest success stories in American business history, only to see it fade away following a merger with Time Warner that Case has referred to as a “failure in timing and execution”.”
Article
Sean Johnson, mdng New Media, 11 June 2008

Analyzing the benefits of PatientsLikeMe social network site

“Two research papers were published this month on the Health 2.0 Web site, PatientsLikeMe. PatientsLikeMe is arguably the only “real” health social network online today, because it allows patients to share actual data that matters with one another — their personal health data.”
Article
John Grohol, The Health Care Blog, 30 May 2008

Social networks more powerful than thought?

“Facebook, MySpace and other Web sites have unleashed a potent new phenomenon of social networking in cyberspace. But at the same time, a growing body of evidence is suggesting that traditional social networks play a surprisingly powerful and underrecognized role in influencing how people behave.”
Article
Rob Stein, MSNBC, 26 May 2008

Hospitals to share electronic records

“The all-digital medical record-keeping environment envisioned by U.S. Secretary of Health Mike Leavitt is one step closer to reality for 11 Oklahoma City-area hospitals.
The hospitals announced Thursday that they have signed on to a network in which they will share electronic records of patients who seek care in their emergency departments.”
Article
Jim Stafford, The Oklahoman, 9 May 2008

White Paper Healthcare Industry in Germany

“The German healthcare industry is increasingly becoming a focus of media interest, a trend driven by developments such as statutory liberalization, the mergers of medical service providers, and IT solutions that improve the efficiency of paying authorities and service providers.
The structural change in the industry that gives rise to these developments demands the support of appropriate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The present white paper seeks to identify the structural  characteristics of the healthcare industry and to present various ICT-related trends for the future as well as to draw attention to the high ICT market potential of this industry.”
Report
T-Systems Enterprise Services GmbH, May 2008

Balearic Islands connect to joint network

“All public hospitals and around 80 connected Primary Health Centers in the Balearic Islands are now connected to a joint network, where the use of a master patient index is enabling Balearic doctors to access patient data and medical findings anytime.”
Article
eHealth Europe, 5 May 2008

Health network may go national - Not-for-profit leading charge for electronic patient records

“Four years after its launch, the Indiana Health Information Exchange is laying the groundwork to take its game outside state borders.
The Indianapolis-based not-for-profit offers a service that provides patient records and test results via computer to hospitals and doctors around central Indiana.
But now, its leaders think they can take their expertise to other cities and help them develop their own health information exchanges. They also hope to sell database services to those exchanges and build up a massive repository of patient records here in Indianapolis.”
Article
J.K. Wall, IBJ.com, 29 April

Trust Driving People to Web Social Networks for Health Info

“People are drawn to web-based social networks because they trust them. This is as true for health as it is for car shopping music-sharing, and restaurant reviews.
Citizens’ trust in institutions is eroding. In recent months, consumer confidence has plummeted due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the cost of energy and its impact on the price of food. In the health arena, people grow increasingly concerned about data breaches (such as WellPoint’s recent data loss of 128,000 members’ personal health information), the effectiveness of FDA in regulating food (such as salmonella risk in cereals) and drug supplies (e.g., Vioxx and Heparin), and ever-growing costs of health care that erode household purchasing power.”
Article
Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, iHealthBeat, 23 April 2008

The Wisdom of Patients - Social Media In Health Care

“Social media on the Internet are empowering, engaging, and educating health care consumers and providers. While consumers use social media — including social networks, personal blogging, wikis, video-sharing, and other formats — for emotional support, they also heavily rely on them to manage health conditions.
The Internet has evolved from the information-retrieval of “Web 1.0” to “Web 2.0,” which allows people who are not necessarily technologically savvy to generate and share content. The collective wisdom harnessed by social media can yield insights well beyond the knowledge of any single patient or physician, writes report author Jane Sarasohn-Kahn. The outcome of this development is “Health 2.0” — a new movement that challenges the notion that health care happens only between a single patient and doctor in an exam room.
Using examples, this report describes how the Web is becoming a platform for convening people with shared concerns and creating health information that is more relevant to consumers. Social networks, ranging from MySpace to specific disease-oriented sites, are proliferating so rapidly that new services are already under development to help health consumers navigate through the networks.
The report details how innovative collaborations online are changing the way patients, providers, and researchers learn about therapeutic regimens and disease management. It examines the benefits and concerns regarding Health 2.0 and it also includes an extensive listing of health media resources.
According to the report, the growing demand for transparency will drive the evolution of social media in health. A growing array of tools will become available that are increasingly mobile, as well as personal health data storage in commercial products like Microsoft Health Vault, Google Health, and others. The author concludes that the ongoing demands of a consumer-driven health marketplace will inspire innovation in applications that integrate clinical, financial, and ratings information.”
Report
Jane Sarasohn Kahn, THINK Health for California Healthcare Foundation, April 2008

New FP7 eHealth Project - MEDNet

“MEDNet Project will develop a medical network that addresses the problems of providing health care from a distance. The medical network will be supported by expert physician located in urban cities of Latin America. The medical applications will be vary from gynaecology, paediatric, cardiology to typical infectious diseases for the region such as malaria and tuberculosis.”
Article
eHealthNew.eu, 21 April 2008

High-level health care summit focuses on nationwide network

“Failure to communicate patient health information is costing U.S. businesses and consumers billions of dollars.
The national problem is a hot-button issue for health industry experts who convened in Houston this week to discuss creation of a nationwide health information technology network.
“We’re laying the foundation for a secure, nationwide interoperable health information technology infrastructure,” says Dr. Robert Kolodner.”
Article
Monica Perin, Houston Business Journal, 18 April 2008

A Conversation With Neil Sofian, MSPH About Social Networking and Patient Portals

“Neil’s a believer in the power of social networking, and has extensive experience applying social networking tools to different patient populations, as well as in corporate health applications. In the discussion of next generation of patient self-management tools, I think we both agree that this is a trend to be nurtured and brought closer into our health systems.”
Article
Ted Eytan, 11 April 2008

Creating EHR Networks in the Safety Net

“Most community clinics and health centers have yet to make the transition to electronic health records (EHRs), despite mounting evidence that they can help raise the quality of medical care, increase patient safety, improve efficiency, and produce significant cost savings.
While studies have found that the primary barrier to EHR adoption is cost, research also shows that successful implementation requires investments beyond the price of the software, including significant amounts of planning and preparation, optimizing the system after installation, and training for key personnel. Small, independent health care providers often lack either the financial or staffing resources to fund and sustain such efforts.
One solution is the EHR network — an information technology partnership focused on community clinics and health centers that provides services to support the adoption of EHRs and other applications. This issue brief explores the network approach to EHRs and its potential to increase adoption rates among these crucial providers of safety-net medical services.
In developing the brief, Manatt Health Solutions employed a variety of primary and secondary research techniques, including interviews with clinic members of EHR networks and conversations with industry and academic experts. The authors conclude that a network approach can provide California’s community clinics and health centers with the infrastructure and support necessary to efficiently implement EHR systems.”
Report
Manatt Health Solutions, for Californian Health Foundation, April 2008

Intelligent Device Management in the Selfcare Marketplace

Abstract:
Over the last ten years the Internet has emerged as a key infrastructure for service innovation, enabling IP (Internet Protocol) to become the wide area network communication protocol of choice. The natural result of this choice is that service providers and their customers are looking for ways to optimise costs by migrating existing services and applications onto IP as well. A good example is the medical industry, which is transitioning to Internet-based communications as the field of telemedicine broadens to preventative and self healthcare. However, technology is changing quickly and consumers face an array of choices to satisfy their healthcare needs with numerous devices from different vendors. Seamless healthcare device networking can play a major role in automating and safeguarding the process of collecting and transferring medical data, remote patient monitoring and reducing costs through remote equipment monitoring. In this scope, we describe an approach augmenting the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) with healthcare services in order to form a framework for efficient collection and storage of measurements, aiming to address the issues of the lack of a standardised data interface for consumer healthcare technologies (including hardware and protocols) and the lack of a standardised format for self-collected healthcare data (including the storage medium). In this framework, measurements can be seamlessly collected and stored as XML notes located virtually anywhere, such as the user’s home or mobile device. Additionally, these notes can be accessed locally or remotely by doctors and specialists. Also, we discuss how this approach supports user mobility by proxying and redirecting requests to the user’s current location and how it can remove the complexity of using consumer healthcare technologies from different vendors connected to different devices and the opportunities for Independent Software Vendors to develop additional services.

Christos G. Biniaris^a, and Andrew J. Marsh^b
a VMW Solutions Ltd., UK
^b University of Westminster, UK

To be published in “Medical and Care Compunetics 5″, IOSPress, 2008.

Feds Call on Google and Microsoft to Breathe Life into the NHIN

“Who is the federal  government calling on to breathe life into the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN)? Google and Microsoft.”
Article
Vince Kuraitis and David C. Kibbe, e-CareManegement Blog, 1 April 2008

Physician-specific online networks gain doc interest

“The videos available at the Doctor’s Channel probably would not interest the average YouTube viewer, but physicians are eager to watch them, and even participate in making them.”
Article
Jean DerGurahian, Modern Healthcare Onlne, 17 March 2008

Networking reduces medical costs

“The Thumb Rural Health Network is young, but has ambitious goals.
The network is a collaborative of hospitals and health departments in Sanilac, Huron and Tuscola counties. Organized in 2003, the group became a recognized nonprofit in 2007.
“The government believes small, rural hospitals should form these networks,” said Lonnie Stevens, executive director. “They can work to provide cost savings at hospitals (and) greater care … for the same amount.”
Article
Nicole Herring, Times Herald, 14 March 2008