US intros health IT task force
The White House will form an interagency task force to coordinate federal health IT programmes, reports Federal Computer Week.
The task force will be led by the Health and Human Services Department's national coordinator for health IT, Dr David Blumenthal. The group is needed to facilitate president Obama's health reform agenda and distributing $20 billion in economic stimulus law funding for health IT.
Currently, lack of coordination among many councils and advisory groups is holding back progress, the memo said. “The fragmentation of current federal health IT responsibilities, programmes and coordinating mechanisms must be overcome to execute effectively the president's programme,” says Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Health facility tracks physicians
South Jersey Healthcare Regional Medical Centre has deployed its Amelior Tracker system to automatically track and manage physician location and communication inside and outside the facility, states RFIDNews.
The installation at the 262-bed facility in Vineland, New Jersey will consist of department to facility-wide software solutions and services designed to coordinate care through the real-time patient flow.
The Web-based Amelior tracking software visualises workflow by automatically identifying the location of people and equipment and the care progression of patients.
In-home telemedicine study released
Mayo Clinic, GE Healthcare, and Intel have introduced an initiative to study the care and cost benefits of home-based health monitoring for elderly patients with chronic illnesses, writes InformationWeek.
During the year-long study, 200 high-risk patients over the age of 60 who suffer chronic conditions such as heart failure, diabetes, and lung disease will use at-home medical devices to take their vital signs, such as blood pressure, peak air flow, weight, or blood sugar readings.
The medical devices transmit the information to an Intel Health Guide remote patient monitoring system located in the patient's home. Depending on the particular medical device, data is transmitted to the Intel Health Guide system either via wired or wireless connection, such as Bluetooth.
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