Verizon, BL trial healthcare solutions

Verizon Wireless and BL Healthcare are to jointly trial next-generation solutions for the delivery of remote healthcare applications and services to patients, according to PR Newswire.

This initiative will provide an approach for addressing issues associated with access to quality healthcare and rising healthcare costs.

The solutions will leverage BL Healthcare's remote health management platform and Verizon Wireless' network, along with an extensive list of third-party providers to deliver 'best of breed' applications and healthcare-related services to patients remotely.

CapSite Consulting has unveiled an online database capable of providing detailed comparisons of contracts and proposals for healthcare IT, imaging equipment and medical device purchases, states TMCnet.

The company says the CapSite database includes all data points encompassing over 60 different healthcare technology categories.

CapSite also provides greater details by breaking out line item pricing for each product and service. Also components are categorised into distinct groups such as software, hardware, equipment and services for each proposal and purchase.

The results of a survey of thousands of electronic personal health records (PHRs) users nationwide revealed that while the wealthy tend to use them more, it was the poor who derive the greatest benefits from online records, says Computerworld.

Unlike electronic health records, which are used by doctors and other healthcare providers, PHRs are used by the patients to access information online about their health, whether it is the latest medical laboratory test results or their medical histories from various sources. PHRs can also be used to communicate with physicians through e-mail.

PHR Web sites are being offered by hospitals, physician practices, healthcare plans and private businesses such as Google and Microsoft, for consumers have their healthcare information aggregated for easy access.