Technology and docs

From the Physicians Consulting Network's press release:

Compared to two years ago, primary care physicians (PCPs) and specialist doctors alike have dramatically increased their use of electronic health records (EHRs), and they are expecting to spend less time with sales reps in the coming six months.

The study of nearly 11,000 health care professionals also shows that more than half of PCPs and specialists already have smartphones, and that many are using them for email, shopping, e-detailing – and survey taking.

Click here to access.  Hat tip to Pharmalot.

Google and Microsoft think HIPAA doesn't apply to them

From the iHealthBeat article:

Google and Microsoft maintain that they are not subject to HIPAA privacy regulations, BNET Healthcare reports.

Last month, Google Health Product Manager Roni Zeiger said, "Our understanding is that HITECH, which is the jargon for (the health IT) part of the legislation, did not change the definition for a covered entity or a business associate, so our service is offered directly to the consumer." He added, "(O)ur understanding is that we are neither a covered entity nor a business associate. We're providing a service directly to the consumer or a patient."

At this week's annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference in Chicago, David Cerino, general manager of Microsoft's Health Solutions Group, said, "We're still outside" of HIPAA.

Click here to access the article.

Army Medical goes to voice recognition technology

From the Healthcare IT News article:

The U.S. Army Medical Department has expanded its use of speech technology to 10,000 of its physicians to more than 90,000 worldwide.
...
"The use of voice-recognition software with the AHLTA e-health record system is freeing doctors from several hours of typing into AHLTA their various patient notes each week," said Robert Bell Walker, European Regional Medical Command AHLTA consultant and a family practice physician for the military.

Click here to access.

Fantastic Voyage?

From the New York Times article:

THE doctor’s advice to “take two aspirin and call me in the morning” may one day be updated to “take this pill, and it will call me in the morning.”

Philips Research in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, has developed a prototype for a pill that can be programmed to navigate toward a specific trouble spot in the body and deposit its medicine there, radioing dispatches to the doctor as it travels.

Click here to access the NYT article.

Doctor appointments on the web

An online service that offers doctor appointments via a webcam will go live in Hawaii on Jan 15. From the New York Times article on this new service:

Patients use the service by logging on to participating health plans’ Web sites. Doctors hold 10-minute appointments, which can be extended for a fee, and can file prescriptions and view patients’ medical histories through the system. American Well is working with HealthVault, Microsoft’s electronic medical records service, and ActiveHealth Management, a subsidiary of Aetna, which scans patients’ medical history for gaps in their previous care and alerts doctors during their American Well appointment.

Click here to access. Disclosure: I have no financial relationship with this new service.

Mobile Resource Centers on Epocrates

From Epocrates:

Recent study data from Manhattan Research, reported that nearly three-fourths of physicians say that they would like more specialty-specific drug references, clinical applications, and medical tools/alerts available to them on their PDA.

Epocrates is listening to our users and answering their call with the launch of Mobile Resource Centers! These new Epocrates Mobile Resource Centers (mRC) provide healthcare professionals with access to valuable information to stay up-to-date on diagnoses and treatments in selected clinical areas. The Centers provide practical and highly-relevant content, including breaking news, research findings, conference highlights and related continuing medical education courses.

If you'd like to learn more, email Lisa Wray at lwray@epocrates.com.

Disclosure/disclaimer: I have no financial relationship with Epocrates and am not making a recommendation, just sharing news.

"45 Ways to Use Technology to Green Meetings"

This article by Corbin Ball offers practical suggestions (and links to websites) for going green. Click here to access. Hat tip to Face2Face.

Teletrauma

From an interesting article in the Arizona Daily Star:

A new live two-way video link between University Medical Center and the city's 17 paramedic units is expected to put Tucson at the cutting edge of medical technology when it goes online in August.
The system allows real-time videoconferencing over the city's public safety and public works wireless Internet system — a wireless mesh that links the city's traffic signals and other public safety wireless functions.
Dr. Rifat Latifi, interim medical director of UMC's Level 1 trauma center, said the video link will be the first of its kind in the country and the world.
"We think it's an incredible thing," Latifi said. "Wherever a patient is, we're there."

Click here to access the article.