Conference News | Monday, March 15 2010
Health information exchange (HIE) company Medicity is collaborating with financial and administrative HIE application provider Emdeon to create a “converged” national HIE. The companies announced the project at the 2010 annual HIMSS conference in Atlanta.
Clinical Studies | Monday, March 15 2010
A new way to regulate the leakiness of blood vessels by blocking TGF beta surrounding blood vessels in mice can enhance delivery of molecular imaging agents and drugs to tumors, according to research published in the March online issue of Disease Models and Mechanisms.
Conference News | Monday, March 15 2010
ATLANTA--“Within the past decade, our focus on women at risk has led to a clarification of understanding of the sex-specific factors that can influence our decisions and testing when it comes to women at risk or with symptoms of heart disease,” said Jennifer Mieres, MD, associate professor of medicine and director of nuclear cardiology at New York University School of Medicine, during a presentation at the 59th annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) conference.
Conference News | Monday, March 15 2010
ATLANTA -- The presence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) was found to be a significant predictor of adverse cardiac events, and multi-detector CT may be able to predict cardiac events in known or suspected CAD, according to researchers from the Division of Cardiology at Daegu Catholic University in Daegu, South Korea.
Conference News | Monday, March 15 2010
ATLANTA -- Diabetic patients would be the most likely candidates for early coronary artery disease (CAD) screening via imaging testing because this patient population is considered at high risk for myocardial infarction or cardiac death, said Gary Heller MD, director of cardiology at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn., during a session yesterday at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual conference.
Conference News | Sunday, March 14 2010
ATLANTA--The government's plan for meaningful use with EHR implementations are helpful but might not be entirely feasible, said Michael J. Mirro, MD, of Fort Wayne Cardiology in Indiana, during a discussion of the pros and pitfalls of EHR adoption yesterday at the 59th annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific session.
Conference News | Sunday, March 14 2010
The annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2010 Conference & Exhibition in Atlanta March 1-4 attracted more health IT professionals, more vendors and more Interoperability Showcase activities than last year, according to HIMSS' preliminary figures.
Clinical Studies | Saturday, March 13 2010
In the evaluation of pregnancy following uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), researchers from St. Louis Hospital in Lisbon have determined that most pregnancies present good outcomes with low morbidity rates, said João Martins Pisco, MD, interventional radiologist and lead author of the study, at the Society of Interventional Radiology's (SIR) 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.
Conference News | Friday, March 12 2010
Testing patients for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) via abnormal ankle brachial index (ABI) exams can identify patients at risk for future cardiac events who were not considered in the high-risk category with Framingham risk assessments, according to results of a clinical trial presented at the 35th annual scientific meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology's in Tampa, Fla.
Industry News | Friday, March 12 2010
The Interim Final Rule (IFR) model for costs to EHR vendors and developers is overly simplistic and significantly underestimates regulatory economic impact, according to the Certification Commission for Health IT (CCHIT), which submitted public comments on the IFR to the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT.
Industry News | Friday, March 12 2010
In order for telemedicine case management to be more widely adopted, less expensive technology is needed to lower implementation costs, according to a recent study from The Journal of Medical Informatics Association.
Industry News | Friday, March 12 2010
VisEn Medical launched a new fluorescent dye for labeling biomolecules enabling a broad range of in vitro and in vivo imaging applications in research and drug development.
New Products | Friday, March 12 2010
FujiFilm Medical Systems USA introduced its flat panel DR cassette, the FDR D-EVO, at the 2010 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting.
Conference News | Friday, March 12 2010
Use of the Mo.Ma proximal cerebral protection device (Invatec) with FDA-approved carotid stents in high-risk patients are 98 percent effective and proved to decrease the risk of stroke, according to results of the ARMOUR trial presented by Barry T. Katzen, MD, at the 35th annual Society of Interventional Radiology Scientific Meeting March 15.
Mergers & Acquisitions | Friday, March 12 2010
EHR software company Edge EHR has signed a letter of intent to acquire Goal Eyecare Software of Green Bay, Wis.
New Products | Friday, March 12 2010
McKesson has announced that its Horizon Cardiology cardiovascular information system (CVIS) now offers hosted storage capabilities for data protection, archive and disaster recovery, in addition to virtualized server applications for reduced operating costs and increased patient information availability.
Clinical Studies | Friday, March 12 2010
For the non-invasive treatment of benign uterine fibroids, magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) can be an effective therapy, said Gina K. Hesley, MD, and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. at the 35th Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.
New Products | Friday, March 12 2010
Carestream Health has globally released Carestream RIS, its latest RIS platform, to help enhance patient care through radiation dose tracking and user alerts, while ensuring confirmation of results delivery and appropriate follow-up by referring physicians via critical results notifications.
Contracts & Installations | Friday, March 12 2010
Medical imaging company Barco has signed a display contract with Mortsel, Belgium-based Agfa HealthCare as part of a German hospital digitalization project, said Barco.
Contracts & Installations | Friday, March 12 2010
Lumedx, cardiovascular information systems developer, has integrated the Philips Healthcare QLAB advanced 2D and 3D ultrasound quantification tools to its CardioPACS imaging solution for better diagnostic accuracy.
Contracts & Installations | Friday, March 12 2010
The Miami Children’s Hospital in South Florida has installed Toshiba America Medical System’s Infinix CF-i bi-plane system to obtain images during hybrid catheterization procedures.
Conference News | Friday, March 12 2010
Healthcare company Healthcare Management Systems (HMS) revealed its new interoperability product, HMS Connex, at the 2010 HIMSS conference in Atlanta. HMS Connex will enable the exchange of clinical data between third party systems, health information exchanges and public registries while assisting in qualifying for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 HITECH stimulus funds, according to the company.
Mergers & Acquisitions | Friday, March 12 2010
InterSystems has acquired Prosa, which is a part of Gruppo Sistem, an Italian healthcare technology company, for an undisclosed sum.
Industry News | Thursday, March 11 2010
The American College of Radiology (ACR) has endorsed the Safeguard Access to Preventative Services Act (H.R. 4794), which was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and three original co-sponsors on March 9.
Contracts & Installations | Thursday, March 11 2010
Advanced Accelerator Applications has invested approximately $6 million in Atreus Pharmaceuticals which will be used to expand Atreus’ research in molecular imaging based on Annexin V.
Industry News | Thursday, March 11 2010
The U.S. Senate has passed legislation to expand the number of eligible physicians who might receive incentive payments for the meaningful use of health IT under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.
Industry News | Thursday, March 11 2010
A high percentage of CT and MRI examinations are not meeting appropriateness criteria and subsequently yielding negative results, which suggests a need for tools to help primary care physicians hone their imaging decision requests, according to a recent article in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Contracts & Installations | Thursday, March 11 2010
Brentwood, Tenn.-based HealthTrust Purchasing Group, LP has inked a three-year contract with FujiFilm Medical Systems USA for its line of Fuji CR (FCR) products, effective April 2010 through March 2013.
Industry News | Thursday, March 11 2010
The Chalk River, Ontario-based National Research Universal (NRU) reactor restart has been delayed until the second half of May 2010.
Industry News | Thursday, March 11 2010
The unprecedented level of detail in EMR clinical data opens new possibilities for defining clinical quality measures in more clinically meaningful ways. However, more detailed data can cause difficulties in ensuring that data across institutions are comparable, according to an article in the online March edition of the Journal of Medical Informatics Association.
Contracts & Installations | Thursday, March 11 2010
Portable x-ray provider MinXray has announced the installation of seven portable x-ray/digital CR systems and equipment in seven different locations throughout Nigeria.
Contracts & Installations | Thursday, March 11 2010
Medical software and device manufacturer Varian Medical Systems will supply Kent Oncology Centre in Southeast England with two Clinac iX accelerators with RapidArc capability for radiotherapy treatments.
Contracts & Installations | Thursday, March 11 2010
Digital radiography (DR) marketer and provider Imaging Dynamics has expanded its contract with Orthopaedic Clinic of Daytona Beach with the installation of its 1600 Plus X-Series with X3C technology DR system, the fifth system to be installed within the Clinic.
Conference News | Thursday, March 11 2010
Health IT company athenahealth announced a partnership with online physician community Sermo at the 2010 HIMSS conference in Atlanta last week.
Contracts & Installations | Thursday, March 11 2010
Health IT company Wolters Kluwer Health announced that the Surgery Center of Scottsdale in Arizona has selected its ProVation MD software for gastroenterology procedure documentation and coding.
Conference News | Thursday, March 11 2010
At HIMSS10 in Atlanta last week, eClinicalWorks announced on-demand deployment of its EMR management mobile system or any other add-on products.
Conference News | Thursday, March 11 2010
Infinitt North America showcased its new OEM product, Infinitt Accent, at HIMSS10 in Atlanta.
Industry News | Wednesday, March 10 2010
The American Hospital Association (AHA) has offered an alternative approach for the definition of meaningful use, including the addition of 12 objectives to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Conference News | Wednesday, March 10 2010
PET/CT may help identify patients with disseminated seminoma that was not detected by CT scan, according to a study presented last week at the 2010 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO-GU) in San Francisco.
Contracts & Installations | Wednesday, March 10 2010
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust of Hampshire, England, has installed 10 Ysio wi-D digital radiography (DR) systems from Siemens Healthcare.
New Products | Wednesday, March 10 2010
Digital pathology provider BioImagine has released its iSlide input device, which is a microscope-like interface that allows pathologists to manipulate digital images of slides.
Regulatory News | Wednesday, March 10 2010
Humanetics obtained a global exclusive license from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine for patents covering the use of BIO 300 as a medical radiation countermeasure.
Industry News | Wednesday, March 10 2010
Areva will be constructing a facility which will produce medical-grade lead-212 for anticancer treatments on its Bessines site in France.
Conference News | Wednesday, March 10 2010
Symantec unveiled Symantec Health, a new hosted medical image archiving and sharing application for healthcare providers, at the 2010 HIMSS conference in Atlanta last week.
New Products | Wednesday, March 10 2010
Image analysis and interpretation company Definiens has released its LymphExpert Version 2.0 for sale in Europe after receiving the CE Mark approval.
New Products | Wednesday, March 10 2010
X-ray product and manufacturing company S&S Technology has released the EW100-UVGI ergonomic workstation & keyboard sanitizer product.
Clinical Studies | Wednesday, March 10 2010
A coronary CT angiography-only approach -- when factoring in a $20,000 threshold level for cost per correct diagnosis and $50,000 per quality-adjusted life-year -- is the most cost-effective diagnostic strategy for the evaluation of patients presenting with stable chest pain without known coronary artery disease (CAD) with intermediate CAD prevalence, according to a decision analysis study published in the March issue of Radiology.
Mergers & Acquisitions | Wednesday, March 10 2010
The stockholders of QuadraMed have approved its acquisition by Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm. The all-cash transaction for all of QuadraMed’s stock is valued at approximately $126 million, according to the company.
Contracts & Installations | Wednesday, March 10 2010
Annapolis Pediatrics in Annapolis, Md., has selected Sage North America to implement the Sage Intergy Suite of financial and clinical products across its four clinics.
Industry News | Wednesday, March 10 2010
A survey of 1,022 Michiganders revealed a gap between insurance coverage and access to healthcare, and the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation suggests that lawmakers must focus on closing this gap.
Contracts & Installations | Wednesday, March 10 2010
Contrast delivery developer Acist Medical Systems and HealthTrust, a healthcare group purchasing organization, have entered into a three-year contract for the company's cardiovascular injection technology.
Industry News | Tuesday, March 09 2010
The Virginia State Legislature this week approved a bill mandating health insurers, healthcare subscription plans and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) to fully cover the cost of healthcare services provided through telemedicine services.
Conference News | Tuesday, March 09 2010
Google announced a couple of integration agreements and technology additions for its Google Health product at this year'st HIMSS10 show in Atlanta, including an integration with e-prescribing provider Surescripts and a future collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Industry News | Tuesday, March 09 2010
Partial adoption of meaningful use of health IT should result in the receiving of partial fiscal incentives, wrote Ted Epperly, MD, board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), in a letter to Charlene M. Frizzera, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Conference News | Tuesday, March 09 2010
At the recent HIMSS10 conference in Atlanta, Intel announced its patient monitoring study with Mayo Clinic and introduced its Start Now initiative, a web portal that contains text and video statements by healthcare leaders about what they are doing to change the future of healthcare today.
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The use of health IT to reduce rehospitalizations will be welcome but also disruptive, said Stephen Jencks, an independent consultant in healthcare safety during a Feb. 24 webinar on the potential use of health IT to mitigate rehospitalizations, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
During the Health IT Standards Committee meeting on Feb. 24 in Washington, D.C., the Clinical Operations Workgroup sought to gather comments on proposed recommendations on implementation specifications for content exchange, vocabulary and code set standards for the Interim Final Rule of meaningful use.
In 2006, the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), a branch of the FDA, began examining the number of medical device reports they received. Over the past two years, the number of submitted reports has increased, sparking a demand for the CDRH to make a move to electronic reporting.
A new hospital breaking ground usually isn’t breaking news. But the vision of patient care at one new facility, tentatively named Palomar Medical Center West (PMC West), is currently illegal under California state law.