WORCESTER, Mass.What started as a collaborative effort between Maine and New Hampshire to compare notes on data-gathering has become an initiative in nearly 15 states, with more on the way, said Josephine Porter, deputy director of the New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice. Porter made her comments during a presentation at the Massachusetts Governors 2011 Health IT Conference on May 10.

Boston Scientific today announced that Ray Elliott will retire as president and CEO on Dec. 31. The companys board has created a special CEO search committee, on which Elliott will serve as a member, to select its next president and CEO.

Toshiba has secured FDA clearance for its extra-large knee coil for the Vantage Titan MR system.

WORCESTER, Mass.As important as the specific incentives to providers have been, the electric shock that the meaningful use legislation has delivered to the IT market as a whole [has changed the market], stated David Blumenthal, MD, Samuel O. Thier Professor of Medicine and professor of health policy at Harvard Medical School in Boston. There are currently about 700 certified EHR products and applications modules, said Blumenthal, former National Coordinator of Health IT, during his keynote address at the Massachusetts Governors 2011 Health IT Conference May 9.

A team from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Stanford University is exploring a new approach to clinical trials that may cost less and be easier to translate into practice. An online article in the journal Clinical Trials describes a point-of-care study now under way that will involve more than 3,000 veterans with diabetes.

The sum of three breast density measurements may be greater than the parts, according to a study in this month's Academic Radiology. Researchers determined three measures of breast density capture different attributes of the same data field, findings that could inform development of a standardized quantitative measure of breast density.

Six commercial and nonprofit organizations have won awards in the second round of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Industry Innovation Competition. Three of the five winning projects, funded by the VA Innovation Initiative, are designed to improve access, quality of care and veteran satisfaction while reducing costs, the agency stated.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken a giant step toward removing unnecessary barriers to the use of telemedicine for medically necessary interventions, according to a statement by the Joint Commission.