Precision Medicine

Also called personalized medicine, this evolving field makes use of an individual’s genes, lifestyle, environment and other factors to identify unique disease risks and guide treatment decision-making.

NeHC Panelist: Health IT efforts must include care for underserved

If these are challenging times for healthcare, things are also moving fast, and its important that health IT efforts include a focus on delivering care to underserved communities, Garth Graham, MD, MPH, deputy assistant secretary for minority health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, said in an interview.

Malware may have put some UMass patients' PHI at risk

The University of Massachusetts (UMass) at Amhersts University Health Services (UHS) has disclosed that a malware-infected workstation may have put some patients protected health information (PHI) at risk between June 30 and Sept. 29, 2010, according to a March 7 letter posted on the UHS website. UHS is the university's campus health center, offering care, education and referral services for students, faculty and staff.

Kalorama: Visualization software market is on the rise

Medical visualization software that allows multiple physicians to consult on a patients condition is one of the key areas of growth for virtual reality (VR) technologies in healthcare, according to a study by Kalorama Information.

Kentucky health center uses NextGen EHR, reaps incentives

Grace Community Health Center, of Gray, Ky., has secured in excess of $150,000 in state Medicaid incentives by demonstrating its recent selection of NextGen Healthcares certified ambulatory EHR tool.

CDW report: Patients fear for PHI in EHRs

Most patients believe healthcare organizations are responsible for protecting a variety of sensitive information, but 49 percent also believe that EHRs will have a negative impact on the privacy of their personal health information (PHI) and health data, according to a nationwide survey of 1,000 respondents conducted by CDW Healthcare.

Boston hospitals issue 'SMArt' app challenge

Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School in Boston have launched the SMArt (Substitutable Medical Applications, reusable technologies) platform architecture and a $5,000 competition challenging developers to create web applications for patients, physicians or for public health.

Breathe ventilator nets FDA clearance for home use

Breathe Technologies has received FDA clearance for use of its BT-V2S ventilator in the home setting. The portable device provides ventilation assistance to aid select adult patients who suffer from respiratory insufficiency.

Greenways PrimeSuite selected for ONCs Direct Project

As part of the rollout of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's (ONC) Direct Project, Greenway Medical's PrimeSuite 2011 EHR, practice management and interoperability suite has been selected to facilitate point-to-point routing of patient data.

Around the web

Compensation for heart specialists continues to climb. What does this say about cardiology as a whole? Could private equity's rising influence bring about change? We spoke to MedAxiom CEO Jerry Blackwell, MD, MBA, a veteran cardiologist himself, to learn more.

The American College of Cardiology has shared its perspective on new CMS payment policies, highlighting revenue concerns while providing key details for cardiologists and other cardiology professionals. 

As debate simmers over how best to regulate AI, experts continue to offer guidance on where to start, how to proceed and what to emphasize. A new resource models its recommendations on what its authors call the “SETO Loop.”