Patient Care

This page includes news coverage of various aspects of patient healthcare, including new technology innovations, what is working, what is not, personalized medicine and remote and telemedicine delivery. Find specific news in the areas of Care DeliveryDigital TransformationPrecision MedicineRemote Monitoring and Telehealth.

Children's National launches text updates for surgical patients' families

Families of Childrens National Medical Centers surgical patients will be able to receive real-time updates on their loved ones conditions via text.

Court: Patient use of Epic's MyChart can qualify as patent infringement

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Court overturned a district courts decision regarding a McKesson lawsuit against Epic, reopening the door for patent infringement litigation.

Weekly round-up: No breaches but privacy news abounds

Finally! There were no healthcare data breaches to report on this week. Thats not to say there were no developments on the privacy and security front, however.

Aging MR scanner base may spur buying spree

The average age of installed MRI scanners in the U.S. has increased from eight years in 2007 to 10.9 years in 2011, according to a market research report by IMV Medical Information Division. The findings suggest a potential impending buying spree as 22 percent of sites plan to purchase new systems in the next three years.

IOM calls for improved use of IT in healthcare

"America's healthcare system has become far too complex and costly to continue business as usual," according to the Institute of Medicine, releasing its 382-page report, Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America.

Barco unveils display software for large-scale images

Barco has unveiled Conference CloneView for projecting high-quality medical images onto a large-screen display.

Merge makes move to explore sale

Merge Healthcare has retained Allen & Company, an investment bank, to assist in exploring and evaluating a range of strategic alternatives, including, but not limited to, a sale of the company or a business combination.

Informatics tools show potential for data extraction

Big data retrieval is becoming a reality. Using a platform that can collect and standardize de-identified data from multiple healthcare systems various information systems, researchers were able to present a retrospective cohort study of patient characteristics associated with venous thromboembolic events, according to research published July 3 by the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

Around the web

No devices need to be returned at this time. However, the FDA warned, using these heart pumps without reviewing the updated instructions could result in "serious injury or death.” 

The FDA recently cleared the company's cable-free, credit card-sized heart monitor that produces 12-lead ECGs.

If 25% tariffs go into effect, it could have a big impact on the cost of medical imaging and radiotherapy systems, with many manufacturing facilities in Mexico.