LAS VEGASWhile medication management technologies can overwhelm providers due to the interoperability and personnel complications, health IT can be utilized to mediate the concerns, according to a Feb. 23 presentation during the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is soliciting EHR vendors to participate in research to support the development of procedures for measuring and evaluating the usability of health IT, according to a notice published Feb. 14 in the Federal Register.

LAS VEGASTo achieve the overarching concept of system-ness or enterprise-ness, converging the IT and the clinical engineering departments could help to eliminate latency or downtime with medical devices that now are integrated into the EMR and the greater network, according to Vi Shaffer, research vice president at Gartner, who took part in a conversation about this convergence Feb. 20 at the 2012 Healthcare  Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference.

Spotty access to reliable wireless network connections continues to suppress the use of remote patient monitoring devices, but healthcare consumers are generally comfortable with the concept and willing to comply should a doctor recommend remote.

Peake Healthcare Innovations and Vital Images, a Toshiba Medical Systems Group company, have partnered to provide the VitreaView universal viewer in a software as a service (SaaS) model hosted from Peakes cloud-based PACS vendor neutral archive.

Siemens Healthcare debuted two offerings for image management and radiology workflow that will be hosted from the Siemens Healthcare Cloud Computing Center (HCCC) in Malvern, Pa., at the annual meeting of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), held in Las Vegas Feb. 20-24.

Barco has partnered with researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania to develop an integrated system to perform virtual clinical trials of breast cancer screening technology.

LAS VEGASPhysicians most significant challenges include processing information and bringing those data to the point of care, Nick van Terheyden, MD, CMIO, Nuance Communications, said during a Feb. 22 session at the annual meeting of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). van Terheyden outlined how IBM Watsons Deep Question and Answer technology might assist with the process and improve healthcare delivery.