Profero Solutionsa tumblelog

STANFORD, CA – Data mining and electronic health records helped researchers at some of the country’s most prestigious universities discover a dangerous of a common drug combination.

A widely used combination of two medications may cause unexpected increases in blood glucose levels, according to a study conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University and Harvard Medical School. Researchers were surprised at the finding because neither of the two drugs – one, an antidepressant marketed as Paxil, and the other, a cholesterol-lowering medication called Pravachol – has a similar effect alone.

The study relied on an adverse-event reporting database maintained by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and on sophisticated electronic medical records used by each of the three participating institutions. They used data-mining techniques to identify patterns of associations in large populations that would not be readily apparent to physicians treating individual patients.

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BUDAPEST, Hungary – Large populations, geographic disparities and legacy infrastructure problems can derail national health IT projects. Estonia suffers from none of these factors.

The Baltic state implemented a national EHR in 2009 at a cost equivalent to €7.50 (roughly $10 USD) per citizen.

Madis Tiik, CEO of the Estonian E-Health Foundation, who managed the project, described the short path to a fully integrated EHR network currently used by 47 pecent of the country’s residents.

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DENVER – HealthGrades, a website for patients researching and selecting physicians, announced Wednesday the launch of a new Web-based tool that empowers physicians and practice administrators to take control of their online reputation.

The free, secure Web application encourages ongoing physician engagement to verify and modify the information HealthGrades makes public in more than 750,000 online physician profiles. The HealthGrades Physician & Provider Portal is being officially unveiled at this week’s American Medical Group Association (AMGA) annual conference in Washington D.C.

“As a physician, I understand the professional challenge doctors face in managing online information,” said Rick May, MD, HealthGrades vice president, accelerated clinical excellence. “But public reporting is here to stay and will likely only increase in scope. It is time physicians leveraged the power of the Web to benefit their patients and their practice. As the most heavily trafficked physician search site, HealthGrades is uniquely positioned to help.”

HealthGrades’ enhanced Portal is designed to enable physicians to take control of their online reputation, offering them the opportunity to respond publicly to patient satisfaction ratings, and assisting doctors in actively attracting the most appropriate patients. For example, adding customized and detailed information about medical areas of expertise, and a brief description of practice style helps patients better match with the right physician who meets their specific needs and expectations.

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SACRAMENTO, CA – California Connects, a federally funded program designed to increase broadband access among underserved communities for improved access to resources like healthcare information, celebrated its official launch Wednesday at American River College in Sacramento.

Officials said the debut of the program marks the start of a multi-year effort to address California’s digital divide and help increase the number of broadband Internet users throughout the state by more than 61,000 people.

[See also: Obama gives HIT the nod in State of the Union speech.]

California Connects will involve intensive training and outreach to expand Internet usage in communities that still have limited access, with an emphasis on the Central Valley, where there is still a high concentration of residents not using the Internet. The program aims to provide thousands of underserved Californians with online tools and training to enhance their lifelong learning ability, improve their economic and healthcare status and advance their general quality of life.

[See also: Studies: Health IT has big impact on rural and minority communities.]

California Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla (11th District) joined California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott, Los Rios Community College District Chancellor Brice Harris, and Foundation for California Community Colleges President Paul Lanning to commemorate the launch of the program, made possible by a $10.9 million grant from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

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INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s health IT sector, which includes more than 72 growing technologies, along with health plans, life sciences companies, academic institutions, philanthropic organizations and state government, have bolstered healthcare and the economy of the state, according to a new report.

The report, From Dishwashers to Digital Medical Records – Indiana’s Leadership in Health Information Technology, from BioCrossroads, Indiana’s initiative for investment, development and advancement of the state’s signature life sciences strengths, was released Feb. 22 at HIMSS11 in Orlando.

The BioCrossroads report lists 72 startups, 2,500 workers, and $202 million in company revenues as three new ways to measure the progress of Indiana’s health information technology innovation cluster. It defines, for the first time, the HIT cluster as a specific sector of life sciences economic activity in Indiana, analyzing core assets and documenting a decade-long story of steady growth.

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