M.L. Baker

In an effort to advance genetic medicine, the Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a project that links a patients genetic information with the medical history stored in his or her electronic health record, according to Government Health IT news. The goal is to uncover how and what genetic variations can make people more susceptible […]

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have unveiled a snakelike robot that might, one day, slither in patients throats to make incisions and tie off sutures. Another tiny robot could inject drugs into blood vessels in patients eyes, a procedure now stymied because surgeons hands tremor slightly. Right now, the steady-hand and snake robots for surgeries are […]

The nascent Nationwide Health Information Network should be set up to conduct clinical research, says FasterCures, a Washington-based nonprofit think tank and advocacy group. The goal of the federally-funded NHIN is to make patient health information available electronically whenever a patient needs health care. This should help doctors provide better care and avoid ordering duplicate […]

A week after several large employers announced plans to create online personal health records for millions of their employees, large insurers said they would do the same thing for their members. The insurers initiative would cover more patients earlier, becoming available to 100 million patients by March 2007, according to an announcement from Americas Health […]

A survey released this week by the nonprofit Markle Foundation finds patients enthusiastic about being able to access their health information online. A vast majority say they would use this information to prevent unnecessary care and take better care of themselves. More than 95 percent of respondents in the survey of 1,000 Americans said that […]

A group of large employers, including Intel and Wal-Mart, announced a plan to supply their 2.5 million employees with online personal health records. Each employer is donating about $1 million or more for the initiative, which will be developed by Oregon-based non-rofit OmniMedix. A version of the PHR is supposed to be available by the […]

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will probably spend more than $5 billion on 670 technology initiatives in 2007, according to forecasts from a company that helps businesses find federal contracts. According to fedXccel, the spending represents a 9 percent increase over 2006 levels, though it is a mere drop in the bucket […]

A truck equipped with mammography equipment has been delivering care to Native American women in North Dakota and South Dakota, connecting patients with clinicians at the University of Michigan. The pilot program performed hundreds of screens over the summer, and the Indian Health Service will provide the service again in 2007. Without the roving mammogram […]

Rush University Medical Center is scrapping its 20 legacy IT systems in favor of software from Epic Systems Corporation, and as part of the transition, the Chicago-based center will deploy infrastructure from Sun Microsystems. Sun announced the deal on Nov. 28 at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, along with a […]

Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt is asking U.S. employers to pressure the health care industry so that doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and clinical laboratories will get connected electronically. Right now, patients, providers and payers do not have the information they need to seek out the best-quality care at the most affordable price, Leavitt […]

Health insurance provider Aetna hopes to use the Internet to make doctors and nurses more culturally sensitive. The company on Nov. 17 announced that clinicians who are part of the Aetna network or who have filed a claim with the insurer can take online courses in cross-cultural care for free. The online course is part […]

A federal workgroup studying privacy issues in health information technology on Nov. 15 released a preliminary set of recommendations for how health care providers and others should verify patients identity before transmitting medical information electronically to a patient. Though narrow in scope, the guidelines are expected to pave the way for broader policy recommendations. The […]