State Legislatures to Prioritize EHRs, HIEs in 2012
Each year, the National Conference of State Legislatures takes a look at the issues policymakers will be forced to confront over the coming year. Among the priorities highlighted in the organization's list of "Top 12 Legislative Issues of 2012" are the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and the creation of health information exchanges (HIEs). From the organization: By mid-year...
This Week in Electronics: Medical Device Software Accused of Being Underregulated; New U.S. Medtech Hubs
This week brought news of four up-and-coming medtech hubs in the U.S. and allegations that medical device software is underregulated. Electronic Medical Records Might Boost Diabetes Care (U.S. News & World Report) New Medtech Hubs Are on the Rise in the United States (MD+DI) Medical Device Software Criticized as Under-Regulated (LA Times) Reliability Issues Could Plague Carbon Nanotubes...
This Week in Electronics: Medical Device Manufacturing in Mexico; VC Investments are Up
In this week's link roundup, 40 medical manufacturing facilities now call Tijuana, Mexico home. Also, EMRs are easy to steal, and the life sciences sector saw a 37% rise in venture capital in the second quarter of this year. Medtech Goes South of the Border (EMDT) VC Investments Rise 19% in Q2 2011, Life Sciences Dollars Jump 37% from Q1 2011 (MX) FDA Moves to Consolidate Drugs, Devices, Tobacco...
Medical Device Security Is a Serious Issue That's Not Going Away
There's an interesting post on the Wind River Blog Network today about the need to make connected medical devices more secure. Santhosh Nair writes that as medical devices have become smarter and more interconnected, threats to their security have also increased. He cites examples of vulnerabilities in everything from implantables to drug delivery devices. Nair also asserts that the hackers...
Doctors Don't Use iPads for EHRs
Doctors love their iPads, as we’ve discussed before on the MED Blog. But ironically, most don’t seem to be using them in a way that could reduce costs and prevent complications for patients. While more than one in four primary care and specialty physicians own an iPad or other tablet, according to American Medical News, at best a little more than half and at worst just 9.7% by state...
Doctor Disses EHRs
Dueling articles in Annals of Internal Medicine (here and here, behind a paywall) this week debate how EHRs should be implemented, and The Wall Street Journal picked up on a dig one of the authors made against the technology. According to the WSJ, Richard J. Baron, M.D., of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation wrote that EHRs, “are not as good as they could be, as safe as they...
Electronic Health Records: Soon to be a Medical Device?
Software regulation due to be released by FDA later this year or in 2012 could have consequences for Electronic Health Record (EHR) vendors. This segment could face review of manufacturing processes and design controls, as well as FDA testing to demonstrate system efficacy. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) is in charge of assessing the role government should play in...