Highlights:

• Secure email service enables participants to send encrypted health information to other authorized participants throughout the state
• Direct Secure Messaging (DSM) Service adheres to Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN) Direct Standards
• DSM service will help health care providers achieve Meaningful Use

Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, in partnership with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), has launched a secure email service that enables health care providers to exchange health information electronically with other providers.  Delivery of the Direct Secure Messaging (DSM) service marks Harris' first milestone in the four-year, $19 million contract awarded to develop Florida's statewide health information exchange (HIE).

The Florida HIE DSM service is now online and available to Florida licensed providers.  By using DSM, providers and other health care entities can "push" electronic messages to known and trusted recipients over the Internet.  The service supports several of the information sharing requirements for Meaningful Use, such as the ability to provide a summary of care records for patients referred or transitioned to another provider.  

"Enabling health care providers in Florida to exchange clinical records over a secure network is one of our primary goals," said government analyst and AHCA's HIE Policy Lead Carolyn Turner.  "The new DSM system from Harris supports provider collaboration and aligns with our mission to improve the quality, safety, and delivery of health care in Florida."

As one of the first statewide implementations to go live, the service adheres to NwHIN Direct standards and supports the Office of the National Coordinator's (ONC) effort to enable the development of technologies to safely exchange clinical information.  As an electronic and web-based system, DSM aims to replace the widespread use of fax machines for referrals and transmission of patient data between organizations.

"Transforming healthcare requires a secure and connected framework," said Jim Traficant, president, Harris Healthcare Solutions.  "Direct Secure Messaging is another standards-based innovation delivered by Harris to enable Florida, other states, and health enterprises to share critical health information in a trusted exchange model."

The secure messaging platform is the first step towards the implementation of a fully connected health information exchange across the State of Florida.  Harris plans to follow the DSM delivery with a Patient Look-up service this fall, which will allow clinicians to search for and retrieve individual patient records from participating sources in the Florida HIE.  At least 20 organizations will be brought into the HIE by 2014.

For more information, and to track the progress of the Florida HIE, please visit https://www.florida-hie.net/.

A nationally recognized leader in federal healthcare IT integration, Harris also offers commercial providers a full range of interoperability solutions, including IT infrastructure and management, clinical workflow and analytics, health information exchange, and imaging.  Harris solutions improve health care quality, safety, efficiency, cost and outcomes by ensuring that the right information travels, with security and privacy, to the right person, at the right time, on the right device, at the point of care.

 

The rising prevalence of obesity around the globe places an increasing burden on the health of populations, on healthcare systems and on overall economies. A major challenge for researchers is to quantify the effect of these burdens to inform public policies. Using a simulation model to project the probable health and economic consequences from rising obesity rates in the United States and the United Kingdom, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Oxford University forecast 65 million more obese adults in the U. S. and 11 million more in the U.K. by 2030, leading to millions of additional cases of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. The findings suggest that medical costs associated with treatment of these preventable diseases in the U.S. alone will increase by $48-66 billion per year.

The paper, "Health and Economic Burden of the Projected Obesity Trends in the USA and the UK," is part of a series of articles on obesity published in the August 27 issue of Lancet. The research was led by Y. Claire Wang, MD, ScD, Mailman School assistant professor of Health Policy and Management, with colleagues from Oxford University.

To construct historic trends in BMI the researchers analyzed data from two nationally representative surveys: the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1988 to 2008, and the Healthy Survey for England (HSE) from 1993 to 2008. The U.S. and U.K. have the highest obesity rates among the countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Projecting from these data sets: the researchers predicted the following impacts for the U.S. by 2030:

• Obesity prevalence among men would rise from 32% in 2008 to approximately 50% and from 35% to between 45% and 52% among women.
• 7.8 million extra cases of diabetes
• 6.8 million more cases of coronary heart disease and stroke
• 539,000 additional cases of cancer
• Annual spending on obesity-related diseases would rise by 13-16%, leading to 2.6% increase in national health spending.
• Total medical costs associated with treatment of these preventable diseases are estimated to increase by $48-66 billion/year.

 

For the U.K., researchers predicted the following developments by 2030:

• Prevalence of obesity among men would increase from 26% to between 41—48%, and among women from 26% to 35-43%.
• 668 000 more cases of diabetes
• 461,000 more cases of heart disease and stroke
• 139,000 additional cases of cancer.
• In the U.K., annual spending on obesity-related health would increase even more rapidly than in the U.S. due to its older population, rising 25%.

 

"Many chronic and acute health disorders associated with excess bodyweight burden society—not only by negatively affecting the health-related quality of life but also by incurring significant costs," says Dr. Wang. These stem not only from increased healthcare expenditures but also from worker absenteeism, disability pensions, less productivity at work due to poor health, and earlier retirement."

The new study shows that even a small drop in average body mass index (BMI) would have a major health and economic impacts. They therefore recommend action to promote healthier body weights.

"Taking no action would have the catastrophic consequences described in our study, but a population level decrease in BMI by 1% would avoid as many as 2.4 million cases of diabetes, 1.7 million cases of heart disease and stroke, and up to 127 000 cases of cancer in the U.S. alone ."

There are currently 99 million obese individuals in the U.S and 15 million in the U.K. The distribution of obesity is somewhat different in the two nations. In the U.S. about one-quarter of all men are obese regardless of ethnicity. Almost half of black American women (46%) are obese, compared with a third of Hispanic women and 30% of white women. In the U.K., the proportion of obese white men (19%) is slightly higher than black men (17%) and much higher than Asian men (11%). One-third of black women in the U.K. are obese, compared with 1 in 5 white women and 1 in 6 Asian women.

While there is some evidence that the rise in obesity is levelling off in some nations and possibly in the U.S., the jury is still out, says Dr. Wang. "Population weight changes are slow to manifest. Whether or not the U.S. and UK have turned a corner or plateaued will not be clear until survey results over the next few years provide additional data points."

The suggestion that obese people die earlier, thus saving the likely expected social and healthcare costs if that person survives to old age, is also discussed in the paper. However the authors conclude, "Without a doubt, healthcare expenditure is high for elderly people, but these costs should not be used to justify the cost-savings of dying younger, or to suggest that obesity prevention has no benefit."

 

 

The study was funded by the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Reseach, a joint effort of the National Institutes of Health, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Agriculture, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Wang is also a contributing author on two other related papers in the Lancet series on obesity.

About Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health

Founded in 1922 as one of the first three public health academies in the nation, Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting New Yorkers, the nation and the world. The Mailman School is the third largest recipient of NIH grants among schools of public health. Its over 300 multi-disciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as preventing infectious and chronic diseases, environmental health, maternal and child health, health policy, climate change & health, and public health preparedness. It is a leader in public health education with over 1,000 graduate students from more than 40 nations pursuing a variety of master's and doctoral degree programs. The Mailman School is also home to numerous world-renowned research centers including the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP), the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, and the Center for Infection and Immunity. For more information, please visit www.mailman.columbia.edu

 

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today awarded $49 million in grants, partly supported by the Affordable Care Act, to improve the quality of health care and strengthen the public health infrastructure. Awarded to all fifty States, the grants strengthen State, local and territorial health departments’ capacity to perform critical epidemiology and laboratory work, detect and prevent healthcare-associated infections and support immunization programs. This is double the spending for the same programs in 2010.

Investing in public health is a key part of the Affordable Care Act. It helps transform our nation’s health care system from one based on when people get sick to one that prevents disease in the first place,” said Sebelius.

The grants will fund key State and local public health programs supported through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of the grants awarded, $35.8 million in Prevention and Public Health Fund dollars and $3.8 million in additional CDC funding will go to increasing epidemiology, laboratory and health information systems capacity at health departments in all 50 States, two territories and the six largest local jurisdictions (such as the cities of Los Angeles and Philadelphia). This is the second year that the Affordable Care Act has strengthened public health departments’ capacity to fight infectious diseases through enhanced workforce training and improved information technology.

“This funding will be used to create jobs, enabling the hiring and training of epidemiologists, laboratory scientists and health information specialists in the field of infectious diseases. These are experts who often work behind the scenes in health care to fight disease and keep us healthy,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “These grants will also make it easier for health departments to better manage and exchange important information.”

Almost $9 million will be used to bolster States’ abilities to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which lead to nearly 100,000 deaths every year. Funds will help States coordinate their HAI prevention activities, implement multi-facility, multi-disciplinary prevention efforts, improve monitoring of antimicrobial use and enhance electronic reporting of HAIs.

Another $600,000 will be used to bolster States’ immunization infrastructure and programs. These dollars will strengthen the evidence base for immunization programs and policy by supporting important evaluations on the effectiveness of various vaccines.

Today’s announcement is another part of the Obama Administration’s broader effort to improve the health and well-being of our communities through initiatives such as the President’s Childhood Obesity Task Force, the First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign, the National Quality Strategy, and the National Prevention Strategy. Similar to the Obama Administration’s Partnership for Patients which aims to make hospitals safer, more reliable and less costly, today’s announcement is also an important step in improving the quality of health care for all Americans.

A full list of grantees is available at: 

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/08/state_cdc_grants.html

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, please visit www.healthcare.gov.

Source: hhs.gov

 

Micro-electronics, elegant design and existing tattoo tech combine to create a complex device that is far more than a novelty

The patch of electronic skin consists of an array of electrical devices for monitoring the vital signs of the body

Through a combination of careful theoretical modeling and precise micro-manufacturing, a team of engineers and scientists has developed a new type of ultra-thin, self-adhesive electronics device that can effectively measure data about the human heart, brain waves and muscle activity--all without the use of bulky equipment, conductive fluids or glues.

The researchers have created a new class of micro-electronics with a technology that they call an epidermal electronic system (EES). They have incorporated miniature sensors, light-emitting diodes, tiny transmitters and receivers and networks of carefully crafted wire filaments into their initial designs.

The technology is presented--along with initial measurements that researchers captured using the EES--in a paper by lead author Dae-Hyeong Kim of the University of Illinois and colleagues in the Aug. 12, 2011, issue of Science.

The EES device was developed by collaborators from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University, Tufts University, the Institute of High Performance Computing in Singapore, and Dalian University of Technology in China.

"Our goal was to develop an electronic technology that could integrate with the skin in a way that is mechanically and physiologically invisible to the user," says corresponding author John Rogers, a professor in materials science and engineering department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "We found a solution that involves devices we designed to achieve physical properties that match to the epidermis itself. It's a technology that blurs the distinction between electronics and biology."

While existing technologies accurately measure heart rate, brain waves and muscle activity, EES devices offer the opportunity to seamlessly apply sensors that have almost no weight, no external wires and require negligible power.

Because of the small power requirements, the devices can draw power from stray (or transmitted) electromagnetic radiation through the process of induction and can harvest a portion of their energy requirements from miniature solar collectors.

The EES designs yield flat devices that are less than 50-microns thick--thinner than the diameter of a human hair--which are integrated onto the polyester backing familiar from stick-on tattoos.

The devices are so thin that close-contact forces called van der Waals interactions dominate the adhesion at the molecular level, so the electronic tattoos adhere to the skin without any glues and stay in place for hours.

The newly developed device, an epidermal electronic system. Credit and Larger Version

The recent study demonstrated device lifetimes of up to 24 hours under ideal conditions.

"The mechanics behind the design for our serpentine-shaped electronics makes the device as soft as the human skin," says Northwestern University engineer Yonggang Huang, also a lead researcher on the project. "The design enables brittle, inorganic semiconductors to achieve extremely vast stretchability and flexibility. Plus, the serpentine design is very useful for self adhesion to any surface without using glues."

While some areas of the body are ill-suited to adhesive electronics, such as the elbow, most regions commonly targeted for medical and experimental studies are ideal, including the forehead, extremities and the chest.

Regions of the body that previously proved difficult to fit with sensors may now be monitored, including the throat, which the researchers studied to observe muscle activity during speech.

The throat experiment yielded enough precision for the research team to differentiate words in vocabulary and even control a voice-activated video game interface with greater than 90 percent accuracy.

"This type of device might provide utility for those who suffer from certain diseases of the larynx," adds Rogers. "It could also form the basis of a sub-vocal communication capability, suitable for covert or other uses."

The current innovation builds upon six years of collaboration between Rogers and Huang, who had earlier partnered to develop flexible electronics for hemispherical camera sensors and other devices that conform to complex shapes.

"This work is really just beginning," adds Rogers.  "On the technology side, our focus is on wireless communication and improved solutions for power-such as batteries, storage capacitors and mechanical energy harvesters-to complement the inductive and solar concepts that we demonstrate in the present paper."

The researchers are also exploring clinical approaches, particularly for ailments where sensor size is critical, such as sleep apnea and neonatal care.

Much further into the future, the researchers hope to incorporate microfluidic devices into their technology, opening up a new arena of electronic bandages and enhanced-functioning skin, potentially accelerating wound healing or treating burns and other skin conditions.

The research was supported by the National Science Foundation through the grants OISE-1043143, CMMI-0749028 and ECCS-0824129 and the United States Air Force, Department of Energy and Beckman Institute.

 

Unique expertise positions them to be important partner, barriers could limit participation

Small and medium-sized technology businesses have the expertise, knowledge and skill sets to help the U.S. healthcare industry advance its use of new information technology (IT) tools, but barriers may keep many of them on the sidelines, according to a new white paper published this week by CompTIA, the non-profit association for the IT industry.

“Doing so will help to expand adoption, particularly by small medical providers, and increase the quality of care to patients”

“Federal policies should reflect the important role small IT service providers can play in the health IT transition and create avenues for them to fully participate,” said Elizabeth Hyman, vice president, public advocacy, CompTIA, and co-author of the white paper.

“Doing so will help to expand adoption, particularly by small medical providers, and increase the quality of care to patients,” she continued. “Participation by small IT providers will also help drive job creation and retention, keeping America’s small business backbone as an economic engine for generations to come.”

The white paper, Health IT: The Essential Role of Small IT Solution Providers, was published here this week in conjunction with CompTIA Breakaway, the premier annual event for the IT channel, and the inaugural CompTIA Tech Summit, on Thursday, Aug. 4. The summit includes a keynote speech by Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Industry estimates project spending in the healthcare IT market at more than $34 billion this year. CompTIA’s Second Annual Healthcare IT Insights and Opportunities study found that about one half of healthcare practices surveyed expected to increase IT expenditures in the next year.

The CompTIA white paper calls for the IT industry to be included as a partner in the implementation of health IT.

“This partnership will not only allow for more widespread adoption of health IT among small medical providers, but will also allow healthcare providers to continue their focus on patients and avoid dedicating staff to new information technology systems,” the paper states.

While IT solution providers have the ability to play a major role in helping the healthcare industry implement health IT, a variety of barriers exist that prevent them from entering the market in large numbers. These barriers include:

• A lack of resources for retraining IT professionals;
• Fully integrating IT professionals in the assistance available to healthcare providers through the HIT Regional Extension Centers; and
• Data breach provisions that place unfair burdens on IT professionals.

Federal policies should allow medical providers to focus on patients and open the door for IT solution providers to focus on making the transition as efficient and effective as possible, the white paper concluded. The complete white paper is available on the CompTIA Public Advocacy website.

Follow CompTIA on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/comptia

 

New robot boasts the latest in sensor technology, promises a brighter future for Japan's elderly population

        See video HERE

A new robot using high-precision tactile sensors and flexible motor control technology has taken Japan one step closer to its goal of providing high-quality care for its growing elderly population. Developed by researchers at RIKEN and Tokai Rubber Industries (TRI), the new robot can lift a patient up to 80kg in weight off floor-level bedding and into a wheelchair, freeing care facility personnel of one of their most difficult and energy-consuming tasks.

With an elderly population in need of nursing care projected to reach a staggering 5.69 million by 2015, Japan faces an urgent need for new approaches to assist care-giving personnel. One of the most strenuous tasks for such personnel, carried out an average of 40 times every day, is that of lifting a patient from a futon at floor level into a wheelchair. Robots are well-suited to this task, yet none have yet been deployed in care-giving facilities.

In 2009, the RIKEN-TRI Collaboration Center for Human-Interactive Robot Research (RTC), a joint project established in 2007 and located at the Nagoya Science Park in central Japan, unveiled a robot called RIBA (Robot for Interactive Body Assistance) designed to assist in this task. The first robot capable of lifting a patient from a bed to a wheelchair and back, RIBA charted a new course in the development of care-giving robots, yet functional limitations prevented its direct commercialization.

RTC's new robot, named RIBA-II, overcomes these limitations with added power and functionality. New joints in the robot's base and lower back enable RIBA-II to crouch down and lift a patient off a futon at floor level (Figure 1), the most physically strenuous task for care-givers and one that RIBA was not able to do. RIBA-II accomplishes this task using newly-developed Smart Rubber sensors (Table 1, Figure 2, 3), the first capacitance-type tactile sensors made entirely of rubber. Printed in sheets and fitted onto the robot's arms and chest, the sensors enable high-precision tactile guidance and allow RIBA-II to quickly detect a person's weight from touch alone, guaranteeing patient safety.

In the future, RTC researchers will work together with partner nursing care facilities to test RIBA-II and further tailor it to the needs of care-givers and their patients, while also developing new applications in areas such as rehabilitation. TRI aims to bring care-giving robots like RIBA-II to the market in the near future, promising support for aging populations in countries around the world.

via riken.jp

“We want to guide and advise our customers with our experience and knowledge as they navigate through this changing industry, and provide valuable resources that ultimately allow them to do their jobs to the best of their ability.”

“The launch of myABILITY represents a brand-new approach to customer support by focusing on fostering a community of users,” said Mark Briggs, CEO of ABILITY. “We’ve talked to our customers and understand what is important to them, including how they want to receive relevant information, what kind of information helps them do their jobs better, and the pain points they experience due to corporate and industry challenges. We designed myABILITY to not just be a stagnant portal, but a dynamic resource that, for the first time, connects users with others in the industry and helps them achieve their professional goals.”

Features of the new client portal include:

• A bulletin board highlighting timely industry news, trends and studies that allows network users 24/7 connectivity to and communication with other ABILITY users;
• Dashboards to share data with others in the organization and see where value is being generated;
• An extensive video library including product training and messages from ABILITY customers, company leaders and industry insiders highlighting hot topics affecting the healthcare industry;
• FAQs addressing valuable questions asked by current ABILITY customers;
• Valuable industry resources, including issue briefs, white papers, product sheets and customer case studies;
• And, secure log-in for users of Direct e-mail, allowing them to log in online and exchange health information with others to help qualify for meaningful use requirements.

“We’re offering an extensive customer support and knowledge sharing portal that can be leveraged by all of our customers, regardless of their experience level and title,” Briggs said. “We want to guide and advise our customers with our experience and knowledge as they navigate through this changing industry, and provide valuable resources that ultimately allow them to do their jobs to the best of their ability.”

ABILITY customers will also find that the company’s website has been updated to include industry resource information in the form of easy to read and share issue briefs, white papers and FAQs on topics such as the Direct Project, the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, Accountable Care Organizations, clinical awareness and patient safety, and 5010. The site also provides detailed information on recent industry news such as the CMS transition from the AT&T network to Verizon and a variety of client success stories and testimonials illustrating diverse uses of ABILITY’s products and services.

The ABILITY website offerings are grouped into three major categories: Direct, Money and Patient Safety. The Direct portion highlights DirectABILITY where clients can register for access to the Direct Network; Money is dedicated to ABILITY products and services that help clients with secure online connections, improve workflow processes with government and commercial payers for claim submission and remittance, and eligibility and benefits verification; and Patient Safety addresses products that help with clinical awareness, identifying fragmented medical records and improving efficiency and quality of care.