Implementing EHR software and other health technology tools in the exam room may prove to be a burden for some medical providers, but patients certainly stand to benefit from the adoption of digital resources and medical apps. While physicians settle into the electronic charting routine, patients should familiarize themselves with the new resources changing patient care.

Electronic health records. If your doctor uses EHR software, it means you have an electronic health record containing your past and current medical history. This includes everything from demographic information and vital signs to diagnoses, medications, and test results. By opening the door to a wider range of health applications, medical devices, and patient monitoring software, EHR systems allow doctors to provide more comprehensive care.

Personal health records. In contrast to EHRs, which are maintained by healthcare providers, personal health records are computerized documents created and controlled by each patient. To give your doctors access to your compiled health information, you can give them permission to view your PHR online, print it from the website, or carry a copy of the record with you on a USB. Some PHR companies also provide medical apps for smartphones, allowing patients to access their health record on-the-go.

Patient portals. Online portals are secure websites that usually interface with a provider’s EHR software. As a patient, the portal is one of the tools that you will benefit most from directly. By logging into the online portal provided by your doctor, for example, you can typically request appointments, submit refill requests, send secure messages to your physician, and view lab results or visit summaries. If your doctor’s practice has an online portal, find out what you can use it for, and start taking advantage of the benefits.

Electronic prescribing. E-prescribing software allows doctors to write digital prescriptions and send them to a patient’s pharmacy electronically. E-prescriptions help reduce dosage errors and can prevent drug allergy interactions. Meanwhile, patients are more likely to take prescribed medications, since all they have to do is go to their pharmacy to pick up them up. Find out if your doctor e-prescribes and ask that your favorite – most convenient – pharmacy be added to your health record.

Telemedicine. Telemonitoring is a growing trend with larger healthcare organizations and can help reduce the cost of healthcare and prevent hospital readmissions. For patients who don’t necessarily need to be in the hospital, doctors can provide monitoring equipment to transmit data automatically to their EHR and identify early warning signs of a worsening condition. Check with your doctor about mobile applications that perform similar functions for monitoring things like vital signs and blood pressure.

One of the country’s largest medical collections companies, Accretive Health, is facing a civil lawsuit in Minnesota, after it was alleged that the company violated state and federal debt collection laws and patient privacy protections. Accretive is accused of using unorthodox healthcare collections training methods and placing employees in hospital emergency rooms to demand payment from patients before receiving medical treatment.

Accretive employees, indistinguishable from hospital staff members, were allowed to help register patients and take down private health information, whereupon they would employ aggressive techniques to get patients to make an upfront payment. Documents released by the Minnesota attorney general’s office also show that Accretive collectors, calling themselves “financial counselors,” were instructed by management to stall patients trying to enter the emergency room until after they agreed to pay a prior balance. Doctors complained that intimidating collections tactics such as those were discouraging patients from seeking life-saving medical treatment.

As more and more hospitals face growing losses due to unpaid medical debts, they turn to companies like Accretive who promise to improve medical collections and increase revenue. To do so, hospital officials often agree to hand over some of their revenue cycle processes, including tasks like patient registration and scheduling. In Accretive’s case, however, HIPAA laws were violated when the company gave its collectors access to personal health information, such as medical diagnoses and treatment plans. That, coupled with the company’s aggressive healthcare collections training tactics, has led the Minnesota Department of Commerce to temporarily suspend Accretive’s debt collection license while the company undergoes investigation.

The Center for Human Reproduction, a infertility clinic in New York, NY reported today that they have discovered a link between women of African origin and lower IVF success rates. This is a consequence of a predisposition to autoimmune disease and it being a known cause of infertility. The CHR has released a number of reports related autoimmunity and its affect on female fertility. A report on the 14th of April was released highlighting research on the link between miscarriages and autoimmune disease.

## Original Release ##

May 03, 2011 (New York, NY) – In vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancy rates, also known as “IVF success rates” are related to specific genotypes and races/ethnicities, according to new research conducted by a New York City-based IVF center. It has long been known that IVF success rates differ amongst different races/ethnic groups. This new study suggests that predisposition to autoimmune disease may be the cause for these differences.

Despite general improvement in outcomes of fertility treatments, disparities between races/ethnicities have actually increased. Prevalence of infertility also differs in that African women experience infertility more frequently than Caucasians and Asians. Causes for these differences have remained largely unknown.

Read a great review of this research here: Autoimmunity May Explain Failed IVF In African American Women

or the original press release found on PRWeb

A team of French anesthesiologists has developed an automatic delivery system of propofol and remifentanil, which they recently tested in a multi-center trial involving 196 surgical patients. The researchers reported in Anesthesia & Analgesia that the system, which uses a Bispectral Index (BIS) monitor as a guide, performed better than manual administration. We have developed a proportional-integral-derivative controller allowing the closed-loop coadministration of propofol and remifentanil, guided by a Bispectral Index (BIS) monitor, during induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. The controller was compared with manual target-controlled infusion. The controller allows the automated delivery of propofol and remifentanil and maintains BIS values in predetermined boundaries during general anesthesia better than manual administration. Abstract in Anesthesia & Analgesia: Closed-Loop Coadministration of Propofol and Remifentanil Guided by Bispectral Index: A Randomized Multicenter Study…

Fujifilm has unveiled an upgraded version of its FCR Go portable digital X-ray system. The FCR Go2 now has a more powerful X-ray source and a larger workstation more comparable in size to stationary units. Along with the same user-friendly features that led to the success of the FCR Go and provided high image quality and efficiency gains, Fujifilm’s FCR Go 2 is now equipped with a higher output X-ray generator to better accommodate imaging of dense areas. Abdomen and spine exams, for example, which are frequently performed with portable systems, as well as X-rays of bariatric patients, will now result in even sharper images. The new system features a full size, 15 inch image display and upgraded functionality at the onboard workstation. By having more of the same features available at the portable station that are accessible at the main radiology workstations, technologists and radiologists can preview a full size image at the patient bedside, using a familiar platform. Additionally, the FCR Go 2 features a smaller, lighter weight chassis design, coupled with an improved driving system that will provide greater ease of maneuverability during transport in tight corridors and imaging environments. Press release: Portable Digital Imaging System with upgraded capabilities: FCR Go 2…

Researchers from Northwestern University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have combined a number of tools for performing cardiac electrophysiological mappings and ablations onto one catheter that would otherwise have to be deployed sequentially. The balloon catheter includes temperature, pressure, and EKG sensors, and an LED that can ablate cardiac tissue. The electronics Huang and Rogers use in this study are based on a “pop-out” design of interconnects, similar to their early design for stretchable electronics but with much larger — approximately 130 percent — stretchability. The type of arrhythmia the team focuses on is tachycardia, when the heart beats too fast; the tissue that induces this condition is the target of their ablation therapy. This ability of the electronics to stretch is important because the researchers print all the necessary medical devices on a section of a standard endocardial balloon catheter (a thin, flexible tube) where the wall is thinner than the rest. (This section is slightly recessed from the rest of the catheter’s surface.) There the sensitive devices and actuators are protected during the catheter’s trip through the body to the heart. Once the catheter reaches the heart, the catheter is inflated, and the thin section expands significantly; the electronics are now exposed and in contact with the heart. Once the catheter is in place, the individual devices can perform their specific tasks when needed. The pressure sensor determines the pressure on the heart; the EKG sensor monitors the heart’s condition during the procedure; the LED sheds light for imaging and also provides the energy for ablation therapy to eliminate (ablate) the tachycardia-inducing tissue; and the temperature sensor controls the temperature so as not to damage other, good tissue. The entire system is designed to operate reliably without any changes in properties as the balloon inflates and deflates. These devices can deliver critical high-quality information, such as temperature, mechanical force, blood flow and electrogram, to the surgeon in real time. While the multifunctional catheter has not been used with humans, the researchers have demonstrated the utility of the device with anesthetized animals. Full story from Northwestern: Cardiac Catheter That Can Do It All… Abstract in Nature Materials: Materials for multifunctional balloon catheters with capabilities in cardiac electrophysiological mapping and ablation therapy…

There are many things to consider when designing your site including your audience what the site is going to be about how it looks and feels and the overall aesthetics. However looks will only get you so far. You can have the best looking site on the Internet but if no one can find you in the major search engines Google and Bing what s the point …

Compilers, libraries, and other tools Get compilers, libraries, and more in one suite with Intel® Parallel Studio XE.

Boston Scientific has received the European CE mark for the OMEGA Platinum Chromium (PtCr) Bare-Metal Coronary Stent System. This is essentially a bare metal version of the company’s previously approved PtCr line of stents. The OMEGA Stent System is part of Boston Scientific’s PtCr Stent series, which includes the TAXUS® Element™ Paclitaxel-Eluting Stent System and PROMUS Element™ Everolimus-Eluting Stent System. All three stents feature the novel PtCr alloy and an innovative stent design, which combine to offer greater radial strength and flexibility while reducing stent recoil. The higher density alloy provides superior visibility while permitting thinner struts compared to prior-generation stents. The enhanced delivery system features a dual-layer balloon and is engineered to improve access to challenging lesions. "The platinum chromium PROMUS Element and TAXUS Element Stents have been well received by physicians since their launch in CE Mark countries, and we are pleased to offer a bare-metal coronary stent built on the same PtCr platform," said Mike Phalen, Executive Vice President and President, International for Boston Scientific. "The OMEGA Stent is the latest example of our commitment to continued innovation in coronary stenting. We are confident our platinum chromium technology will strengthen our worldwide stent market leadership." "The positive clinical data from our PtCr (Element) trials support the acute performance benefits provided by our new platinum chromium stent platform," said Keith D. Dawkins, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Boston Scientific’s Cardiology, Rhythm and Vascular Group. "The OMEGA Stent complements the PtCr Stent series, and gives interventional cardiologists the option to treat patients with a paclitaxel, everolimus or bare-metal stent." The OMEGA Stent is offered in 48 sizes, ranging in diameter from 2.25 mm to 4.50 mm and lengths of 8 mm to 32 mm. Press release: Boston Scientific Announces European Approval and Launch of OMEGA™ Platinum Chromium Stent System……

In mid-February the em New York Times em broke the story of J.C. Penney holding the number one rank in Google for hundreds of search terms thanks to an apparent link buying scheme on a grand scale. Google web spam fighter Matt Cutts took action burying J.C. Penney s site for the questionable practices. What does this say about using appropriate SEO techniques …

Microsoft® Windows Azure Host, Scale, and Manage Web Apps In The Cloud. Learn More About Azure.

h3 Cutts reveals how to use Nofollow in your link building. h3 p In a recent video by Matt Cutts the question came up of how no-follow outbound links affect long-term SERPs and whether Google has a policy of penalizing sites that only link out with nofollow tags. He answered the question clearly enough by saying no not necessarily. However reading between the lines we can see a little glimmer on how Google actually looks at nofollow links on a site. p …

Microsoft Online Services Reward Sign up for a qualifying Microsoft Online Service & earn up to $1500 in Rewards.