Healthcare Technology Featured Article

August 10, 2013

Health Techzone Week in Review


Greetings from the Health Techzone, your one-stop news source for the latest developments in healthcare technology. Let's review some of the top stories from this week's news.

Google Glass is making its way into America's hospitals. In New England, Hartford Hospital and Yale-New Haven Hospital, both in Connecticut, received approval to field test the device in their facilities. Hartford Hospital simulated patient data and then sent the data to the physicians' field of vision on Google Glass. With this capability, doctors could avoid checking computers when they need patient data, and they would no longer have to ask nurses to read the data aloud.

Hartford Hospital ultimately hopes that Google Glass could improve communications in its Emergency department. One simulation tech for Hartford Hospital wants to send visual medical alerts to specific doctors when a patient needs attention. The doctor would tap the device to accept the alert, or the alert would pass to the next physician on the protocol list.

Also this week, Health eVillages, a program founded by Physicians Interactive with the cooperation of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, has announced its plan to expand delivery of mHealth technology to underserved populations both in the U.S. and in developing countries.

Physicians Interactive provides devices like iPods and iPads containing decision support and specialized reference materials to improve primary and preventive healthcare in underserved regions. New programs include deploying mHealth devices at the Robert F. Kennedy Lafitte Medical Clinic in Louisiana as well as supporting Project HOPE's Pacific Partnership on the U.S.S. Pearl Harbor, which trains naval personnel to use mHealth devices and the Skyscape medical application.

Finally, concerns over health insurance exchange data security may impact the beginning date of open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act. The final IT security assessments were originally scheduled for June, but they have been pushed back until Sept. 30.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has brushed off concerns about late openings, saying that it has years of experience handling data security for Medicare, Medicaid and CHIPs programs and that it has made significant progress since its initial study in May. Some accuse the Obama administration of cutting corners and claim that a data breach would be a "PR disaster" that would unleash a flood of even more legal actions against healthcare reform.

Venture over to the Health Techzone every day for the latest events in the world of healthcare technology. From mHealth to cloud-based technology to innovative new treatments, you'll find out everything that's making healthcare news from HealthTechZone.



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