The Health Techzone is ready to ring in 2014, but before we go, here's a news roundup from the last full week of 2013.
In this week's Health Techzone "Comings and Goings" update, HealthTechZone reported that Jeremy Crow joined ContinuLink as its new Director of Professional Services. Crow has nearly two decades of healthcare technology experience, which includes the management of enterprise-level home healthcare software deployment and comprehensive customer support.
Overall, ContinuLink software manages over 33,000 home health caregivers and 90,000 patients. The company has recently expanded its client base to include 39 additional Medicaid home health agency clients in six states. To feed the company's expansion, Crow will be responsible for acquiring and retaining new enterprise customers thanks to his experience with implementation and support management.
Although body-monitoring sensors outside the human body are nothing new in healthcare, CNBC.com reported this week sensors may soon go where no computer has gone before. Thanks to the growing use of ingestible sensors and implantable chips, doctors are getting an inside view of what goes on with the human body.
Although these sensors offer great opportunities to improve patient care, they also bring up important concerns about privacy and data collection. For instance, industry players like the Electronic Frontier Foundation wonder whether someone could hack a biosensor and manipulate it to the detriment of a patient's health.
Also, privacy advocates worry about how much private sensor information could be accessed from the outside. For example, someone taking a cholesterol drug may swallow a sensor that monitors his body's interaction with the drug. If that man then attends a job interview, advocates worry that a potential employer could access the sensor, discover the condition and deny him employment based on potential health risks.
In all likelihood, ingestible sensors are a problem for another year. Since 2014 is just around the corner, HealthTechZone wishes everyone a happy, prosperous and problem-free new year.
