Healthcare Technology Featured Article

February 02, 2013

HealthTech Zone Week in Review


News on the health technology front moves so fast, it’s hard to keep up with sometimes. Here, at the end of the week, we’ll wrap up all the developments in health IT solutions and services.

There’s growing interest in the medical technology market found in the Middle East, with industry watchers predicting a likely increase in sales, reported HeathTech Zone this week. One piece of data shows the potential in the Middle East market.

Per capita healthcare expenditure was $8,702.72 in the U.S. compared to $627.58 in the Middle East during 2010.

BYOD, or “bring your own device,” is a much-discussed technology trend lately. But as businesses enjoy the financial perks of operating from cloud-based systems and avoid the costs of purchasing devices for their employees, confidential information is simultaneously being put at risk. This is particularly troubling in healthcare.

Recognizing this growing threat, ForeScout Technologies, a network security solutions company for Global 100 enterprises and government organizations, has announced that it’s helping the Hadassah Medical Center in Israel enable and secure its BYOD implementation.

Oceans Healthcare, a Louisiana-based healthcare company that specializes in the development and management of behavioral health services, has been acquired by venture capital and growth equity firm General Catalyst Partners for a sum of $17 million. In conjunction with this investment, finance company MCG Capital Corp. has also announced investment in Oceans, which will help the company to expand.

Medical and pharmaceutical research is (as one would expect) expensive. In order to overcome limitations put in place by high costs, many European pharmaceutical and biotech companies are outsourcing their research, according to a new study.

As a result, this contract research market is experiencing brisk growth.

The use, storage and disposal of health records are major components of the healthcare system in the United States. With laws like HIPAA enacted to protect those records and allow for their use at the physician level, it's clear that such services are valuable. That's also the case over in Japan, where MMRGlobal this week revealed the approval of a patent through the Japan Patent Office allowing for a new way to protect and dispense health records.

BlueCross BlueShield has teamed up with healthcare IT company TriZetto to offer incentives and rewards to its members for healthy behaviors. Through TriZetto's value-based insurance design, BlueCross members will be provided with benefits based on their health status and the activities they engage in that promote health and wellness.

Samsung Electronics America recently announced the purchase of NeuroLogica out of Danvers, Massachusetts. NeuroLogica is one of the leaders in Computed Tomography (CT) scanner manufacture, with such names to its credit as the BodyTom and the CereTom systems, a pair of portable CT scanners that are said to rank among the world's finest.

Finally, while few people would disagree that EHR could improve patient outcomes and save money, with modern communications solutions of course come modern problems. One of these issues is the potential outcome of electronic health records stored improperly or communicated over poorly designed networks. This has led many healthcare groups to question the usability and safety of health IT systems.

That’s a wrap for this week’s announcement in the HealthTech Zone. Join us again next week.



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