Nine months later, they say it has delivered.

The company and the other minds behind “text4baby” said at last week’s mHealth Summit that more than 100,000 mothers-to-be have used the service. Johnson & Johnson also made a multimillion-dollar pledge over several years to help grow the program.

The idea of monitoring patients and promoting healthy behavior through mobile phones and other portable devices has emerged as a potential method to reduce the costs of health care while improving quality.

And as Congress makes money available to digitize medical records and fund innovative research, the government has put forth financial incentives for small firms and big corporations alike to explore new approaches to health care.

“It’s really gratifying to see the field of mobile health grow into its own,” said Paul Meyer, Voxiva‘s co-founder, chairman and president. “The best solutions combine different technologies to interact with the same person in different ways about different information.”

Last week’s second-annual summit attracted 2,400 registered attendees, about three times as many as the year before. It’s sponsored by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health in association with the National Institutes of Health and mHealth Alliance.

The event attracted high-profile speakers, such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin, who spoke of the opportunities to improve health care here and in developing countries with mobile devices.

But the optimism was tempered by the acknowledgment that there are hurdles to be overcome.

The wide variety of mobile devices, operating systems and network speeds creates complexity. The business models have yet to fully take shape as to who pays for services and who profits. And with a field as regulated as health and human services, a need to establish standards still exists.

“[The] biggest risk right now is controlling the chaos of an emerging market — ensuring that the many excellent ideas out there are being evaluated in a constructive and safe manner,” said Larry Albert, executive vice president of the health care sector at Chantilly-based Agilex Technologies, who attended the conference.

But there remains little doubt that key stakeholders are interested in the field’s success, especially the government and corporate officials who attendees said must work in tandem if mobile health is to gain traction in the United States.

Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra addressed the convention to reaffirm the Obama administration’s commitment to health care innovation that complies with privacy laws. Health and Human Services Chief Technology Officer Todd Park said the success of text4baby has prompted the agency to look at broadening the approach to other health issues.

Meanwhile, an exhibit hall where companies presented mobile health products and services was splashed with advertisements from Verizon and Qualcomm Wireless Health. Skype sponsored a set of wireless Internet stations. Information technology giant Hewlitt-Packard announced a $1 million donation over two years to the mHealth Alliance.

“Big industry is paying attention,” said David Aylward, the alliance’s executive director. He said for the field to succeed “you’ve got to have big deal companies that know how to do this at big scale.”

Albert agreed the presence of big business lends credibility to the market, adding that the penetration of mobile phones, particularly those with access to the Web, makes the field too promising to disregard.

“Ultimately, I think that you have to look at the projected dominance of the mobile Internet in the coming years. This means that mobile technology will certainly have a big role in the future of health care — we just need to figure out the compelling business case,” Albert said.

Source: Washington Post

A new poll found that 97% of respondents say physicians, hospitals, labs and health IT systems should not sell or share personal health data unless they obtain patient consent, Healthcare IT News reports.

The poll — conducted by Zogby International for Patient Privacy Rights, a watchdog group — surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. adults to gauge consumers’ views on health care IT, privacy and health information access.

Key Findings

According to the poll:

• 98% of respondents oppose allowing insurance companies to share or sell health information without receiving consent;
• 91% say that they want the power to decide who can see and use their electronic health information; and
• 78% report that they would be somewhat likely or very likely to use a website that lets users choose who can view their health information.

Patient Privacy Rights’ Suggestions

Patient Privacy Rights supports the creation of a “one-stop shop” website where patients can make decisions about who views their electronic health information.

The group describes the website as a “do not disclose” list, similar to the national “do not call” list. Health care organizations would need to explain to patients how the information would be used to receive consent (Miliard, Healthcare IT News, 11/11).

Source: iHealthBeat

The challenges of identifying faulty implantable medical devices can be alleviated with the help of a computerized tracking system that scans electronic medical data for reports of the faulty devices, according to a study published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Reuters reports.

For the study, researchers — led by Frederic Resnic of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts — used a tracking system to evaluate data on seven heart devices used in more than 74,000 heart procedures between 2003 and 2007.

Although FDA requires manufacturers to inform the agency when a physician or patient reports a problem with a device, only about 5% of such events are believed to be reported, according to Reuters.

The tracking system looked for reports of at least three common safety problems with the devices, and it identified two products with potential safety issues.

Resnic said the new study illustrates how electronic health records and data registries can be used to track the safety of implantable medical devices. He added that the tracking system’s signaling of a device does not mean there is a problem with the device but that it is an indicator to companies and regulators for additional scrutiny (Steenhuysen, Reuters, 11/9).

Source: iHealthBeat

On Monday, the American Medical Association endorsed several recommendations aimed at helping physicians maintain an appropriate and professional online presence, MedPage Today reports.

 AMA adopted the new policy during its House of Delegates meeting in San Diego. The policy encourages physicians to:

• Use privacy settings on social networking websites;
• Ensure that their online postings are accurate and professional;
• Recognize that posting inappropriate material online could jeopardize their reputations among colleagues and patients;
• Alert colleagues about online postings that could be considered unprofessional;
• Notify the appropriate authorities if a colleague posts material online that “significantly violates professional norms” (Walker, MedPage Today, 11/9);
• Uphold patient privacy and confidentiality standards in online environments (Goedert, Health Data Management, 11/9);
• Consider separating personal and professional content online; and
• Maintain appropriate physician-patient boundaries during online interactions (CMIO, 11/9).

Source: iHealthBeat

Please contact Pulse if you need or have any questions regarding social media. We would love to help!

About 71% of health care organizations say that federal regulations have not improved patient health record security and that adequate resources are not available to help prevent and quickly detect data breaches, according to a new study by the Ponemon Institute and ID Experts, HealthLeaders Media reports (Nicastro, HealthLeaders Media, 11/9).

For the study — titled “Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security” — researchers gathered information from 65 health care organizations (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 11/9).

Key Findings

According to 71% of survey respondents, federal regulations like the HITECH Act, which allocated $20 billion in stimulus funds for health IT, have not led to more strict management practices for the security of patient data.

The study also found that:

• Hospitals and clinics lost about 1,769 patient records in each of the average 2.4 data breaches they experienced over the last two years;
• About 20% of data breach incidents involved criminal intent; and
• Common causes for the breaches included improper disposal of paper records and loss of data storage devices like USB drives and laptops.

Seventy-four percent of survey respondents who have already implemented electronic health record systems said security of patient data is now stronger (Greenberg, “The Firewall,” Forbes, 11/8).

In addition, the study found that:

• 70% of hospitals said their top priorities do not include protecting patient data;
• 67% of respondents have fewer than two employees dedicated to data protection management;
• Patients are usually the first to detect most breaches at health care organizations (HealthLeaders Media, 11/9); and
• 58% of respondents have little or no confidence in their means to ensure security of patient records (Government Health IT, 11/9).

According to the study, the cost of data breaches annually is $1 million per hospital in the U.S. and about $6 billion for the industry as a whole (“The Firewall,” Forbes, 11/8).

Source: iHealthBeat

Alerts sent to physicians through electronic health record systems can help decrease unnecessary medical tests when the messages are more targeted and less cluttered by the presence of other alerts, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Managed Care, Computerworld reports (Mearian, Computerworld, 11/5).

Study Details

The study, conducted by Kaiser Permanente’s Institute for Health Research, involved a randomized trial of 223,877 visits by patients ages 65 and older, in addition to 564,264 visits by patients younger than age 65 (Goedert, Health Data Management, 11/5).

Researchers focused on a blood test called the D-dimer, which is used to diagnose deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The test has an accuracy rate of only 35% for patients older than age 65 (McKinney, Modern Healthcare, 11/5).

When physicians ordered the test for elderly patients, Kaiser’s EHR system sent an alert telling physicians that the test was inaccurate for elderly patients. Instead, the alert suggested conducting a radiology test (Health Data Management, 11/5).

The percentage of physicians ordering the D-dimer tests fell by almost 70% (Modern Healthcare, 11/5).

Design of Alerts

EHR systems can be designed to provide alerts, but physicians might feel overwhelmed by the amount of information they receive and could ignore the alerts, according to Computerworld.

However, targeted alerts could be more beneficial for physicians.

Ted Palen — the study’s lead author and a clinician researcher at the Institute for Health Research — said, “The more those alerts can be targeted, the less likely they are to be ignored” (Computerworld, 11/5).

Source: iHealthBeat

As hospitals continue to build their online media presence, more facilities are hiring dedicated social media managers to wade through legal and ethical guidelines and train physicians to use the tools, American Medical News reports.

Hospitals have only recently began implementing social media strategies. The first hospital YouTube account was created in 2006 and the first Twitter account was set up in 2008, but about 870 hospitals now have roughly 2,260 social media sites, according to a hospital social network list compiled by Ed Bennett, director of Web strategy at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Hospitals with an established online presence may hire social media managers after realizing that the tools can help build better relationships with patients and result in a considerable return on investment, American Medical News reports.

In addition to overseeing a facility’s social media presence and communicating with patients online, a hospital social media manager also can educate affiliated and employed physicians about proper social media etiquette.

While the exact number of hospitals with social media managers is unknown, an American Medical News analysis of an online jobs board aggregator found that an increasing number of hospitals are posting for such positions.

According to Robert Matney — a partner at Social Web Strategies — the trend represents a transformation in hospital business strategy, which now includes additional marketing and public relations efforts.

Matney said that many facilities have yet to explore how the tools can bolster communication within the organization that could enhance care quality (Cook, American Medical News, 11/8).

Source: iHealthBeat

Don’t have the budget to hire a social media manager? Give Pulse a call and allow us to explain how we can be of assistance regarding your social media needs.

Federal agencies recently have made available at no cost health-related smart phone applications, Government Health IT reports.

The Health Resources and Services Administration released a mobile version of its “Find a Health Center” application for the iPhone. Users enter a ZIP code and then can view directions to the nearest community health center. An online version of the health center locator also is available.

Mary Wakefield, HRSA administrator, said that an average of 3,200 people use the application to seek care at HRSA-supported community health centers.

Meanwhile, the Department of Defense recently released an application called the “T2 Mood Tracker” that monitors service members’ emotional and behavioral trends.

The application, designed by the National Center for Telehealth and Technology, currently is available for smart phones using the Android operating system and will be available for iPhones in early 2011 (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 11/1).

Source: iHealthBeat