New This Week

High-Tech Devices Keep Elderly Safe From Afar

May 25--First thing every morning, Lynn Pitet, of Cody, Wyo., checks her computer to see whether her mother, Helen Trost, has gotten out of bed, taken her medication and whether she is moving around inside her house hundreds of miles away in Minnesota.
Last summer, Mrs. Trost’s husband had a stroke and died, but she wanted to stay in the house, in Mankato, where she had lived for 36 years. She did not want a live-in helper, and she cannot drive. At 88, Mrs. Trost has macular degeneration and takes medications for seizures, memory loss and restless leg syndrome.
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Google Health opens, sparks privacy woes

May 25—After a year and half of development, Google's online filing cabinet for personal medical records is open to the public, giving users instant electronic access to their health histories, while reigniting privacy concerns. Called Google Health, at google.com/health, the service lets users link information from a handful of pharmacies and care providers, with plans to add many more. More…

Electronic records improve the quality of health care but high cost still a barrier

May 28--Large hospitals are partnering with smaller hospitals and physicians to bring down the cost of using electronic medical records. It is a quiet change, but one that holds the promise of dramatically improving efficiency and the quality of health care for patients. More…

New Web site compares hospital care
Services, costs and patient satisfaction are all measured

May 21--Want to find out how Seattle hospitals compare?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is running ads in both Seattle daily newspapers Wednesday showing consumers how to compare services and quality of care in area hospitals by using a new Web site.
The ads, which are running in more than 50 other newspapers across the country, promote Hospital Compare (hospitalcompare.hhs.gov), a Web site that scores 26 quality and patient satisfaction measures at nearly 4,000 hospitals nationwide. More…

Higher Medicare pay earmarked for practices in medical home trial

June 2--Medicare, using its upcoming medical home demonstration project, is preparing to pay participating primary care physicians for the extra work required to manage the care of chronically ill patients. Now an AMA-convened panel has outlined how those additional payments might work. More…

Latest in med tech: Your life on CD

May 27--Digital-age versions of medical ID bracelets are coming to a hospital near you.
The Care Group, a large physician practice specializing in cardiology, and St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana on Wednesday are expected to unveil a credit-card-sized compact disc designed to carry a patient’s vital medical information for fast access by health-care providers in an emergency. More…

Web 2.0 revolution underway in healthcare

May 22--Internet developments that brought us sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia are now set to revolutionise healthcare, according to a new research report from online news service and publisher, E-Health Insider. More…