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Commission Posts New EHR Criteria Online

This week the Certification Commission for Healthcare IT (CCHIT) posted proposed criteria for ambulatory and inpatient electronic health records on its Web site. CCHIT is accepting public comments until Oct. 27.

The criteria is planned to be finalized by the end of the year, and CCHIT will test it in early 2007 and then accept applications for certification in May.

Ambulatory EHR vendors that seek certification or recertification in 2007 must be able to receive lab results, replace preliminary results with final results and process the final results. CCHIT also will discuss whether vendors will use version 1.1 of the EHR-Lab Interoperability and Connectivity Standards or the IS-01 EHR-Lab from the Healthcare IT Standards Panel, Health Data Management reports.

Other proposed 2007 ambulatory EHR criteria include:

* Expansion of interoperability criteria;
* Four transactions using standards for prescriptions from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs
* Verification of drug or medical insurance in standard transactions from the Committee on Operating Rules.

CCHIT EHR Page

Computer System Improves Vision in Cortical Blindness

Scientists from the University of Aberdeen have shown that a specialized computer system can enlarge the visual field in status post stroke patients. Cortical blindness is a result of a stroke's damage to the visual pathways in the brain, while the eye itself is completely intact.

A computer system that contains visual stimuli which flash on a screen was installed in the homes of 12 stroke sufferers with partial sight loss. Each patient was asked to repeatedly perform a series of tasks over a three-month period, which involved pressing buttons when they detected the flickering.

The scientists discovered that by the end of the process all 12 showed increased visual sensitivity within their blind field. The scientists believed that it would give hope to the thousands of patients who have suffered sight loss following brain damage and who are generally told that nothing can be done. The outcome of these exercises have already found that patients report that they can navigate more easily around their home or feel more confident when they are crossing the road.

This research reported in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, has shown that a specialised computer system can enlarge the visual field in status post stroke patients. Cortical blindness is a result of a stroke's damage to the visual pathways in the brain, while the eye itself is completely intact. The researchers believe that the particular visual targets used in their device, optimally stimulate the surviving neuronal pathways which in turn encourage changes within the brain.

Typically, patients can get physiotherapy and speech therapy after brain damage so why not rehabilitation for the visual system.

PNAS Article

AMIA Report on Secondary Use of Health Data

Health information has become valuable. The access and aggregation of healthcare data poses philosophical including ethical, political, technical, and economic challenges. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) did not adequately address the issues of sharting health data.

The American Medical Informatics Asociation (AMIA) conviened a panel of experts to make recommendations for guidelines in the access and use of what is known as the 'Secondary Use of Health Data.' This week AMIA released the final report called "Toward a National Framework for the Secondary Use of Health Data."

The report includes five (5) key recommendations:
• Recommendation 1: Increase the transparency of data use and public awareness;
• Recommendation 2: Focus ongoing discussions on data access, use, and control (not on ownership);
• Recommendation 3a: Continue discussions on privacy policy and security with regard to the secondary use of health data;
• Recommendation 3b: Increase public awareness efforts on the benefits and challenges associated with the secondary use of health data;
• Recommendation 4a: Create a taxonomy of the secondary use of health data;
• Recommendation 4b: Address increasingly difficult current and evolving questions related to the secondary use of health data in a comprehensive manner; and
• Recommendation 5: Focus national and state attention on the secondary use of health data.

For a copy of the report and to read the Press release, visit the AMIA Web site at: http://www.amia.org/inside/initiatives/healthdata.asp

Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards 2006

The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards for 2006 were announced today.

OVERALL WINNERS

Gold Winner-Sun Microsystems (U.S.): DTrace trouble-shooting software
Silver Winner-HelioVolt (U.S.): Lightweight solar-energy panels
Bronze Winner-Pfizer and Nektar Therapeutics (U.S.): Powdered, inhalable insulin
Honorable Mention-Sonos (U.S.): Digital-music networking system

BIOTECH-MEDICAL

Winners- Pfizer and Nektar Therapeutics (U.S.): Powdered, inhalable insulin
Runner-Up-Xencor (U.S.): Technology creating therapeutic antibody drug candidates
Runner-Up-Invitrogen (U.S.): ProtoArray, enabling analysis of thousands of proteins in a single experiment

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Winner- Sonos (U.S.): Digital-music networking system
Runner-Up-HP Labs India (India): Gesture keyboard for local-language computing

OTHER AWARD CATEGORIES INCLUDE:

ENERGY AND POWER
ENVIRONMENT
MATERIALS AND OTHER BASE TECHNOLOGIES
MEDICAL DEVICES
IT SECURITY AND PRIVACY
SECURITY (FACILITIES)
SEMICONDUCTORS
SOFTWARE
TECHNOLOGY DESIGN
WIRELESS

Yesterday's Technology

An amazing website of past technologies (or almost technologies) called Modern Mechanix describes all of the wonderful technological advances that passed us by. Enjoy this look at the marvels of yesterday called "Yesterday’s tomorrow, today." The descriptions are divided into numerous categories including advertisements, medical, computers, crime and police, robots and much, much more.

Enjoy