News From Around the Web
> Montvale, N.J.-based electronic health record vendor SRS Software recently received an undisclosed substantial investment from Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm that specializes in IT, SRS announced this week. SRS Software provides systems primarily to physician specialists, such as cardiologists, ophthalmologists and orthopods. Announcement
Medical Imaging News
> A team of Johns Hopkins University and Dutch radiologists have used paired CT scans to produce real-time images of liver tumors dying after being injected with cancer-killing drugs. The technique--called dual-phase cone-beam computed tomography or DPCBCT--was developed at Johns Hopkins. In a study that will be published in the journal Radiology, researchers performed diagnostic scans using the technique on 27 men and women with inoperable liver cancer. Article
Health Technology News
> The healthcare industry's electronic records are some of the most vulnerable, according to a recent investigation by the Washington Post. Research revealed gaping security holes, and user problems that can result in patient safety issues and loss of medical records. Article
> Princeton, Ind.-based Gibson General Hospital has reported the theft of a laptop that may potentially impact 29,000 patients' electronic records. The theft was one of four recently reported healthcare data breaches in as many states. Article
Health Provider News
> Fewer than half of physicians (44 percent) who participated in a recent survey from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said they've achieved success in helping obese patients lose weight. Although 90 percent of the 500 primary care physicians surveyed said they felt competent in giving patients dietary counseling and 92 percent felt qualified to give exercise counseling, the researchers concluded that most PCPs would need more training and collaboration with other qualified professionals to improve their results. Article
And Finally... Happy ... Old Year? Article