News From Around the Web
> In advance of next week's American Telemedicine Association (ATA) annual meeting and trade show held in Austin, Texas, ATA has named the winners of its prestigious annual awards recognizing innovators in telemedicine and mHealth. The awards recognize individuals and organizations "on the forefront of healthcare technology for their significant contributions to the development of telemedicine." Winners will formally accept their awards at the ATA 2013 Annual Meeting and Trade Show, May 5-7. Announcement
> SK Telecom has launched two new services that are designed for use by patients during their stay in a hospital. One service is a guide for patients, both in terms of their treatment but also to find their way around the hospital, delivered as an app to patients' smartphones. The second service offers patients access to general hospital information as well as personal data such as health records, treatment schedule, and medication via a 15-inch tablet PC attached to each bed. Patients check in to the system by tapping an RFID wristband to the tablet's screen. The two services, which are called Patient Guide and Bedside Station, are being offered to hospitals. The first customer is Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. Announcement
> Health Reviser, developer of health and fitness monitoring applications, announced that it has acquired FitPal, creator of the mobile apps and services which promotes safe and effective fitness. The acquisition will enable Health Reviser to add the latest fitness technologies to their portfolio of health and stress monitoring apps, according to company. Health Reviser's apps implement short-term heart rate variability analysis to assess body age, overall health and fitness dynamics. Announcement
EMR News
> The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has revoked the certification of two electronic health record systems for failure to meet the standards of the Meaningful Use incentive program. According to an announcement from HHS, EHRMagic-Ambulatory and EHRMagic-Inpatient, both developed by EHRMagic, Inc. of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., do not meet required functionality. Providers can't use the tools to meet the requirements of the Meaningful Use program and, according to the HHS, "should not have passed certification." Article
Health IT News
> Researchers from the Mayo Clinic have developed a computer-aided electronic warning system to help identify patients at risk for premature death, such as from an abnormality in the heart's electrical system, the institution recently announced. Findings on the system were published in this month's Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The system, according to the study's authors, informs physicians if their patient's electrocardiogram activated a QT alarm. The researchers discovered that the death rate of patients whose 12-lead ECG activated the QT alert was nearly four times greater than all other patients who had an ECG. Article
And Finally… May the force be with you! Article