News From Around the Web
> Toronto-based Diversinet Corp., a secure mobile health provider, has enhanced its mobiPublisher application platform with its Version 4.7 release. The platform provides a unified framework for developing and managing secure, enterprise-wide mHealth apps. Enhancements in mobiPublisher Version 4.7 make it easier for healthcare enterprises to improve mobile patient engagement and care coordination, states the company in an annoucnement. Announcement
> AstraZeneca and Exco InTouch have joined forces to develop and launch interactive mobile phone and internet-based health tools which will help patients in the United Kingdom and their healthcare providers to track and manage chronic conditions. AstraZeneca's R&D organization and Exco InTouch are developing the tool with an initial focus on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. An announcement from Exco states patients enrolled in the program will have the opportunity to access personalized coaching and information about their disease and treatment via their mobile phones or other web-enabled devices. Announcement
> Due to high demand, the mHealth Alliance and TechChange will hold a second round of the flagship "Mobile Phones for Public Health" online course, slated for June 3-28, 2013. The expanded course will include a greater emphasis on building technical skills and working with telecommunications companies, as well as governments. An announcement from the mHealth alliance states it will also provide opportunities to address the policy implications of mHealth, in addition to topics from the original course such as SMS (text message) communication programs, smartphone applications and health information systems for data collection and management. Announcement
EMR News
> Although physicians are adopting electronic health records in ever-increasing numbers, only a few--12.2 percent--have actually successfully attested to Meaningful Use, according to a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The letter's authors, from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and elsewhere, reviewed attestation rates of physician eligible professionals and enrolled in the Medicare Meaningful Use program. They found that as of May 2012, 62,226 EPs had met the Meaningful Use requirements, comprising only 12.2 percent of the estimated eligible professionals in the U.S. Article
Health IT News
> Despite projections that 1.8 million patients worldwide will be treated via telehealth by 2017 and increasing legislation in the U.S. to push such efforts, a team of British researchers has found that, at least for patients with chronic conditions, telehealth isn't all that effective. The researchers, whose work was published in BMJ, followed more than 1,500 patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes or hear failure over the course of a year who used telehealth, as implemented by the Whole System Demonstrator Evaluation. Article
And Finally… You don't hear about this type of crime every day. Article