FCC announces speakers, agenda for mHealth Innovation Expo; startup crowdfunds for smartphone glucose meter;

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> The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has announced the speakers and agenda for its Dec. 6 mHealth Innovation Expo at its headquarters in Washington. Scheduled speakers include: Mignon Clyburn, FCC Commissioner; Matthew Quinn, the FCC's Director of Health Care Initiatives; Bakul Patel, Senior Policy Advisor to the Director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health; and Jodie Daniel, Director of ONC's Office of Policy and Planning. The expo, hosted by the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, will showcase mobile health products and solutions including demonstrations of technologies designed to improve health outcomes and lower healthcare costs. Article

> An mHealth startup, whose founders include two emergency room physicians, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for its smartphone-based glucose meter that uses saliva. Quick's iQuickIt Saliva Analyzer is designed to help people with diabetes access a painless, non-invasive daily solution to test their glucose levels.  Article

> Raleigh, N.C.-based Valencell, a sensor technology company for mobile health and fitness, and Scosche Industries, a consumer accessories company, have announced a partnership to introduce fitness monitoring products in January 2014. The products will be powered by Valencell's PerformTek Precision Biometrics, a wearable sensor technology that analyzes blood flow and physical activity level to monitor the user's fitness biometrics, such as heart rate and other metrics. Article

>  Sense4Baby, Inc., developer of a remote, wireless maternal/fetal heart rate monitoring system to perform non-stress testing (NST) for high-risk pregnancies on a smartphone or tablet, has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a CE mark from the European Commission to commercialize their medical device, according to an announcement. Announcement

EMR News

> Patients increasingly are embracing the concept of patient portals, but it's still unknown whether the portals actually improve outcomes, increase patient satisfaction or create efficiencies, according to new research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The researchers, in a study supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, reviewed 46 different studies of patient portals tethered to EHRs, including randomized, controlled trials, observational hypothesis-testing studies and qualitative studies.  Article

Healthcare News

> The Affordable Care Act is not only altering the U.S. health insurance system and the way Americans obtain coverage, but it is also changing the way hospitals operate, NPR reported. The primary change is in the form of bundled payments from the Medicare program for some procedures, and no financial incentives for medical errors, readmissions or other mishaps related to poor patient care, as well as financial penalties based on how they score on a wide range of quality ratings. Article

And Finally… In the name of literary science. Article