News From Around the Web
> Mobile healthcare implementation in Africa has the potential to improve health outcomes in many ways, according to a blog post from the University of Oxford. Nevertheless, challenges remain. A major challenge to the implementation of mHealth on the continent is the lack of standardization and regulatory frameworks to guide its scale-up. In addition, inadequate monitoring and evaluation and use of meaningful, consistent indicators and rigorous evaluation methods for cost-effectiveness make it difficult to scale up mHealth interventions. Article
> Swiss company Sensogram Technologies AG has targeted three major mHealth market segments with its wearable health monitoring and activity coaching devices, according to an announcement. Sensogram's approach is to combine vital signs monitoring, activity tracking, geolocation-prompted information and personal information in an integrated manner. According to Sensogram, processing of all the data with the correlative analysis is the next step for the company. Article
> Atlanta-based Bioscape Digital, a developer of patient engagement platforms, announced that it will acquire Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Picture Rx, LLC, a developer of patient-centric medication tools. The addition of PictureRx's industry relationships and expertise in medication management is part of Bioscape's broader strategy to "enable seamless integration of tablet-based technology into a better patient experience." Picture Rx has received more than $2 million in NIH grants and recently was awarded a Phase II SBIR contract to improve medication safety. Article
Medical Imaging News
> Information technology can be used to facilitate non-routine communications of imaging findings to appropriate providers, but the method will vary depending on the urgency and severity of those findings, according to a report from the American College of Radiology's Actionable Reporting Work Group. According to ACR's Imaging 3.0 initiative, an actionable, comprehensible and appropriately communicated report is the most import product radiologists can deliver; the Actionable Reporting Work Group was tasked with addressing the potential role IT can play in delivering such reports. Article
Healthcare News
> Disrespectful doctors create a "bullying culture" in hospitals, which organizations must address to improve patient care, argues a column in Aeon Magazine. Mistreatment of subordinates, particularly medical students, is widespread, argues Ilana Yurkiewicz, citing one national study that found a majority of students report they were bullied in some way. Although her own experience was, for the most part, free of such mistreatment, Yurkiewicz writes, she has witnessed bullying behavior in hospitals. Article
And Finally… And in this corner, we've got.. Article